Bewachungsgewerbe, Erlaubnis beantragen

• § 34a Gewerbeordnung (GewO) – Bewachungsgewerbe
• Verordnung über das Bewachungsgewerbe (Bewachungsverordnung – BewachV)
• Sächsisches Kostenverzeichnis (SächKVZ) - Nr. 46 Gewerberecht

If you wish to guard the lives or property of third parties on a commercial basis, you require a licence in accordance with Section 34a (1) sentence 1 of the Trade, Commerce and Industry Regulation Act (GewO). Guarding requires an active custodial activity (supervision or control). The guarding must be aimed at protecting persons from danger to life, body, freedom or property from loss, destruction or damage. The care must consist of human activity. Mere surveillance, observation or investigation activities (e.g. detective agencies) or the mere provision of space (e.g. lockers) does not constitute security services requiring a licence.

Note: As a security company, you may only employ reliable persons to carry out security tasks and manage a business or branch office if they have been instructed in the legal and technical principles required to carry out the activity or have passed an examination of expertise at the Chamber of Industry and Commerce. You must register the security guards and management personnel working for you via the Security Guard Register before they begin their work (§ 16 Para. 2 Sentence 1 of the Security Guard Ordinance - Bewachungsverordnung - BewachV).

Single point of contact

The trade is not covered by the EU Services Directive. The corresponding administrative procedures can therefore not be handled via the Point of Single Contact.

• completed application form
• Copy of identity card or other official identification document
• extract from the commercial/cooperative register, if applicable
• Certificate in tax matters from the tax office and the municipal tax office
• Proof of successful completion of an examination of expertise
• Documents proving your orderly financial circumstances (information from the debtor register of the central enforcement court in accordance with § 882b of the German Code of Civil Procedure (ZPO), submission of a statement of assets in accordance with §§ 802a ZPO ff., information from the insolvency court as to whether proceedings have been opened or whether the opening has been refused due to lack of assets),
• Proof that the required liability insurance has been taken out

Note: Before issuing the licence, the competent authority will obtain at least information from the central trade register, an unrestricted extract from the Federal Central Criminal Register, a statement from the police and a statement from the State Office for the Protection of the Constitution.

In the case of legal entities (limited liability companies, business companies, public limited companies, registered co-operatives), you only need to complete the application form for the legal entity itself. You must submit all personal documents for all natural persons authorised to manage the company (e.g. identity papers). For the legal entity, you will also need an extract from the central trade register.

Partnerships (GbR, KG, OHG, PartG, GmbH Co. KG) are not eligible for authorisation as such. Therefore, each managing partner requires a licence. You must submit a completed application form and all personal documents for each of these persons.

The licence must be refused if the applicant

• does not possess the reliability required for the business operation,
• lives in disorderly financial circumstances,
• does not prove by successfully passing an examination at the Chamber of Industry and Commerce (IHK) that he/she has the necessary expertise in the legal and technical principles required to exercise the security business, or
• does not provide proof of the required liability insurance.

• EUR 340.00 to EUR 900.00
• additional costs for the examination of expertise at the Chamber of Industry and Commerce

You can apply for a licence in accordance with Section 34a GewO in person, in writing or electronically. You can obtain the application form from the competent authority. The form can also be downloaded from Amt24 ("Forms & online services"), depending on the service provided by the authority.

You must apply for a licence before starting your business. You are only authorised to exercise the trade after the permit has been issued.

Your personal reliability and that of your personnel entrusted with security tasks or with the management of a company or branch office will be checked again at regular intervals, at the latest after five years.