The trade licence for hospitality in Austria

What legally counts as hospitality

Under § 111 Abs 1 GewO, anyone who accommodates guests or serves food of any kind and pours drinks needs a trade licence for the Gastgewerbe. Serving and pouring means any arrangement intended for food and drinks to be consumed on the spot (§ 111 Abs 3 GewO): tables, standing counters, a bar with stools. Pure takeaway sales, on the other hand, may fall under a retail trade or a food trade.

Hospitality appears in the list of regulated trades in § 94 GewO under Z 26. Regulated means that a proof of qualification is required to practise it. The licence also comes with ancillary rights, such as parking guests' vehicles, offering games or, for accommodation businesses, selling package holidays based on their own rooms and additional tourist services (§ 111 Abs 4 GewO).

The proof of qualification: training, exam or case by case

How you prove your qualification is set out in the Gastgewerbe-Verordnung based on § 18 GewO. It lists training routes that count as proof, for example graduating from a tourism school or hotel management school, certain apprenticeship qualifications in hospitality and hotels (usually with additional work experience) or relevant university degrees. Some school qualifications only count in combination with an internship. Since March 2024, any university degree on its own is no longer sufficient, after the Constitutional Court repealed the relevant provision (VfGH V 362/2023).

The second route is the Befähigungsprüfung Gastgewerbe at the Meisterprüfungsstelle (examination office) of the Wirtschaftskammer (chamber of commerce). The only admission requirement is being of legal age. The exam consists of two modules; the written module is waived if you have passed the Unternehmerprüfung (entrepreneur exam) or hold an equivalent business qualification. Preparation courses are offered by WIFI. If you do not meet any of the standard routes but have equivalent knowledge and experience, you can apply for an individueller Befähigungsnachweis (individual proof of qualification, § 19 GewO). An earlier waiver (Nachsicht) counts as such proof.

The managing director under trade law

If you cannot provide the proof of qualification yourself, you must appoint a gewerberechtlicher Geschäftsführer (§ 39 Abs 1 GewO). This person is responsible to the authority for compliance with trade law, must meet the personal requirements and must have independent authority to give instructions in the business. For a sole proprietorship, they must be an employee with full social insurance working at least half of the normal weekly working hours. For a GmbH, it can also be a managing director under company law (§ 39 Abs 2 GewO).

Freie Gastgewerbe under § 111 Abs 2 GewO

For a few clearly defined activities, the law requires no proof of qualification. You still have to register the trade, and the rules on premises, hygiene and allergens still apply. The wording is narrow, so check your concept carefully against the individual points:

• Z 3, small snack bar: serving simple food and non-alcoholic drinks and beer in standard sealed containers, if no more than eight seats or standing places are provided. Typical examples: a sausage stand, a small kebab or sandwich shop.
• Z 4, small accommodation: accommodation with no more than ten guest beds, plus breakfast, small snacks, non-alcoholic drinks, bottled beer and spirits served as an addition to these drinks.
• Z 2, mountain hut: a simply equipped business in a poorly accessible area for mountaineers and hikers.
• Z 5, Buschenschank supplement: food and drinks in connection with a Buschenschank (wine grower's tavern) under the law of the federal state.
• Z 1 and Z 6: drinks for passengers of hired coaches and non-alcoholic drinks from vending machines.

Wine, Spritzer (wine with soda) or draught beer, more than eight seats or standing places, or a proper kitchen with set menus go beyond Z 3. In that case you need the regulated hospitality trade. If you switch from a free to a regulated type of business, you must register again (§ 111 Abs 5 GewO). What this looks like for sausage stands and food trucks is shown in the post Opening a street food stand or food truck, and for small guesthouses in the post Opening a guesthouse. The overall process is in the roadmap for opening a venue, and tips for your menu in the post Allergen labelling.

Types of business: what to state when registering

When registering, you state the Betriebsart (type of business), and later changes must be notified to the authority (§ 111 Abs 5 GewO). Common designations are restaurant, Gasthaus (inn), café, Kaffeehaus (coffee house), bar, discotheque, snack bar, buffet, hotel, guesthouse or Heurigenbuffet. The type of business is more than a label: the closing hours set by the federal states' ordinances under § 113 GewO, the requirements for equipment and premises (§ 112 Abs 2 GewO) and the assessment of the premises are all tied to it. If you are registered as a café and run as a bar with a DJ at night, you risk problems with closing hours and approval.

Registration via GISA, costs and duration

With the NeuFöG form, the registration itself is free of charge; otherwise moderate fees and administrative charges apply. More expensive are the preparation course for the qualification exam or the salary of a managing director under trade law. Since 2024, the federal government has covered the exam fee for the first and second attempt. Include this salary in your fixed costs: the break-even calculator for restaurants shows how many extra guests per day you need to cover it. The entry is usually made within a few days, often immediately if your documents are complete.

No opening without premises approval

The trade licence says that you may run a hospitality business; the Betriebsanlagengenehmigung says where and how. Under § 74 Abs 2 GewO, every facility that could disturb neighbours through noise, smells or smoke, or endanger guests, needs approval. In hospitality that is practically always the case. Smaller facilities go through the simplified procedure under § 359b GewO, in which the authority must decide within two months. Guest gardens on public ground with up to 75 seats only need to be notified between 8 am and 11 pm (§ 76a GewO).