Registering your Gewerbe: GISA, step by step

Mark this step as done

Only for the Gewerbe world — neue Selbständige skip this entirely. The registration itself is free and usually processed within days.

Prerequisites

18+, no exclusion grounds (e.g. recent relevant criminal record, certain insolvency offences)
EU/EEA/Swiss citizens: no extra condition. Third-country citizens: Daueraufenthalt – EU, Rot-Weiß-Rot – Karte plus and Familienangehöriger fully permit self-employment. On a student permit, freelancing is generally possible too — Austria's employment restrictions (AuslBG) cover jobs, not self-employment, and registrations normally go through. The real risk sits a year later: your permit renewal depends on study progress, and your work must stay genuinely self-employed (not a disguised full-time job for one client). So: register — and protect the renewal.
An Austrian business address (your registered home address works for most desk-based trades)

How to register

You don't need an agency, advisor or anyone else for this — it's a free 10-minute online form: open the GISA portal, log in with ID Austria, enter your trade wording (from the self-test: e.g. "IT-Dienstleistung", "Werbeagentur"), personal data and business address, submit. Done.

No ID Austria yet? Set it up before anything else on this checklist — one registration-office appointment (passport + Meldezettel; find your office & prepare here, the page has an English toggle), and it unlocks every portal you'll meet from here on in one go: GISA, FinanzOnline, svsGO, USP and JustizOnline. Easily the highest-leverage 30 minutes of your founding week.

Documents: passport, Meldezettel, for free trades no qualification proof. You receive a GISA extract (this is your "Gewerbeschein" — there's no fancy certificate anymore).

What happens automatically

SVS is notified — your insurance starts with the registration date (not with your first invoice!), and so does the minimum contribution of roughly €160–170/month (the SVS guide)
WKO membership begins — the Grundumlage invoice will find you
The Finanzamt is NOT fully covered by this: you still file the questionnaire yourself (the questionnaire guide)

Not earning yet? You can register the trade and immediately report it dormant (Ruhendmeldung to the WKO) — SVS and most costs pause until you activate it. Useful if you want the paperwork done before your first client signs.

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Status: 2026. Amounts and thresholds change (SVS values adjust yearly) — this is careful general information, not individual tax or legal advice. For your specific case, talk to a licensed Steuerberater.