Real Estate Agent License

If you commercially operate as a real estate agent, loan broker, property developer, or construction supervisor, you need a license under Section 34c of the Trade Regulation Act (GewO). This also covers residential property managers since a 2018 amendment.

You apply at the local trade office (Gewerbeamt) or, in some states, at the Chamber of Commerce (IHK). The authority checks your personal reliability through a certificate of conduct and trade register extract, and verifies that you have orderly financial circumstances via a credit report. Costs are typically in the low three-figure range. Once granted, the license is valid nationwide. Licensed agents must comply with record-keeping and accounting obligations under the Makler- und Bauträgerverordnung (MaBV).