Business Registration

Business registration is the notification of self-employed commercial activity to the trade office of the municipality where you work. It is mandatory as soon as your work qualifies as a commercial business and must be completed when you start the activity—not only after your first substantial revenue.

Commercial Business or Freelance Profession

Whether you need to register a business at all depends on how your activity is classified. Artistic activities may qualify as a freelance profession; in that case, business registration is not required, and you only register with the tax office. The distinction is not uniform for female and male performers in the erotic sector. Tax offices frequently classify shoots, webcam work, and platform work as commercial activities, especially when the sale of content is the main focus and artistic design plays a lesser role.

The entry Freelancer explains the differences. In practice, many people clarify this question once with a tax advisor or the tax office before committing themselves, because a later reclassification means additional work.

The Process

1. Register with the trade office—in many municipalities online, otherwise in person with an identity card or passport. The municipality sets the fee.
2. Provide details of the activity, address, and start date. You formulate the description of the activity yourself.
3. The trade office informs other authorities, including the tax office and the Chamber of Industry and Commerce.
4. You submit the questionnaire for tax registration to the tax office and receive your tax number.

You must also report changes: moving to another municipality, a substantial change in the activity, or ending it. If you stop working on shoots, you must deregister the business. Otherwise, filing obligations and mail from the chamber and tax office will continue even though you are no longer generating income.

What Follows from This

By registering a business, you become a member of the responsible Chamber of Industry and Commerce. Whether a membership fee applies, and its amount, depends on your profit; small businesses are partially exempt. In addition, commercial profits are generally subject to trade tax. Sole proprietors are entitled to an allowance, the amount of which is set by law and is not specified here. Many newcomers therefore do not pay trade tax initially, but still have to submit a return.

Anyone who works on shoots as a secondary occupation can also register a business. Whether your employer must be informed depends on your employment contract, not on the business registration.

Discretion Regarding the Description of the Activity

Business data is recorded in a register from which information may be disclosed to third parties under certain conditions. The wording of the activity is therefore important for female and male performers. It must be accurate but may be factual and neutral, for example, participation in film and photography productions. An unnecessarily detailed description offers no advantage. The article Working Anonymously explains what further anonymity can and cannot be achieved.

Register on Time and Consistently

Register at the beginning of the activity, not retroactively after the first year. Ensure that the description of the activity, questionnaire, and invoices are substantively consistent. If you work almost exclusively for one client, also check the risk of false self-employment; registration alone does not make you self-employed.

This entry provides an overview and does not replace tax or legal advice.