Debt Collection Agency License (Inkassoinstitute)
Key Facts
- Type: Regulated trade (reglementiertes Gewerbe)
- Qualification: Entrepreneur exam + specific professional competence
- Registration cost: Free (€0)
- FMA license: Not required (Inkasso is a trade, not a financial service)
- Professional rules: Standesregeln apply (code of conduct)
- Note: Cannot provide legal advice or representation in court
What Does This Trade Cover?
The debt collection trade license covers the extrajudicial recovery of debts on behalf of creditors:
- Sending payment reminders and formal demand letters (Mahnschreiben)
- Negotiating payment plans and settlements with debtors
- Monitoring outstanding receivables and managing dunning processes
- Tracing debtors and verifying current addresses
- Preparing documentation for potential court proceedings (but not filing them)
- International debt collection within the EU framework
Standesregeln (Code of Conduct)
Debt collection agencies in Austria are subject to professional conduct rules (Standesregeln) that regulate their operations:
- Fair treatment: Debtors must not be harassed, threatened, or misled about legal consequences
- Transparency: All fees and costs must be clearly communicated to both creditor and debtor
- Data protection: Strict GDPR compliance when processing debtor personal data
- Separation of funds: Collected amounts must be kept in a separate trust account (Anderkonto)
- Identification: The agency must clearly identify itself in all communications with debtors
No FMA License Needed
Unlike banks or financial service providers, Inkassoinstitute do not need a license from the Austrian Financial Market Authority (FMA). Debt collection is classified as a trade under the GewO, not as a financial service under the BWG or WAG. The trade authority (Bezirksverwaltungsbehoerde) is the competent registration body.
Qualification Requirements
- Entrepreneur exam (Unternehmerpüfung) or equivalent education
- Professional competence in civil law, enforcement law (Exekutionsrecht), and accounting
- Individual assessment (§19 GewO) with proof of relevant experience in the field
- Qualified manager (§39 GewO) who holds the required qualifications
Vollstaendige deutsche Version →
Related Guides
Qualification: how to prove it
Inkasso is a regulated trade under §94 Z.36 of the Austrian Trade Act (GewO 1994). The standard route is the qualification exam (befähigungsprüfung).
- Examined by: Meisterprüfungsstelle WK
- Exam modules: 5
- Exam fee: €0 — exam fees are covered by the federal government
If you cannot sit the exam, these routes are open to you:
- Individual assessment under §19 GewO
- Appointing a qualified managing director
Registering the trade
- Cost: Free — registration itself carries no fee
- Where: District administrative authority (Bezirksverwaltungsbehörde)
- Decision within: max. 3 months
- Typically takes: 1-5 Werktage (bei vollständigen Unterlagen)
You can register in these ways:
- Online via GISA (the trade register)
- Online via USP (the business service portal)
- In person at the authority
Who may register
- Minimum age: 18
- Citizenship or residence: Austria, EU, EEA or Switzerland
- Clean record: no disqualifying convictions (checked by the authority)
Documents to bring
- Photo ID
- Certificate of competence (Befähigungsnachweis)
- Criminal record certificate
Terms shown in German are the ones printed on the Austrian forms — you will meet them exactly like this at the authority.
Where to go, by province
| Province | Competent authority |
|---|---|
| Vienna | Magistrat der Stadt Wien, MA 63 |
| Lower Austria | Bezirkshauptmannschaft |
| Upper Austria | Bezirkshauptmannschaft / Magistrat |
| Styria | Bezirkshauptmannschaft / Magistrat Graz |
| Tyrol | Bezirkshauptmannschaft / Magistrat Innsbruck |
| Salzburg | Bezirkshauptmannschaft / Magistrat Salzburg |
| Carinthia | Bezirkshauptmannschaft / Magistrat Klagenfurt/Villach |
| Burgenland | Bezirkshauptmannschaft |
| Vorarlberg | Bezirkshauptmannschaft / Magistrat Bregenz |
Sole trader, GmbH, or partnership?
Trade law does not prescribe a legal form — but it does draw one line. Under § 9 (1) GewO, legal entities and registered partnerships (GmbH, OG, KG) may hold a trade licence, but they „must have appointed a managing director (§ 39)“ — a named person who carries the qualification and the legal responsibility for the trade. As a sole trader you are that person yourself.
Whether a GmbH pays off financially depends on profit, drawings, SVS contributions and allowances. There is no general profit threshold, and that question belongs to a tax adviser, not to this page.
Running this trade alongside a job
Nothing in Austrian law forbids running a trade as a side business. Two things about social insurance are regularly misremembered, and both cost money.
- The obligation follows Chamber membership, not profit. Under § 2 (1) 1 GSVG compulsory SVS insurance attaches to membership of the Economic Chamber, which you acquire with the trade licence itself. It therefore applies in a year in which you make no profit at all.
- There is an exemption — but only on application. § 4 (1) 7 GSVG lets very small businesses be exempted while turnover and income stay under the limits it refers to. Nothing happens automatically: without the application, the obligation stands.
If you are employed, check your employment contract separately for a secondary-activity clause — that is a matter between you and your employer, not trade law.
Legal basis: GewO 1994 §94 Z.36 . Last reviewed April 2026. This is not legal advice.
Rule-change alerts
Austrian trade rules change through amendments, new regulations and new thresholds. Every day we check the Federal Law Gazette for changes to the Trade Act and its regulations. When one affects this trade, you get an email: what changes, from when, and where it is written. Otherwise we do not write.
First you get one email to confirm. No advertising, no tracking.