Change Your Business Address in Germany: 8 Steps

Short answer

To change your business address in Germany, you file the new address with the commercial register (GmbH, UG, e.K.), inform the trade office and the tax office, and update your Impressum, invoices and contracts. If the company stays in the same city, it is only a change of address: €45 court fee plus the notary, usually €100 to €150 in total. Moving to another city means relocating the registered seat, which needs an amendment to the articles of association and costs a few hundred euros. The notary part can be done by video.

What you will learn in this article

What actually changes when you move: address, seat, place of business
The 8 steps in the right order
Commercial register: new address or new registered seat, with costs
Notarisation by video and the options if you live abroad
Trade office, tax office and everyone else you need to inform
How Teeberg handles the move for you

Your lease ends, the team works remotely, or your home address should leave the public register. Moving a company address in Germany is not complicated, but the order of steps decides whether letters get lost. This guide is for founders who are new to German procedures, including those abroad.

Change your business address in Germany: what actually changes

In everyday language people say “business address”. German law distinguishes four different things, and which of them changes decides how much work the move is.

Term	What it means	Where it matters
Business address (“Geschäftsanschrift”)	Street and house number where the company can be reached	Commercial register, Impressum, invoices, letterhead
Registered seat (“Satzungssitz”)	The municipality named in the articles of association, for example “Berlin”	Which register court is responsible
Place of business (“Betriebsstätte”)	Where you actually work	Trade office, broadcasting fee
Place of management (“Ort der Geschäftsleitung”)	Where the key decisions are made	Responsible tax office for a GmbH or UG (Section 20 AO)

For a sole proprietor, the tax office for income tax depends on your place of residence (Section 19 AO).

The most important point: if you move within the same city, the registered seat stays the same. A GmbH moving from Kreuzberg to Prenzlauer Berg only changes its business address. Articles of association, register court and HRB number stay. Only a move to another municipality, for example from Munich to Berlin, is a relocation of the registered seat.

A virtual office adds one detail: the business address moves, but the place of business stays where you really work. For the trade office and the tax office, less changes than many expect. Our article on the place of management explains why.

How to move your business address: 8 steps

Order matters. The new address must be active before you file it anywhere, and the old one should only end once your mail is redirected.

Set a cut-off date

The day the new address applies, before your old contract ends.

Secure the new address

Sign the lease or book a virtual office and get an address confirmation.

Set up mail forwarding

Order a forwarding service (“Nachsendeauftrag”) from Deutsche Post from the cut-off date.

File with the commercial register

GmbH, UG, e.K., OHG and KG file through a German notary, also by video.

Inform the trade office

Only if your place of business changes.

Inform the tax office

Send the new address to the tax office.

Update your public details

Impressum, invoices, email signature, letterhead, Google profile and website.

Inform your partners

Bank, insurers, customers, suppliers and tax advisor.

Commercial register: new address or new registered seat?

For companies in the commercial register (“Handelsregister”), filing is mandatory. Section 31 (1) HGB requires both the relocation of the establishment and any change of the domestic business address to be registered. For a GmbH or UG the address is also part of the register entry under Section 8 (4) and Section 10 (1) GmbHG.

Case 1: new address in the same city

This is the simple case. The managing director files the new address, no shareholder resolution is needed. Under Section 12 HGB the filing must be publicly certified by a notary and submitted electronically. Certification by video is expressly allowed. The register court charges €45 for an entry without economic significance (fee schedule HRegGebV No. 2502 for GmbH and UG, No. 1504 for e.K., OHG and KG). Add the notary fees, and you usually end up at €100 to €150.

Case 2: moving the registered seat to another city

If the GmbH moves to another municipality, the registered seat changes. The shareholders amend the articles with a three-quarters majority (Section 53 GmbHG), recorded by a notary, by video since August 2023 if unanimous. The previous register court passes the filing to the new one (Section 13h HGB), which usually assigns a new HRB number. The entry there alone costs €210 for a GmbH or UG (HRegGebV No. 2300). Including notarisation and filing, expect a few hundred euros.

Case	What is needed	Court fee	Typical duration
GmbH or UG, new address in the same city	Filing by the managing director, notary (video possible)	€45	usually 2 to 3 weeks until registration
GmbH or UG, move to another city	Shareholder resolution, amended articles, filing	€210 at the new court	several weeks, two courts involved
e.K., OHG, KG, new address	Filing, notary (video possible)	€45	usually 2 to 3 weeks
Sole proprietor without register entry	No register, only trade office and tax office	none	immediately

Fees according to the German commercial register fee ordinance, as of October 2026, plus notary fees. Duration based on our experience with the Charlottenburg local court. More on the commercial register entry with a virtual office.

Notarisation by video: what if you live abroad?

If you run your German company from abroad, the good news is: for a change of address you do not have to travel. German notaries can certify the filing in a video call through the online platform of the German Federal Chamber of Notaries.

For the video procedure you need an electronic ID that can be read by the notaries’ app on your smartphone. That can be a German ID card with online function, a German electronic residence permit or a notified electronic ID from another EU member state. If you have none of these, there are two common alternatives:

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German embassy or consulate

German missions abroad can certify your signature. Book early.

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Local notary with apostille

In many countries a local notary certifies your signature, followed by an apostille.

Whether an electronic ID from your country works, and which form your register court accepts, depends on your individual case. Clarify this with the German notary before you set the cut-off date.

More on mail and reachability in our guide on a business address in Berlin while living abroad.

Trade office, tax office and who else to inform

Trade office: the place of business counts

A trade (“Gewerbe”) is registered where you actually work. If your place of business moves, you report it under Section 14 GewO. Within Berlin this is a re-registration at the office of the new district: €20 in person, €15 online (as of October 2026, according to service.berlin.de). If only the business address changes, the trade registration usually stays. Our article on where to register your trade explains the background. Freelancers in liberal professions (“Freiberufler”) have no trade and skip this step.

Tax office: management or residence counts

For a GmbH or UG, the tax office in whose district the management is located is responsible (Section 20 AO). If only the address moves while you keep running the company from the same place, the tax office usually stays the same. Tax number and VAT ID stay unchanged as long as the tax office does not change.

If the move makes a different tax office responsible, you will usually receive a new tax number. Whether and when this happens depends on your place of management. Clarify your individual case with a tax advisor.

Everyone else

✓Impressum: new address that can receive legal documents, required by Section 5 DDG, fines up to €50,000 (Section 33 DDG)

✓Invoices: full address of the supplier, required by Section 14 (4) UStG

✓Letterhead and email signature: for a GmbH also seat, register court and HRB number (Section 35a GmbHG)

✓Bank: has to keep your master data up to date under the Money Laundering Act

✓Insurers, leasing, phone and software subscriptions

✓Employment agency and health insurers if you have employees

✓Broadcasting fee office: only if your place of business changes, see broadcasting fee and place of business

✓Customers, suppliers and tax advisor with the cut-off date and new address

Common mistakes when moving a company address

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Cut-off date before the old contract ends

No day on which nobody accepts your mail.

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Mail forwarding as a safety net

It catches letters from senders you forgot.

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The address in the commercial register is the official address for service. If the company cannot be reached there, documents can even be served by public notice (Section 185 No. 2 ZPO). Deadlines then run without you knowing.

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Impressum forgotten

An Impressum with an outdated address no longer meets the legal requirements and is a classic reason for a cease-and-desist letter. More in our article on German Impressum requirements.

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Address “c/o” someone else

A “c/o” address is problematic for the register and the Impressum.

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Old address cancelled too early

Letters disappear for days, and official mail with deadlines is the biggest risk.

Moving a business address means: register, authorities, mail, customers.

Most of it is preparation. Only you can sign, but we can prepare everything else.

Move your business address with Teeberg: relocation service included

At Teeberg, moving into a virtual office takes around ten steps. Only three of them must be done by the managing director personally: booking and verifying your identity, attending the video notary appointment and signing. We prepare everything else. That is the Teeberg relocation service, included at no extra cost in the annual plan.

Virtual Office, annual plan

€63/month

Registered address at Kollwitzstraße 76, Berlin, for the commercial register and the Impressum, without “c/o”, daily document-grade scans. Relocation service included.

All inclusive Virtual Office, annual plan

€239/month

Everything in Virtual Office plus 4 hours of meeting room per month and a Berlin phone number. Relocation service included.

Virtual Office, monthly

€79/month

Same service, cancellable monthly, no minimum term. The relocation service is only available with the annual plan.

As of October 2026, all prices plus VAT. Notary and court fees are paid directly to them, not to us.

✓Commercial register filing prepared, video notary appointment arranged

✓Notifications for the tax office, employment agency, accident insurance and broadcasting fee office

✓Deutsche Post forwarding order prepared

✓Templates for customers, suppliers, bank and insurers

✓Checklist for Impressum, invoices, email signature and Google profile

✓One dedicated contact until everything is switched over

Example: A UG gives up its office because the team works remotely. It books the annual plan, the address is active immediately. After a 15-minute relocation check, filing, letters and forwarding order are ready to sign. The video notary takes about twenty minutes, the court usually registers within two to three weeks.

So far, everyone who wanted to register their company at our address in the commercial register has succeeded, including holdings with several subsidiaries. If you are just founding your company and have no old address, you do not need a move but a virtual office in Berlin. All details on the process are on the page move your registered office with Teeberg.

Move your registered office with Teeberg →

Questions first? A free 15-minute call with Moritz: book a slot

Frequently asked questions about changing a business address in Germany

How do I change the business address of my GmbH?+

The managing director files the new domestic business address with the commercial register (Section 31 HGB). A German notary has to certify the filing, which can also be done by video. If the GmbH stays in the same city, no shareholder resolution and no amendment to the articles are needed. The register court charges €45, with the notary it usually costs €100 to €150. Teeberg prepares all of this on the annual plan: move your registered office.

How much does it cost to change a company address in Germany?+

For a GmbH, UG, e.K., OHG or KG you pay a €45 court fee plus notary fees, usually €100 to €150 in total. Moving the registered seat to another city costs more: the entry at the new court alone is €210 for a GmbH or UG, and with notarisation you typically pay a few hundred euros. A sole proprietor without a register entry pays at most the trade re-registration if the place of business changes, in Berlin €20 in person or €15 online (as of October 2026).

Is a new business address the same as moving the registered seat?+

No. The registered seat is the municipality named in the articles of association. If you move within the same city, only the business address changes. Only a move to another municipality relocates the seat. That requires a shareholder resolution amending the articles, and usually a different register court becomes responsible.

Can I change my company address in Germany while living abroad?+

Yes. The notarial certification can be done by video if you have an electronic ID that the notaries’ app can read, such as a German ID card with online function, a German electronic residence permit or a notified EU electronic ID. Otherwise a German embassy or consulate, or in many countries a local notary with an apostille, can certify your signature. Ask the German notary beforehand which form the register court accepts.

Do I get a new tax number when I move my company?+

Only if a different tax office becomes responsible. For a GmbH or UG this depends on the place of management, for sole proprietors on the place of residence and the place from which they work. If only the business address changes, the tax office and tax number usually stay the same. A tax advisor can clarify your individual case.

How long does it take to change the address in the commercial register?+

The video notary appointment takes about twenty minutes. The register court then enters the new address. At the Charlottenburg local court in Berlin this usually takes two to three weeks in our experience. Moving the registered seat to another city takes longer because two courts are involved.