Starting a Courier Business in Germany: Checklist

Starting a courier service or a small transport business in Germany is quicker than many expect: up to 3.5 t you need neither a haulage permit nor a professional competence exam. What matters is the right order – registrations, insurance, vehicle – and jobs from day one. This free checklist takes you from the plan to the first job in six steps, as a PDF to tick off or a Word file to adapt. The checklist itself is in German.

Up to 3.5 t or above? The most important decision first

The 3.5-tonne line decides how much effort your start-up takes. What counts is the permitted gross weight of vehicle and trailer combined.

• Up to 3.5 t: commercial road haulage is permit-free. A business registration, insurance and a category B licence are enough. That covers courier runs, small transports and single pallets in local traffic – the typical start as a one-person business.
• Above 3.5 t: you need the permit under § 3 GüKG (German Road Haulage Act). The requirements are good repute, financial standing (capital of €9,000 for the first and €5,000 for each additional vehicle) and professional competence, proven with the exam at the chamber of commerce (IHK).
• Cross-border from 2.5 t: if you drive vehicles between 2.5 and 3.5 t commercially into other EU countries, you need an EU licence.

Read more about vehicles and job types in this class under transport jobs up to 3.5 tonnes.

Step 1: Plan

Decide what you offer: documents and spare parts by car, small transports by van, or pallets in a 3.5 t box van. That determines the vehicle class – and your costs. Work out what a kilometre costs you (vehicle, fuel, insurance, wear, your working time) before you quote prices or accept jobs. The transport cost calculator shows what customers pay for typical routes.

For the legal form, most start as a sole proprietorship: quick to register, simple cash-basis accounting, but full personal liability. A UG or GmbH limits liability to the company's assets but means a notary, the commercial register and double-entry bookkeeping.

Step 2: Register

1. Register your business with the trade office in your city, online in many municipalities. This makes you a member of the chamber of commerce (IHK) automatically.
2. Send the tax registration questionnaire to the tax office via ELSTER – within one month of starting. You will receive your tax number.
3. Check the small-business rule: if your turnover was below €25,000 last year and is expected to stay below €100,000 this year, you can invoice without VAT. Whether that pays off depends on how much input VAT you would reclaim on vehicle and equipment.
4. Register with BG Verkehr, the statutory accident insurance for transport companies. The deadline is one week after you start operating.
5. Open a business account so business and private payments stay separate.

Step 3: Insure

• Motor insurance covering commercial use: private policies usually exclude carrying goods for third parties. Declare the commercial use.
• Goods-in-transit / carrier's liability insurance: mandatory for permit-based transport above 3.5 t. Optional below, but required by most customers – without it you pay for damage to goods yourself.
• Business liability insurance for damage that does not happen to the vehicle or the goods, for example when carrying items up a staircase.
• Health insurance and pension: as a self-employed person, these are your own responsibility.

Step 4: Vehicle and equipment

Whether you buy, lease or rent depends on your capital and on how certain your utilisation is. Before buying, check the real payload: shelving, tools and a passenger come off it, and an overloaded vehicle costs fines and insurance cover. The payload calculator works it out from the registration document. Basic equipment includes lashing straps, anti-slip mats, blankets and a hand truck – plus a smartphone for navigation and digital proof of delivery.

Step 5: Jobs from day one

The most common reason new courier businesses fail is not paperwork but utilisation. So build several sources of work in parallel:

• Regular customers in the region: workshops, pharmacies, law firms and shops regularly need direct runs. A Google Business Profile makes you findable locally.
• Subcontracting for courier companies: larger operators pass peaks on to reliable partners.
• Job platforms: on Maxmove you register for free, upload your documents in the app and, once approved, see jobs in Cologne, Düsseldorf and NRW – with the earnings before you accept, no subscription and no bidding round. Maxmove bills every job to the customer; your earnings are paid out weekly.

The comparison courier apps for drivers shows how platforms for drivers differ.

Step 6: Billing and proof

Keep receipts, invoices and proof of delivery in order from the start. You invoice your own customers yourself – you will find a template in the transport invoice template. Since 2025 you must be able to receive e-invoices. Proof of delivery with signature, photo and timestamp protects you in disputes; in the free Maxmove TMS it is captured directly in the driver app, and you run your own customers' jobs in the same system as platform jobs.

Checklist as PDF and Word

The checklist puts all six steps on one page, with space for your own notes. Download it free above. It is not legal advice: the GüKG and your authority's requirements are what count – if in doubt, ask the chamber of commerce or the tax office.