Key points at a glance
- Maler und Anstreicher (painter and decorator) is part of a combined craft under § 94 no. 47 GewO. Without a Befähigungsnachweis (proof of competence) or a qualified managing director, you may not offer painting work.
- The usual route is the master craftsman exam. Since 2024, the federal government has covered the exam fees for the first and second attempt; you pay for the preparation courses yourself.
- Alternatively, a gewerberechtlicher Geschäftsführer (qualified managing director, § 39 GewO) with the proof of competence or an individual proof of competence (§ 19 GewO) can help if your experience demonstrates the skills.
- Paints and varnishes are subject to the Lösungsmittelverordnung 2005 (Solvents Ordinance) with VOC limits. Solvent-based leftovers go to an authorised waste disposal company, not into general waste.
- Don't price by gut feeling: hourly rate, output per hour and materials give you the price per m². You will find a worked example below.
This article is general information, not legal or tax advice. Rules change: check the details with your economic chamber or chamber of crafts, your trade guild or your tax adviser.
Which trade licence a painting business needs
In the Gewerbeordnung (Trade Act), the painter does not stand alone. § 94 no. 47 GewO combines "Maler und Anstreicher; Lackierer; Vergolder und Staffierer; Schilderherstellung" (painters and decorators; varnishers; gilders; sign makers) into one combined craft. For you this means: you register the trade you actually carry out, usually "Maler und Anstreicher". If you also want to spray furniture or components in the workshop, check whether that still counts as painting or already belongs to the varnisher's trade.
Which certificates prove competence is set out in the access regulation for the combined craft (Federal Law Gazette II no. 67/2003, as amended in 2008). The main routes at a glance:
| Route | What you prove | Who it suits |
|---|---|---|
| Master craftsman exam | Certificate of the passed master craftsman exam | Journeymen with a few years of experience; the standard case |
| Higher technical college | HTL (technical college) with a construction focus relevant to the craft plus 1.5 years of work in the field | Graduates of a suitable HTL |
| Master school | Master school or master class in painting plus the entrepreneur exam plus 2 years of experience | Anyone who attended a master school |
| Apprenticeship plus supervision | Apprenticeship certificate as painter and decorator plus 5 years of trade-specific work in a senior position | Long-serving foremen and crew leaders |
| Individual proof of competence | Evidence under § 19 GewO demonstrating knowledge and experience, also restricted to parts of the trade | Anyone who does not meet any of the standard routes |
Without your own master exam: the qualified managing director
You can also register the trade if another person brings the proof of competence and is appointed as gewerberechtliche:r Geschäftsführer:in under § 39 GewO. This person is responsible to the authority for carrying out the trade properly and needs genuine authority to give instructions in the business. In a GmbH, the person must either be a member of the management or be employed in the business for at least half the normal weekly working hours with full social insurance. A name on paper without real involvement is not enough and will come to light at the latest during an inspection.
The process: from exam to first invoice
Clarify your competence
Plan the master craftsman exam or check whether another route from the table fits. The master exam consists of modules you can take individually. The federal government covers the fees for the first and second attempt; you pay for courses at the WIFI (the chamber's training institute) or other providers yourself.
Start-up advice and numbers
The Gründerservice (start-up service) of the Wirtschaftskammer advises free of charge. Work out fixed costs, investments and a cautious turnover for the first twelve months there or with your tax adviser, including the quieter weeks in January and February.
Register the trade
Registration runs online through GISA (the trade information system) or at the Bezirkshauptmannschaft (district authority) or Magistrat (city council). With the registration you become a member of the Wirtschaftskammer; the responsible body is the Landesinnung der Maler und Tapezierer (regional guild of painters and paperhangers).
SVS, tax office, insurance
Social insurance under the GSVG starts with the trade licence. Report the opening of your business to the tax office and clarify VAT. Take out business liability insurance that covers damage to customers' property, such as paint splashes on parquet or a knocked-over bucket on the stairwell carpet.
Storage, vehicle, appearance
Secure storage space, letter your van, prepare business cards and a website with a legal notice. Register your business in Google Business Profile so you are found for "painter near me".
The small business rule (annual turnover up to €55,000, as of November 2026, see USP) sounds tempting for the start. With painting work, though, you reach this limit quickly once you have one or two employees, and you lose the input VAT deduction on materials, van and tools. Calculate both options with your tax adviser. The general steps for every craft are covered in the guide Starting a business in Austria.
Storage, paints and VOC: what matters day to day
A painting business needs less workshop than a joiner, but more storage than many think: emulsions, primers, varnishes, fillers, masking material, ladders, trestles and possibly a small mobile scaffold. A dry, frost-free room is a must, because frozen emulsion paint is waste. If you store solvent-based varnishes or thinners, check with your landlord and the authority whether fire safety requirements apply to the room.
- VOC limits: the Lösungsmittelverordnung 2005 implements EU law and limits the content of volatile organic compounds in paints and varnishes for buildings. Reputable manufacturers comply; check anyway with remaining stock and imported goods.
- Low emissions as a selling point: families with small children, medical practices and nurseries ask specifically. If you offer products with an eco-label and explain this in your quote, you stand out from the cheap competition.
- Waste: hardened leftovers of water-based paints are usually unproblematic. Solvent-based leftovers, dirty thinners and old varnishes go to an authorised waste disposal company. Keep the receipts.
- Employee protection: as soon as you have employees, you need a workplace risk assessment. For businesses with up to 50 employees, the AUVA (accident insurance institution) offers free advice from safety experts and occupational physicians through AUVAsicher.
Scaffolding and working at height
Facades, stairwells and high-ceilinged period rooms mean working at height. Above a certain fall height, the Bauarbeiterschutzverordnung (Construction Workers Protection Ordinance) requires protective measures such as railings, scaffolding or rope protection. For a facade, most young businesses hire the scaffolding including erection and dismantling from a scaffolding company. That costs margin, but saves storage, transport and liability risk. Price the scaffolding as a separate item in your quote and clarify who inspects it on handover and who checks it while it is standing.
Pricing: how to calculate a price per m²
Private customers like to compare prices per square metre. But you should derive your price per m² from your hourly rate, not from your competitors' quotes. A simplified example for a 75 m² period flat, walls and ceilings painted twice with emulsion. All figures are assumptions for illustration, not market prices:
| Item | Assumption | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Area | Walls and ceilings of a 75 m² flat | about 240 m² |
| Preparation | Covering, masking, small filling spots: 0.06 h per m² | about 14 h |
| Painting | Two coats: 0.08 h per m² | about 19 h |
| Total working time | incl. travel, clean-up, handover | about 38 h |
| Labour costs | Hourly rate €62 net | about €2,360 |
| Materials | Paint, primer, masking material: €1.60 per m² | about €385 |
| Total net | about €2,745, i.e. a little over €11 per m² |
The example shows why flat prices are dangerous: with badly damaged old walls, preparation can easily take twice as long as the painting itself. Record the condition of the surface during the site visit and put it in your quote. How window and door openings are treated in billing is set out in the contract standard ÖNORM B 2230-1. Whether it applies is up to your contract: refer to it expressly in your quote or agree your own billing rules.
How to get it right
- Photograph the surface during the site visit and describe it in the quote
- List scaffolding, masking and disposal as separate items
- Collect before-and-after photos for your references, with your customers' consent
- Advertise winter work such as interiors, stairwells and offices early
Better not
- Copying competitors' prices per square metre without checking them
- Disposing of solvent leftovers in household waste
- Working with a figurehead managing director who is never in the business
- Promising facades before the scaffolding is organised
Your painter website for the start
We build you a free draft in 3 days, with your services, reference photos and an enquiry form. Then you decide at your leisure.
A free draft of your future business website.
Your first customers: becoming visible locally
Painting work is almost always searched for locally. A complete Google Business Profile, a simple website with your services and real photos of your jobs bring more at the start than expensive ads. Pay attention to the mandatory details in your legal notice, such as trade authority and chamber membership: what exactly belongs in it is shown in the post Mandatory website details in Austria. How to collect reviews without breaching competition law is covered in Advertising and reviews in Austria.
Legal notice in two minutes
The legal notice generator asks for the details Austrian trade businesses need, including trade authority and chamber.
Sources
- RIS – Gewerbeordnung 1994, § 94 (regulated trades)
- RIS – access requirements for Maler und Anstreicher, Lackierer, Vergolder und Staffierer, Schilderherstellung
- RIS – Gewerbeordnung 1994, § 19 (individual proof of competence)
- RIS – Gewerbeordnung 1994, § 39 (qualified managing director)
- RIS – Konsumentenschutzgesetz, § 5 (cost estimate)
- RIS – Lösungsmittelverordnung 2005 (BGBl. II Nr. 398/2005)
- WKO – self-employed activities in the painters' trade group
- WKO – fees for master and qualifying exams
- USP – small businesses
- GISA – Gewerbeinformationssystem Austria
- AUVA – AUVAsicher
