Key points at a glance
- Maler und Lackierer (painter and varnisher) is listed in Annex A of the Handwerksordnung (no. 10). Before the first job, your business must be entered in the Handwerksrolle (register of crafts).
- Without your own Meisterbrief, you can use the Altgesellenregelung (§ 7b HwO: six years of experience, four of them in a senior position), an Ausnahmebewilligung (exceptional permit, § 8 HwO) or an employed technical manager with a master title.
- The BG BAU is your statutory accident insurer. Register your business within one week of opening.
- With skilled employees, you register with the Malerkasse (painters' social fund). Journeymen get at least the sector minimum wage of €16.13 per hour (since 1 July 2026).
- Your hourly charge-out rate has to cover wages, non-wage costs, overheads and profit. For a small business you quickly land at €55 to €70 net.
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.
The master requirement: the short answer
Painting and varnishing is a licensed craft (zulassungspflichtiges Handwerk). Under § 1 HwO, you may only run it independently if your business is entered in the Handwerksrolle. You get entered if you passed the master craftsman exam in painting and varnishing or a related craft, or meet one of the legal alternatives. The entry is not a mere formality: if you offer essential painting work without it, you risk a fine for unauthorised practice of a craft, and your clients have a warranty problem.
| Route | Requirement | Practical note |
|---|---|---|
| Master craftsman exam (§ 7 (1a) HwO) | Passed master exam as Maler und Lackierer | Full-time course about six months, longer part-time; funding through Aufstiegs-BAföG (career advancement grant) |
| Equivalent qualifications (§ 7 (2) HwO) | E.g. state-certified technician or engineering degree with a matching focus | The Handwerkskammer checks equivalence case by case |
| Altgesellenregelung (§ 7b HwO) | Journeyman's exam plus six years of work, four of them in a senior position | Senior means making decisions on your own responsibility, e.g. as a foreman; proof via employer references |
| Ausnahmebewilligung (§ 8 HwO) | Proven knowledge and an exceptional case, e.g. because the master exam would be unreasonable | Can be time-limited or restricted to certain activities |
| Employed technical manager (§ 7 (1) HwO) | A person with a master title or equivalent qualification runs the business technically | Costs a master's salary; the technical manager must actually work in the business |
Registrations in the right order
Handwerkskammer
Apply for the entry in the Handwerksrolle with your Meisterbrief or Ausübungsberechtigung. Many chambers offer free start-up advice, which you should use beforehand. You receive the Handwerkskarte (craft card).
Gewerbeamt
With the Handwerkskarte you register the trade with your municipality. The Gewerbeamt (trade office) informs the tax office, the Berufsgenossenschaft and other bodies, but don't rely on it.
Tax office
You submit the questionnaire for tax registration via ELSTER. There you also decide on the small business rule (§ 19 UStG: previous year's turnover up to €25,000, current year up to €100,000). For a painting business that buys materials, it rarely pays off.
BG BAU
The Berufsgenossenschaft der Bauwirtschaft is the statutory accident insurer for painting businesses. Under § 192 SGB VII you must report the opening within one week. As the owner you can insure yourself voluntarily, which makes sense when working on ladders and scaffolding.
First employees
Apply for a Betriebsnummer (company number) from the Federal Employment Agency, register employees with the health insurer and register the business with the Malerkasse.
Employees: minimum wage and Malerkasse
The painting and varnishing trade has a generally binding sector minimum wage for journeymen. Under the collective agreement of 28 April 2025, which a regulation made binding for all businesses, it has been €16.13 per hour since 1 July 2026. For unskilled workers, the statutory minimum wage of €13.90 applies (since 1 January 2026). Anyone who carries out relevant painting work counts as a journeyman here, not just people with a journeyman's certificate.
The Malerkasse in Wiesbaden consists of the holiday fund and the supplementary pension fund of the painting and varnishing trade. It organises holiday entitlements, holiday pay and the collectively agreed supplementary pension for skilled workers. Register your business as soon as you employ skilled workers; for this you need your trade registration and Handwerkskarte. The Malerkasse publishes its contribution rates itself. Factor them into your non-wage costs before you hire the first journeyman. By the way, SOKA-BAU, which covers the main construction trades, is not responsible for painting businesses.
Before your first journeywoman starts
- Betriebsnummer from the Federal Employment Agency
- Registration with the Malerkasse
- Wage of at least €16.13 per hour for journeymen
- Risk assessment, e.g. for ladders, scaffolding and solvents
- Organise occupational health and safety support; the BG BAU offers a model for small businesses
Pricing: your hourly charge-out rate
Many founders set their hourly rate too low because they only think of their own wage. A calculation with assumptions for a business with an owner and one journeyman:
| Component | Assumption | Per productive hour |
|---|---|---|
| Wage | €18.00 per hour, slightly above the minimum wage | €18.00 |
| Non-wage costs | Social insurance, Malerkasse, BG, holidays, sickness, public holidays: about 90 % | €16.20 |
| Overheads | Van, storage, insurance, office, website, owner's time for quotes | €14.00 |
| Risk and profit | about 12 % | €5.80 |
| Hourly charge-out rate | about €54 |
Your own hour as a master is higher, because quotes, measuring and invoicing are not paid. Also check your productive hours: of around 1,700 paid hours a year, often only 1,300 to 1,400 billable hours remain after travel, purchasing and bad weather. The billing rules for painting and varnishing work, for example for openings and reveals, are in the VOB/C (DIN 18363). With private customers they only apply if you agree them effectively.
Job site, materials and construction services
- VOC in paints: the Chemikalienrechtliche VOC-Farben-Verordnung (ChemVOCFarbV, VOC Paints Ordinance) limits the solvent content in paints and varnishes for buildings. What matters most for you: check remaining stock and imported goods and keep safety data sheets to hand.
- Scaffolding: in Germany, scaffolding is itself a master craft (Annex A no. 11). For facades, most painting businesses hire the scaffolding including assembly. Allow generously for the hire period.
- Work for construction companies: if you paint as a subcontractor for a developer, the client usually owes the VAT (reverse charge, § 13b UStG). Your invoice then shows no VAT. Many general contractors also ask for a Freistellungsbescheinigung (exemption certificate) under § 48b EStG; otherwise they withhold 15 % construction withholding tax.
- Cost estimate: a cost estimate is not to be paid for if in doubt (§ 632 (3) BGB). If it is substantially exceeded, the customer can terminate (§ 649 BGB). So report extra work early and in writing.
How to get it right
- Talk to the Handwerkskammer before registering the trade
- Set non-wage costs honestly, including the Malerkasse
- Apply for the exemption certificate at the tax office before you work for construction companies
- Use reference photos with your customers' written consent
Better not
- Advertising "all kinds of painting work" while your entry is missing
- Using your hourly rate from your journeyman days as your owner's wage
- Carrying out verbal change orders without any record
- Advertising with the title "Malermeister" without having passed the master exam
Free draft for your painter website
Within 3 days we create a draft with your services, your service area and space for references. Free and without obligation.
A free draft of your future business website.
Your website is subject to the legal notice requirement under § 5 DDG and, if you are registered, to stating the Handwerkskammer and professional title. The details are in the post Mandatory website details in Germany, the general start-up steps in Starting a business in Germany. What you may advertise with master title, prices and reviews is explained in Advertising for trades in Germany.
Sources
- Handwerksordnung, Annex A
- Handwerksordnung, § 1
- Handwerksordnung, § 7
- Handwerksordnung, § 7b (Ausübungsberechtigung)
- Handwerksordnung, § 8 (Ausnahmebewilligung)
- TV Mindestlohn Maler- und Lackiererhandwerk, § 2
- Malerkasse – registering a business
- SGB VII, § 192 (employers' duties to notify)
- BG BAU
- UStG, § 19 (small businesses)
- UStG, § 13b (reverse charge)
- EStG, § 48b (exemption certificate)
- BGB, § 632 and § 649
- ChemVOCFarbV
- Aufstiegs-BAföG
