Mickaël LOC/Publications/Business permit in Luxembourg
Guide · regulatory · Luxembourg

The Luxembourg business permit, explained by someone who holds nine.

Business permit, autorisation d'établissement, Niederlassungsgenehmigung: three names for the same document, the authorisation that the Ministry of the Economy grants before a commercial, craft or liberal activity may be carried out in Luxembourg. This guide covers what it is, who needs one, the four conditions, how to apply, and how to verify any permit in under a minute.

Mickaël LOC
Holder of business permit 10077275 (nine activities) · Managing Director, Financial Services Luxembourg
Direct answer
A business permit is the authorisation required under the amended law of 2 September 2011 to carry out a commercial, craft or industrial activity, or certain liberal professions, in Luxembourg. It is granted by the Ministry of the Economy to a named natural person who satisfies four conditions: professional integrity, professional qualification where required, a fixed place of business in Luxembourg, and real, effective and permanent management of the business. It is personal, revocable, and listed in a public register that anyone can search on Guichet.lu.
Key facts
Legal basis
Amended law of 2 September 2011 regulating access to the professions of craftsman, trader, industrialist and certain liberal professions
Issuing authority
Ministry of the Economy, Service des autorisations d'établissement, 19-21 boulevard Royal, Luxembourg
Who holds it
A named natural person; a company is authorised "if effectively managed by" that person
Conditions
Professional integrity, professional qualification (activity-dependent), fixed establishment in Luxembourg, real and permanent management
Excluded as establishment
A domiciliation within the meaning of the law of 31 May 1999
Verification
Public register on Guichet.lu; QR code on each certificate checked with the GouvCheck app
Example
Permit 10077275, nine activity lines issued between 25 March and 9 September 2025, held by the author
Last verified
8 October 2026

What the permit is, and what it is not

The permit is an administrative authorisation, not a licence to a profession's title and not a registration. It says that a named person is authorised to carry out a listed activity in Luxembourg because the Ministry has checked their integrity, their qualification where the activity requires one, and the reality of their establishment. It is attached to the person, which is why a company's certificate reads "authorised … if the company is effectively managed by" followed by a name. Change the manager and the permit has to follow.

It is not the RCS registration (Luxembourg Business Registers), which records the legal existence of the company. It is not a VAT number. It is not a professional title: an accountant's permit does not make its holder an expert-comptable, and a permit for commercial services does not make anyone a lawyer. Several professions, among them avocats, notaries, réviseurs d'entreprises and the financial-sector professionals supervised by the CSSF, are regulated by their own laws and sit outside the 2011 regime.

The four conditions, read from the law

01
Professional integrity

Honorabilité professionnelle of the manager, assessed on criminal record, past insolvencies and conduct. Lost integrity is the usual cause of refusal or withdrawal.

Person
02
Professional qualification

Required for craft activities and for several commercial and liberal activities, including accountant; evidenced by diplomas or recognised professional experience.

Activity-dependent
03
Fixed establishment

A place of business in Luxembourg with an installation suited to the activity, where documents are accessible. A mere domiciliation does not qualify.

Article 5
04
Real, effective, permanent management

The holder actually directs the business and is regularly present. A name on a form without decision power is precisely what the condition excludes.

Person + place

The third and fourth conditions are the ones that matter most in practice, and the ones the Ministry asks about in writing when a file is thin. The letter typically asks for evidence of a dedicated office used exclusively by the applicant, and reminds the applicant that a domiciliation contract is not an establishment. That is also why the shared workspace with auxiliary services on this site is sold as occupancy evidence, never as domiciliation.

Who needs one

  • Anyone carrying out a commercial activity on a regular basis in their own name: trade, services, intermediation, real estate agency, property management, development, transport, training bodies, workspace letting.
  • Anyone carrying out a craft activity on the list fixed by grand-ducal regulation, with the qualification the list requires.
  • The liberal professions covered by the 2011 law, among them accountant (comptable), economic adviser, architect and engineer under their own conditions, and others listed in the law.
  • A company through its manager: the company is the holder, the named manager is the person whose conditions were checked.

Foreign companies providing occasional cross-border services from another EU member state follow the notification regime for services rather than the full permit; a permanent establishment in Luxembourg brings the activity back under the permit.

How the application works

The application is filed with the Ministry of the Economy, in practice through MyGuichet.lu, with the identity and integrity documents of the manager, the proof of qualification where required, the evidence of the establishment, and the company documents where the applicant is a company. The Ministry examines the file, may ask for additional evidence, and decides within the period set by the law. The certificate is issued electronically, with a QR code; a single permit number can carry several activity lines, each with its own issue date.

Two practical points are often missed. First, the permit must be obtained before the activity starts, not regularised after a bank or a client asks for it. Second, every change that touches a condition, a new manager, a new establishment address, a change of activity, has to be notified, and the certificate reissued where needed. A permit that no longer matches reality is a permit that can be withdrawn.

How to verify any Luxembourg business permit

  1. Search the register. The official search tool on Guichet.lu is public and free. Search by the manager's name or by the permit number. The result shows the holder, the activity lines and their dates.
  2. Scan the certificate. Electronic certificates carry a QR code. The GouvCheck app, published by the Luxembourg State, reads it and confirms whether the document is authentic and still current.
  3. Match the activity to the service. A permit for "activités et services commerciaux" does not cover accounting; a permit for accounting does not confer the expert-comptable title. Read the activity line, not the word "authorised".
  4. Check the person, not only the company. The permit is personal. If the manager named on the certificate is not the person you deal with, ask why.

Applied to this site: search "loc mickael" in the register, then scan any certificate on the authorisations page.

Worked example: permit 10077275

Permit 10077275 carries nine activity lines, each issued separately after its own examination: accountant (25 March 2025), real estate agent, real estate business introducer and auxiliary commercial services (same date), shared workspace with auxiliary services and national road freight under 3.5 tonnes (16 April 2025), property manager and co-ownership syndic and real estate developer (22 May 2025), and manager of a continuing professional training body (9 September 2025). Each line is delivered as a defined service: see the services hub. The point of publishing them is not decoration. It is that a credential you have to take on trust is not a credential.

The sentence to remember

A business permit authorises an activity, for a named person, at a real place, under real management. Everything else, titles, registrations, VAT numbers, is a different document answering a different question.

Evidence and verification

Claim
Evidence
Source
Legal basis of the permit
verifiableAmended law of 2 September 2011; article 5 on the fixed establishment
Legilux; wording quoted on the Ministry's own letters
Domiciliation is not an establishment
verifiableExpress exclusion in article 5 of the 2011 law, referring to the law of 31 May 1999
Legilux
Public register and GouvCheck
verifiableSearch tool on Guichet.lu; QR code on electronic certificates
Guichet.lu; certificate wording
Permit 10077275, nine activity lines
verifiableLines and dates as listed in the register
Guichet.lu; certificates on this site
Protected titles outside the permit
verifiableExpert-comptable (law of 10 June 1999); réviseur d'entreprises agréé (law of 23 July 2016)
Legilux

This page follows the site's editorial policy: a statement is either sourced or flagged. Corrections follow the corrections policy. The content is general information, not legal advice; the law and its regulations prevail.

Frequently asked questions

What is a business permit in Luxembourg?
The business permit, in French autorisation d'établissement and in German Niederlassungsgenehmigung, is the administrative authorisation required under the amended law of 2 September 2011 before carrying out a commercial, craft or industrial activity, or one of the liberal professions listed by that law, in Luxembourg. It is issued by the Ministry of the Economy and recorded in a public register.
Who needs a business permit?
Any natural person or company that carries out, in its own name and on a regular basis, a commercial, craft or industrial activity, or one of the liberal professions covered by the 2011 law, in Luxembourg. A company obtains its permit through a named manager who meets the conditions and directs the business. Activities regulated by other laws, for example lawyers, notaries, réviseurs d'entreprises or financial-sector professionals supervised by the CSSF, follow their own regime.
What are the conditions?
Four: professional integrity (honorabilité) of the manager, professional qualification where the activity requires one, a fixed place of business in Luxembourg with an installation suited to the activity, and real, effective and permanent management of the business by the permit holder. A domiciliation within the meaning of the law of 31 May 1999 does not count as an establishment.
How do you verify a Luxembourg business permit?
Use the official search tool on Guichet.lu, by name of the manager or by permit number: the register is public and free. Certificates issued since the introduction of electronic signatures carry a QR code that the GouvCheck app checks for authenticity and currency. Both checks take under a minute.
Does one permit cover several activities?
A permit number can carry several activity lines, each with its own issue date, as long as the manager meets the conditions for each. Permit 10077275, for example, carries nine lines issued between March and September 2025.
Is a business permit the same as a professional title?
No. The permit authorises an activity. Protected titles such as expert-comptable (law of 10 June 1999) or réviseur d'entreprises agréé (law of 23 July 2016) are granted under separate laws and are not conferred by a business permit for accounting. This site never claims a title it does not hold.
Can a business permit be withdrawn?
Yes. The permit is personal and revocable. It can be withdrawn if a condition is no longer met, for example a loss of professional integrity or the absence of real management, and it lapses if the activity is not started or is interrupted for the period set by the law. A permit found in the register today should still be checked for currency.

Read next

ServicesTwelve services under permit 10077275Each attached to its activity line, with the certificate.→ReferenceThe nine activities, official wordingVerbatim register entries and GouvCheck certificates.→ServiceCompany formation in LuxembourgWhere the permit application sits in the formation critical path.→ServiceDirectorship with real managementWhat “real, effective and permanent” means for a mandate.→

Need a permit, or need to check one?

Describe the activity and the person who will direct it. I will say which conditions apply and what the file must contain, under NDA.

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