Pawnbroking business - Apply for a permit
If you want to work as a pawnbroker or pawnbroker on a commercial basis, you need a license.
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Basic information
Pawnbrokers grant a loan of money against the deposit of a pledge to secure the loan plus interest and the costs of doing business.
Pawnbrokers broker pawn transactions by granting an advance on pawns handed over to them and pledging the pawns in their name with a pawnbroker.
Anyone wishing to operate the business of a pawnbroker or pawnbroker requires permission from the competent authority. The permit may be subject to conditions if this is necessary to protect the general public or the pledgers.
In the case of partnerships (e.g. OHG, KG), each managing partner is a trader. In the case of legal entities (e.g. GmbH, AG), the license is granted to the legal entity.
Requirements
If you want to work as a pawnbroker, you must provide special securities and evidence.
- You must provide evidence of the necessary funds or collateral for the first 6 months. This can be a credit balance or a bank guarantee.
- You must also take out insurance against fire damage, water damage, burglary and robbery and present it when you submit your application. A safe must be available for jewelry.
- You must secure your premises against burglary with an alarm system.
- In the case of car pawn loans, the question of possible environmental hazards caused by the parking areas of the vehicles must be clarified.
Permission will be refused if:
- Facts justify the assumption that the applicant does not possess the reliability required for the commercial operation. As a rule, anyone who has been convicted of a felony, theft, embezzlement, extortion, fraud, breach of trust, forgery of documents, receiving stolen goods, usury or an offense against the Unfair Competition Act in the five years prior to submitting the application does not have this reliability.
- The applicant does not provide evidence of the funds required for the business or corresponding securities.
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Procedure
- You must apply to the competent authority for a permit to operate a business as a pawnbroker or pawnbroker.
- After the examination, you will either receive the permit or a rejection notice.
- A permit may be subject to certain conditions.
- If you have any questions, please contact the competent authority.
More information
Pawnbrokers must notify the competent authority which rooms they use for their business operations at the start of their business operations. Furthermore, they must immediately report any change of premises used for the business.
Pawnbrokers are obliged to keep records.
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Necessary Documents
- Non-EU citizens: residence permit (copy)
- Identity card or passport (copy)
- Proof of the legal form of the company:
- Company headquarters in Germany:
- For registered companies: Extract from the commercial register and, if applicable, a copy of the articles of association (e.g. for a civil law partnership (GbR))
- Registered office abroad:
- Documents from this country proving the legal form.
- Company headquarters in Germany:
- Proof of personal reliability:
- Resident in Germany:
- Certificate of good conduct
- Extract from the central trade register for natural persons and, if applicable, legal entities
- Residence abroad:
- Documents from your home country that prove that you have the personal reliability to perform the desired service.
- In individual cases, the authority may request further documents that are suitable for making a statement about your personal reliability as an applicant.
- Resident in Germany:
- Proof of the funds and securities required for operation:
- Resident in Germany:
- Extract from the debtor register
- Information from the insolvency register
- Residence abroad:
- Documents from your home country as proof that you have the necessary funds and collateral
- Resident in Germany:
- Proof of insurance
- Floor plan of the rooms intended for commercial use
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Competent Department
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5.02 Gewerbeangelegenheiten - Die Senatorin für Wirtschaft, Häfen und Transformation
- +49 421 361-0
- Katharinenklosterhof 3, 28195 Bremen
- gewerbe
@wht. bremen. de
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Fees / Costs
Please contact the responsible office.
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Deadlines & processing time
What deadlines must be paid attention to?
You must apply for the permit before starting your business. You are only entitled to exercise the trade after the permit has been issued
How long does it take to process
Please contact the responsible office.
This page has been automatically translated by DeepL. We cannot guarantee that the translation is correct.
The official information in German is complete and correct. 12.05.2026