Austria

At a glanceRequirements at a glance

Goods Transport Concession Required

Yes

Yes, for the company operating the vehicles. Under the GütbefG, the commercial carriage of goods by motor vehicle may only be carried out under a concession (Konzession). A concession for domestic carriage is granted by the district administrative authority (Bezirksverwaltungsbehörde) for the intended business location. A cross-border concession, which also covers domestic work, is granted by the provincial governor (Landeshauptmann); see the International: Austria page. Each concession is issued for a fixed number of vehicles, and adding vehicles needs the authority’s approval.

Good Repute, Financial Standing, and Professional Competence

Yes, for a concession holder. Following Article 3 of EU Regulation 1071/2009, a concession is granted only if the applicant is of good repute (Zuverlässigkeit), has adequate financial standing (finanzielle Leistungsfähigkeit), is professionally competent (fachliche Eignung), and has a genuine and permanent establishment in Austria. Good repute is lost through, for example, certain unexpunged criminal convictions or final penalties for serious breaches of pay, working-condition, or transport rules such as driving and rest times. Financial standing means having the funds to run the business properly with no significant tax or social insurance arrears; the EU minimum is capital and reserves of EUR 9,000 for the first vehicle and EUR 5,000 for each additional vehicle. Professional competence is shown by passing an examination before a commission appointed by the provincial governor. The company must also name a transport manager (Verkehrsleiter) who effectively manages its transport activities, and must have off-street parking for its vehicles in or near the business location. The conditions must be met for as long as the business operates and must be re-proven to the authority every ten years.

Ownership and Nationality Conditions

No minimum Austrian ownership share. A company or partnership must have its seat, or a business establishment that is not merely temporary, in Austria. An individual sole trader must also be a national of a European Economic Area (EEA) country or a third-country national with long-term resident status under EU law. Until 30 June 2026 the law also required a company’s managing directors to be EEA nationals; Austria’s Constitutional Court struck that requirement down with effect from 1 July 2026.

Vehicle Requirements

Yes, where the mover operates its own vehicles. A vehicle used for commercial goods transport must have its registration document marked as intended for commercial carriage. Each vehicle must carry, for the whole journey, a certified copy of the concession certificate or a certified extract from the trade register, and the driver must show it to inspectors on request. A rented vehicle must also carry the rental contract and, if the driver is not the person who rented it, proof of the driver’s employment.

Driver Requirements

Yes, where the mover operates its own vehicles. Drivers of goods vehicles need the driving licence category that matches the vehicle (C1 or C for trucks). Professional truck drivers also need the EU driver qualification (initial qualification plus 35 hours of periodic training every five years), recorded as code “95” on the driving licence or driver card.

Compulsory Motor Insurance Required

Yes, where the mover operates its own vehicles. Every registered vehicle must carry statutory motor vehicle liability insurance (Kfz-Haftpflichtversicherung), which covers injury and property damage caused to third parties. Available government sources do not indicate that it covers the goods being carried, and no statutory requirement for removal firms to insure customers’ goods was identified, so customers should ask what protection, if any, is offered.

Carrier Liability Rules

Set by the general freight provisions of the UGB. Research for this page found no removal-specific contract rules in Austrian law comparable to those in Germany’s Commercial Code. The carrier is liable for loss of, damage to, or late delivery of the goods between taking them over and delivering them, unless the cause could not have been avoided with the care of a diligent carrier. For valuables, works of art, cash, and securities, the carrier is liable only if their nature or value was declared when the goods were handed over. Compensation is normally based on the value of the goods, but full damages can be claimed where the carrier acted intentionally or with gross negligence. Austria applies the Convention on the Contract for the International Carriage of Goods by Road (CMR), an international treaty on road freight liability, to most domestic road freight as well, but the law expressly excludes removal goods from that rule. In a contract with a consumer, a term that excludes or limits liability for personal injury, or for other damage caused intentionally or through gross negligence, is not binding on the consumer.

Consumer Protection

Yes. The KSchG is Austria’s general consumer protection law. Among other things, it makes unclear or incomprehensible standard terms invalid and restricts clauses that let a business raise the agreed price. Contracts concluded online, by phone, or at the customer’s home (for example after a home survey) are also covered by the FAGG, which in most cases gives the consumer 14 days to withdraw from a service contract. Austria has no single consumer regulator: the Federal Ministry responsible for consumer protection (Sozialministerium) coordinates consumer policy, and consumer law is mainly enforced through the courts.

Consumer Complaint Resources (For Movers Not Vetted as ITMs)

Yes. Consumers can bring a dispute with an Austrian business to a state-recognised out-of-court dispute resolution body under the Alternative-Streitbeilegung-Gesetz (AStG, the Alternative Dispute Resolution Act). For removal disputes this is normally the Schlichtung für Verbrauchergeschäfte (verbraucherschlichtung.at), the general body for consumer disputes not assigned to a sector body. For contracts concluded online, the Internet Ombudsstelle (ombudsstelle.at) is also available. The procedures are generally free of charge and aim for an agreed settlement, but participation is generally voluntary for businesses and the outcome is not binding. For disputes with a business in another EU country, the European Consumer Centre Austria (Europäisches Verbraucherzentrum, europakonsument.at), run by the Verein für Konsumenteninformation (VKI), offers free help. Consumers can also go to the ordinary courts.

Industry Association

No dedicated national removals association was identified. Every business holding an Austrian trade licence is by law a member of the Austrian Economic Chambers (Wirtschaftskammer Österreich, WKO), and goods transport businesses are represented there by the trade group for goods transport (Fachverband Güterbeförderung). This membership is compulsory and says nothing about the quality of an individual mover.

OverviewOverview & Scope

Austria licenses road haulage at the company level, applying the EU framework for access to the road transport profession through its own Goods Transport Act. A mover that carries customers’ household goods in its own vehicles needs a goods transport concession, issued for a set number of vehicles, and a certified copy for each vehicle. The concession attaches to whichever company operates the vehicles. Where a mover subcontracts the trucking, the carrier’s own concession covers the transport it performs, and the mover should use carriers that hold the licences that transport requires. To get a concession, the company must show good repute, financial standing, professional competence through a named transport manager, a genuine establishment in Austria, and off-street parking for its fleet. Since 1 July 2026 there is no nationality condition on a company’s managers. Liability for the goods follows the general freight rules of the Commercial Code rather than the CMR convention, which Austria applies to other domestic road freight but not to removal goods. Consumer contracts are also subject to the Consumer Protection Act and, for contracts made at home or at a distance, the Distance and Off-Premises Contracts Act.

RegistrationRegistration & Compliance Essentials

Company licensing

1. Register the business (for a company, in the companies register, the Firmenbuch) and hold the trade authorisation under the Gewerbeordnung for the services it offers (for example goods transport, or freight forwarding where the company arranges but does not perform the carriage).

Company licensing (where the mover operates its own vehicles)

2. Obtain a goods transport concession from the district administrative authority if the company operates its own vehicles to carry customers’ goods, or a cross-border concession from the provincial governor if it also works internationally.
3. Meet and maintain the concession conditions: good repute, financial standing, professional competence, a genuine establishment in Austria, and off-street parking for the fleet, and re-prove them to the authority every ten years.
4. Appoint a transport manager (Verkehrsleiter) who is of good repute, professionally competent, and effectively manages the transport activities.
5. Keep the concession scope in line with the fleet, applying for approval before adding vehicles and returning surplus certified copies if the scope is reduced.

Vehicles and drivers (where the mover operates its own vehicles)

6. Register each vehicle for commercial carriage, keep motor liability insurance in force, and carry the certified concession copy (and any rental documents) in every vehicle.
7. Ensure every driver holds the correct licence category and a valid driver qualification (code 95), and comply with EU driving and rest time rules.

Subcontracted transport

8. Where transport is subcontracted, use carriers that hold the licences required for the transport they perform.

Customer practices

9. Make sure consumer contracts meet KSchG rules, including not relying on terms that exclude or limit liability for personal injury or for intentional or grossly negligent damage, which are not binding on the consumer.
10. For quotes or contracts made online, by phone, or at the customer’s home, give the required pre-contract information and respect the consumer’s withdrawal right under the FAGG.

ChecklistCompliance checklist

Company licensing

• Business registered (Firmenbuch, for a company) and trade authorisation under the Gewerbeordnung held for the services offered (for example goods transport, or freight forwarding where the company arranges carriage it does not perform)Verified by DocumentRequired
• Goods transport concession held (domestic from the district authority, or cross-border from the provincial governor), covering the number of vehicles in useWhere applicable (mover operates its own vehicles)Verified by DocumentRequired
• Transport manager (Verkehrsleiter) appointed who effectively manages the transport activitiesWhere applicable (mover operates its own vehicles)Verified by DocumentRequired
• Good repute, financial standing and professional competence maintained, and re-proven to the authority every ten yearsWhere applicable (mover operates its own vehicles)Verified by AffirmationRequired
• Seat or permanent establishment in Austria, and off-street parking for the fleetWhere applicable (mover operates its own vehicles)Verified by AffirmationRequired

Subcontracted transport

• Where transport is subcontracted, the mover uses carriers that hold the licences required for the transport they performWhere applicableVerified by AffirmationRequired

Vehicles and drivers (where the mover operates its own vehicles)

• Every vehicle registered for commercial carriage and carrying a certified concession copy (plus rental contract and, where needed, proof of employment for rented vehicles)Where applicable (mover operates its own vehicles)Verified by DocumentRequired
• Statutory motor vehicle liability insurance (Kfz-Haftpflichtversicherung) in force for every vehicleWhere applicable (mover operates its own vehicles)Verified by DocumentRequired
• Every driver holds the correct licence category (C1 or C) and the driver qualification (code 95)Where applicable (mover operates its own vehicles)Verified by DocumentRequired
• EU driving and rest time rules complied withWhere applicable (mover operates its own vehicles)Verified by AffirmationRequired

Customer practices

• Consumer contracts and practices comply with the KSchG (no unclear standard terms, restricted price-increase clauses, no reliance on terms excluding or limiting liability for personal injury or for intentional or grossly negligent damage)Verified by AffirmationRequired
• Pre-contract information given and the 14-day withdrawal right respected under the FAGGWhere applicable (contracts concluded online, by phone, or at the customer's home)Verified by AffirmationRequired