You also require a permit if you act as a pawnbroker in such a way that you pawn items handed over to you in your own name at a public pawnshop or with pawnbrokers and pass on the loans received to the person who commissioned you (pawnbroking).

The license may be subject to conditions if this is necessary for the protection of the general public.

If you want to work as a pawnbroker, you must provide specific collateral and evidence.

• You must prove that you have the necessary funds or collateral for the first six months. This can be in the form of credit balances or a bank guarantee.
• You must also take out insurance against fire damage, water damage, burglary, and robbery and present this when you apply. A safe must be available for jewelry.
• You must secure your premises against burglary with an alarm system.
• In the case of car pawnbroking, the issue of possible environmental hazards posed by the parking areas for vehicles must be clarified.

Permission will be denied if:

• there are facts that justify the assumption that the applicant does not have the reliability required for the business operation. As a rule, this reliability is not possessed by anyone who, in the last five years prior to submitting the application, has been legally sentenced to imprisonment for a crime, theft, embezzlement, extortion, fraud, breach of trust, forgery, receiving stolen goods, usury, or for an offense against the law against unfair competition.
• The applicant does not provide evidence of the funds or corresponding securities required for the business operation.

You must apply for the permit before starting work. You are only authorized to carry out the trade once the permit has been granted.

• Identity card or comparable identification document (copy)
• Non-EU citizens: residence permit (copy)
• Proof of legal form of the company
  • Company headquarters in Germany:
    • For registered companies: Excerpt from the commercial register and, if applicable, a copy of the partnership agreement (e.g., for a civil law partnership (GbR))
  • Company headquarters abroad: Documents from this country proving the legal form.
• Proof of personal reliability
  • Residence in Germany:
    • Certificate of good conduct
    • Excerpt from the Central Trade Register for natural persons and, if applicable, legal entities
  • Residence abroad: Documents from your home country proving that you have the personal reliability to perform the desired service
  • The authority may request additional documents in individual cases that are suitable for assessing your personal reliability as an applicant.
• Proof of the funds and securities required for the business
  • Residence in Germany:
    • Excerpt 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
• Proof of insurance
• Floor plan of the premises intended for commercial use

• cash
• Bank transfer
• EC card

EC card payment preferred