# Business address and virtual office for freelancers in Germany – Olea > A freelancer can use an Olea address as a professional Geschäftsanschrift for Finanzamt registration and correspondence and as the serviceable address in an Impressum. Every available location includes a digital mailbox, with workspace available to book. The Finanzamt decides whether an activity qualifies as freelance under § 18 EStG and which tax office or operating-location rules apply. ## Your business address as a freelancer in Germany Choose a serviceable German business address for Finanzamt correspondence and your Impressum. Manage mail online and book workspace when needed. - Legal business address - No setup fee or deposit - 100% online setup Prices start from €69/month (cheapest bookable location). Live per-location prices: [pricing.md](https://oleaoffice.com/pricing.md). ## Can I use an Olea address as a freelancer in Germany? Yes – you can use an Olea location as your professional Geschäftsanschrift for tax registration and correspondence if your activity qualifies as a freelance profession under § 18 EStG. Choose a real German office address and complete Olea’s onboarding and verification review. Once approved, you receive the supporting use-of-address document, and you can enter the address in the Fragebogen zur steuerlichen Erfassung, publish it in your Impressum and receive professional mail there. - **A genuine German street address** – A real address at an available staffed partner office – not a post-office box. - **Evidence that you can use it** – A Nutzungsüberlassungserklärung supporting your right to use the address, after the applicable onboarding approval. - **Reliable receipt of professional mail** – Eligible letters are accepted for the names recorded on your account and handled through your selected mail option after activation. The Finanzamt decides whether your activity qualifies as freelance and which tax office is competent. Olea provides the address and the supporting evidence; classification, professional-chamber requirements and any Betriebsstätte or place of management follow from your activity and your real operating setup. Legal basis: § 18 EStG · § 5 DDG · §§ 10 and 12 AO ## What you can use this address for ### Can I publish the address in my Impressum instead of my home address? Yes. A commercial professional website generally needs a serviceable address under § 5 DDG, and you can publish your Olea address as that address – so formal correspondence still reaches you and your home address stays off the public page. You remain responsible for the rest of the notice, including your professional title, chamber, supervisory authority and professional rules where those apply to you. **Who this is for** - Freelancers running a professional website, shop or portfolio - Freelancers who do not want a home address on the internet - Regulated professionals who must name a chamber and professional rules **What Olea provides** - A real serviceable street address - Reliable receipt of official and legal correspondence - Digital, forwarding or pickup mail handling according to the location *The address is one part of a compliant Impressum. You remain responsible for including the other information required for your business and legal form.* ### Can I use the address for the Fragebogen zur steuerlichen Erfassung? Yes. Freelancers register for tax by submitting the Fragebogen zur steuerlichen Erfassung through ELSTER, and you can give your Olea address there as your professional Geschäftsanschrift and for ongoing Finanzamt correspondence. State your residential details and where the work is actually carried on separately wherever the form asks for them. The address does not by itself create a Betriebsstätte or Ort der Geschäftsleitung, and it does not decide which tax office is competent. **Who this is for** - Freelancers registering with the Finanzamt for the first time - Freelancers changing their professional correspondence address - Freelancers working from home or from their clients’ premises **What Olea provides** - A correspondence address for tax filings and notices - A Nutzungsüberlassungserklärung after the applicable approval - Receipt of tax letters through your selected mail-handling option *Your Finanzamt determines your Betriebsstätte and place of management from the facts of your business. Ask a tax adviser if your operating or management location is unclear.* ### Where does my professional post go? To the Olea office you chose. Once Olea approves your account, records the names permitted to receive mail and confirms activation, eligible letters addressed to you are received there and handled through your selected option – a digital mailbox at every location, with pickup or recurring forwarding where the location offers it. **Who this is for** - Freelancers separating professional post from personal post - Freelancers working from home, from clients’ offices or while travelling - Freelancers trading under a permitted professional designation **What Olea provides** - Receipt of eligible letters for the names recorded on your account - A digital mailbox with 5 scans per month - Pickup or forwarding options shown for each location before purchase *Scanning is typically completed within 5–7 days of receipt. Use pickup or forwarding for originals or time-sensitive correspondence.* ### Can I use the address to open a business account? Yes. Banks, payment providers and marketplaces check the business address you give during onboarding, and you can give your Olea address for that purpose. Olea provides a real German street address, evidence of your right to use it, and receipt of posted verification letters. Each provider applies its own identity, activity and eligibility rules, so approval remains their decision. **Who this is for** - Freelancers opening their first business or freelance account - Freelancers onboarding with payment providers and marketplaces - Freelancers applying for a D-U-N-S number or a developer account **What Olea provides** - A real, verifiable German street address - A Nutzungsüberlassungserklärung after the applicable approval - Receipt and handling of posted verification letters *Banks, payment providers and marketplaces set their own policies. Olea can support address verification, but cannot guarantee that a particular provider will approve an account.* ## Working as a freelancer with a virtual office Understand who qualifies as a Freiberufler, how the address fits into Finanzamt registration and what stays dependent on your profession and the way you actually work. ### What is a Freiberufler in Germany? A Freiberufler is an individual carrying on a freelance profession for their own account. § 18 EStG covers the named catalogue professions and other activities that are sufficiently similar, or that are independently scientific, artistic, literary, teaching or educational. Doctors, lawyers, tax advisers, architects, engineers, journalists, translators, artists and teachers are common examples, but a job title on its own does not decide the classification. A genuine Freiberufler normally does not file a Gewerbeanmeldung for that activity. The individual registers for tax through the Fragebogen zur steuerlichen Erfassung instead, and the Finanzamt has the final say wherever the classification is unclear. Software development, consulting, design, coaching and other modern services are not automatically freelance – the exact work and the qualifications behind it are what matter. ### How do freelancers register? The freelancer normally submits the Fragebogen zur steuerlichen Erfassung electronically through ELSTER, describing the activity, the expected income, the tax position and the relevant addresses. The Finanzamt can ask for qualifications, contracts, work samples, professional admission or other evidence before it accepts the classification and issues a Steuernummer. An Olea address can be entered there as the professional Geschäftsanschrift for registration and correspondence. State your residential details and where the professional activity is actually carried on separately and accurately wherever the form or the Finanzamt asks for them. Olea does not classify the activity and does not determine which tax office is competent. ### What Olea provides - A selectable address at an available German partner office - A real street address rather than a post-office box - The approved use-of-address document after the applicable onboarding milestone - Address and mail-receipt arrangements for the personal and professional names recorded on your account - Digital Mailbox at every available location after activation - Mail Pickup or recurring Mail Forwarding where the location supports the option - Access for active customers to request separately booked and paid workspace at participating locations ### What you provide and do - Accurate identity, residence, activity and professional-name information - Qualifications, chamber admission, licences or professional approvals where they are relevant - An accurate description of where and how the work is actually carried on - The Fragebogen zur steuerlichen Erfassung and any later updates to the Finanzamt - A complete Impressum, and updates to invoices, contracts, banks and platforms - A Gewerbeanmeldung if the Finanzamt or the actual activity puts the work on the commercial route ### Finanzamt and tax boundaries The Geschäftsanschrift is the address used for professional registration and correspondence. It is not automatically your Betriebsstätte, your Ort der Geschäftsleitung or your tax residence. Those follow from the real working arrangements – the premises available to you, the activity carried on there and where you actually manage the work. The competent Finanzamt can depend on your residence, your professional premises and other facts. Buying an Olea address does not guarantee that correspondence or tax competence moves to the tax office for the city you chose. Take tax advice where that distinction matters to you. ### Impressum and public privacy A commercial professional website generally needs a serviceable address under § 5 DDG. Publishing the Olea address can keep your home address off the public Impressum while formal correspondence still reaches you. You remain responsible for everything else the notice requires, including your professional title, supervisory authority, chamber, register and professional rules where they apply. The address can also separate your home address from invoices, contracts, proposals and everyday correspondence. It cannot guarantee that a residential address never appears in private authority, bank or provider records. ### Regulated professions and practice-seat requirements Some professions have rules that go well beyond receiving mail. Lawyers, tax advisers, doctors, psychotherapists, architects and other regulated professionals may need chamber admission, a permanent practice or professional establishment, confidential handling of client or patient material, secure records, local availability or premises meeting sector-specific requirements. A standard Olea Virtual Office does not on its own satisfy a Kanzlei, berufliche Niederlassung, medical practice or any other regulated practice-seat duty. Where you need dedicated premises or special operating arrangements, Olea may be able to explore separately paid workspace with a partner, but suitability remains a matter for the relevant law, your chamber and your actual setup. ### Names, designations and registers An individual freelancer commonly trades under their personal name and may use a professional designation where that is permitted. Regulated titles must be used accurately. A personal business designation does not create a separate legal person, and Olea accepts mail only for the names approved and recorded on your account. An individual Freiberufler is not entered in the Handelsregister. Some professional partnerships use the Partnerschaftsregister, and incorporated professional practices follow the company and register routes. Those are adjacent structures rather than outcomes created by buying an address. ### Banks, platforms and professional directories The address can support bank, payment-provider, marketplace, D-U-N-S, app-store and directory onboarding, and Olea can receive eligible posted verification letters. Each provider applies its own identity, activity, location and eligibility rules, and Olea cannot guarantee approval. Google Business Profile rules can require genuine customer-facing activity and may restrict virtual offices. Do not expect Google verification from the address, a nameplate, signage or occasional workspace access. ### After registration Once Olea confirms activation and your tax registration is complete, you can use the approved address for your professional Impressum, Finanzamt correspondence, invoices, contracts and eligible business mail. Keep the names approved by Olea and your tax, professional and commercial records aligned whenever the activity, the professional designation or the address changes. ## FAQ ### Can I use an Olea address to register as a freelancer with the Finanzamt? Yes. You can enter the Olea address in the Fragebogen zur steuerlichen Erfassung as your professional Geschäftsanschrift and receive Finanzamt post there. The Finanzamt decides whether your activity qualifies under § 18 EStG, which office is competent and whether it needs further evidence from you. ### Do freelancers need a Gewerbeanmeldung? Normally not. A genuine Freiberufler notifies the Finanzamt directly rather than registering a trade for the freelance activity. If the activity is commercial rather than freelance, the Gewerbeanmeldung route applies to it instead. The Finanzamt decides where the classification is unclear. ### How does the Finanzamt decide whether I am a Freiberufler? It looks at the actual activity, your qualifications and how independently the professional work is performed. A label such as consultant, developer, designer or coach is not conclusive on its own. Where the boundary with a Gewerbe is unclear the Finanzamt makes the classification, and tax advice is worth taking before you file. ### What supporting address document does Olea provide? Olea provides a Nutzungsüberlassungserklärung, or equivalent use-of-address evidence, for the selected location after the applicable onboarding approval. It supports your right to use the address. The Finanzamt or a professional body decides what evidence it requires and may ask for more. ### Will the address keep my home address private? It lets you publish a professional address in your Impressum and use it for most business records and correspondence instead of your home address. You may still have to give your residential address privately to Olea, the Finanzamt, a chamber, a bank or another provider where they require it. ### Does the address decide my Finanzamt or my tax establishment? No. The competent Finanzamt and any Betriebsstätte or Ort der Geschäftsleitung follow from the facts, including your residence, the premises available to you and where the work is actually carried on. The Olea address serves as your Geschäftsanschrift; it does not settle those questions on its own. ### Can lawyers, tax advisers, doctors or other regulated professionals use it? Potentially as a correspondence or public address, but a standard virtual office may not satisfy a profession-specific practice-seat, chamber, confidentiality, records or premises requirement on its own. Confirm the arrangement with your chamber or regulator. Any dedicated workspace is requested and paid for separately and still has to match your real professional setup. ### When can I start receiving mail? Mail begins once Olea approves your account, records the personal and professional names permitted to receive it and confirms activation. Add or change a professional designation or an additional recipient through Olea before you use the address for that name. ### How much does an Olea Virtual Office cost? The current available-network price is shown dynamically on the page and varies by address. Every location includes the same core Virtual Office service, with Digital Mailbox included. Annual billing saves 15%; the annual price is shown as a monthly equivalent and the annual total is billed upfront. Paid mail options, workspace and usage-based extras are separate. ### Can I move an existing freelance activity to Olea? Yes. Choose the new address and obtain the supporting document before you update the Finanzamt, your Impressum, professional bodies, banks, platforms, invoices and contracts that use the old one. Each authority or provider controls its own update process and the evidence it wants. ## Notes - Human pages: [German (primary)](https://oleaoffice.com/de/freiberufler) · [English](https://oleaoffice.com/en/freelancers) - Pricing in markdown: [pricing.md](https://oleaoffice.com/pricing.md) · Full catalogue: [locations.md](https://oleaoffice.com/locations.md) · Site index for LLMs: [llms.txt](https://oleaoffice.com/llms.txt) - Generated 2026-09-29T21:25:02Z from the same sources as the human pages; regenerated at least hourly.