# Business address and virtual office for professional services in Germany – Olea > Consultancies, agencies and advisory firms can use an Olea virtual office as the German business address for the registration route that applies to them, their Impressum, client-facing materials and eligible business mail. Every available location includes a digital mailbox, with workspace available to book for client or team meetings. Regulated professions may have separate chamber, practice-seat, confidentiality or premises requirements that a standard virtual office does not satisfy by itself. ## A German business address for your professional firm Choose a serviceable German business address for your consultancy, agency or advisory firm. Manage mail online and book workspace when needed. - Real German street address - Digital Mailbox included - Workspace available to book Prices start from €69/month (cheapest bookable location). Live per-location prices: [pricing.md](https://oleaoffice.com/pricing.md). ## Can a consultancy or professional firm use an Olea address? Yes – most consultancies, agencies and advisory firms can use an Olea location as the German business address for their registration, their Impressum under § 5 DDG and their client-facing materials. The route depends on the legal form and the activity: commercial service providers normally register a Gewerbe under § 14 GewO; genuine Freiberufler notify the Finanzamt under § 18 EStG instead; incorporated firms and professional partnerships follow the register process for the entity. Olea supplies the address and, after the applicable onboarding approval, the document evidencing your right to use it. - **A genuine German street address** – A real address at a staffed partner office – not a post-office box. - **Evidence you can use it** – A Nutzungsüberlassungserklärung for the selected address, after the applicable onboarding approval. - **Reliable receipt of business mail** – Eligible letters are accepted in the names approved on your account and follow your selected mail option after activation. Regulated professions can carry additional chamber, practice-seat, confidentiality and premises duties, and a standard Virtual Office does not satisfy those by itself – confirm the arrangement with your professional body first. Classification, authority acceptance and tax treatment follow the activity, the legal form and how the firm actually operates. Legal basis: § 14 GewO · § 18 EStG · § 5 DDG · §§ 10 and 12 AO ## What you can use this address for ### Can my firm use an Olea address for its register entry? Yes. A firm operating as a GmbH or UG must state an inländische Geschäftsanschrift in its Handelsregister application under § 8 Abs. 4 GmbHG, and an eligible Partnerschaftsgesellschaft or PartG mbB gives a business address in the Partnerschaftsregister. An Olea location can be that address: it is a real staffed street address where official documents can be received, and after the applicable onboarding approval you receive a Nutzungsüberlassungserklärung evidencing your right to use it. Where the profession is regulated, the professional body keeps its own requirements alongside the register’s. **Who this is for** - Consultancies and agencies incorporating as a GmbH or UG - Liberal professionals forming a Partnerschaftsgesellschaft or PartG mbB - Registered firms moving from a home or serviced-office address **What Olea provides** - A real German street address at the office you choose - A Nutzungsüberlassungserklärung after the applicable approval - Your approved firm name recorded for receipt of official post once activated *Olea supplies the address and our supporting document. Your notary remains responsible for certifying and submitting the Handelsregister filing.* ### Can I use the address for my agency’s Gewerbeanmeldung? Yes, where your activity is a trade. Agencies, recruitment firms, many IT providers, coaches and management consultancies are normally commercial businesses and register under § 14 GewO, and you can give your Olea address on that filing. The local Gewerbeamt decides the filing and may ask for evidence of the operating setup. If you also run a studio, workshop, clinic or another permanent site, that location may need to be registered separately. **Who this is for** - Agencies, recruitment firms and IT or management consultancies registering a Gewerbe - Coaches and commercial advisers registering a first trade - Firms changing the trade address on an existing registration **What Olea provides** - A real address at a staffed office or coworking location - A Nutzungsüberlassungserklärung to support the application - Reliable receipt and handling of Gewerbeamt correspondence *Municipal requirements vary. Olea provides the address and supporting document, but the local Gewerbeamt makes the decision based on the business and its actual operating setup.* ### Can I use the address as a Freiberufler notifying the Finanzamt? Yes. Genuine freelance professions under § 18 EStG notify the Finanzamt of their activity instead of filing a Gewerbeanmeldung, and commercial firms complete the Fragebogen zur steuerlichen Erfassung after registering their trade. You can give your Olea address as the Geschäftsanschrift on either route and for ongoing Finanzamt correspondence. The Finanzamt decides how the activity is classified, and the address does not by itself establish a Betriebsstätte under § 12 AO or an Ort der Geschäftsleitung under § 10 AO – those follow from where the work and the management genuinely take place. **Who this is for** - Genuine Freiberufler notifying the Finanzamt under § 18 EStG - Commercial service businesses completing the Fragebogen zur steuerlichen Erfassung - Firms updating the correspondence address on an existing tax record **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 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.* ### Can I publish the address in my firm’s Impressum? Yes. A commercial professional website generally needs a serviceable address under § 5 DDG, and you can publish your Olea address as that address – so a consultancy or agency run from home does not have to put a private address on the internet. You remain responsible for the other information the notice requires for your legal form, and for any disclosure rules your profession adds. **Who this is for** - Consultancies, agencies and practices running a commercial website - Advisers who do not want a home address published - Firms updating an Impressum after moving their business address **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.* ### Where does my firm’s post go? To the Olea office you chose. Once Olea confirms the approved names on your account and activates the service, eligible business letters addressed to them are received there and handled through your selected mail option – a digital mailbox at every location, with pickup or recurring forwarding where the location offers it. Standard mail handling is for ordinary business and official post: do not route client files, privileged records, medical material or other profession-regulated documents through it unless that workflow has been approved. **Who this is for** - Consultancies and agencies replacing a home correspondence address - Advisers separating client and personal post - Firms whose team works remotely or across several cities **What Olea provides** - Unlimited receipt of eligible business letters in your approved names - 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, marketplaces and professional directories check a business address 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 runs its own KYC, risk and eligibility checks, so approval remains their decision. **Who this is for** - Consultancies and agencies opening a first business account - Firms onboarding with payment providers and invoicing platforms - Advisers listing a firm address in professional directories **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.* ## Running a professional-services business with a virtual office Understand which registration route applies, where to use the address and what changes when your profession has chamber, practice-seat or confidentiality rules. ### Professional services cover more than one legal route “Professional services” describes the work sold to clients, not one German legal or tax category. Four routes sit under the label, and the right one follows from the activity and the legal form rather than from the job title. - Commercial service providers – agencies, recruitment firms, many IT providers, coaches and consultancies normally register a Gewerbe under § 14 GewO. The local Gewerbeamt decides the filing and may ask for evidence of the operating setup. - Genuine Freiberufler – § 18 EStG covers the catalogue professions and sufficiently similar scientific, artistic, literary, teaching or independently professional work. These individuals normally notify the Finanzamt instead of filing a Gewerbeanmeldung. A title such as consultant, designer or coach does not decide the classification. - Companies – a firm operating as a GmbH or UG follows the applicable Handelsregister, Gewerbeamt and Finanzamt processes. The formation journey itself is covered on the GmbH and UG formation page. - Professional partnerships – eligible liberal professionals may use a Partnerschaftsgesellschaft or PartG mbB and follow the applicable Partnerschaftsregister and professional-law rules. Obtain tax or legal advice where the classification or the legal form is unclear. Olea provides the address service and the supporting evidence; it does not classify the activity and does not complete the external filing. ### Where the address is used - Client-facing materials – proposals, invoices, contracts, email signatures and business cards can show one stable professional address instead of a home address. - Impressum – a commercial professional website generally needs a serviceable address under § 5 DDG. You remain responsible for the other information the notice requires. - Registration and correspondence – use the address in the Gewerbeanmeldung, Finanzamt notification or register process that applies, subject to the authority’s requirements and the real operating setup. - Business mail – eligible official and everyday letters follow your selected mail workflow after activation. - Business accounts and platforms – the address can support applications and posted verification mail, but each provider applies its own rules. You must still disclose a shop, studio, workshop, clinic, permanent project office or other operating site accurately where the relevant form or authority requires it. ### Client meetings and professional workspace Active Olea Virtual Office customers can request meeting rooms, coworking desks and private offices at participating locations. This can support pitches, workshops, interviews, advisory sessions and confidential conversations. Workspace usage is booked and paid for separately, and a booking exists only once the operator confirms availability and price and you accept and pay. Ordinary on-demand workspace is not a permanent office, a dedicated practice or evidence that a regulated practice-seat duty is satisfied, and it must not be presented as any of those. Facilities, confidentiality, accessibility, equipment and guest arrangements are confirmed per request and per location, so include your requirements in the request rather than assuming them. ### Regulated professions and practice-seat duties Some professions have rules that go beyond an ordinary Geschäftsanschrift and Impressum. Depending on the profession these may concern a permanent Kanzlei or berufliche Niederlassung, a chamber district, secure records, client confidentiality, accessibility, signage, staff presence or rooms continuously available to the professional. - Lawyers – § 27 BRAO requires a Kanzlei. The safe position is that a purely virtual address, or an ordinary on-demand coworking arrangement, should not be presented as satisfying that duty. - Tax advisers – § 34 StBerG concerns the berufliche Niederlassung. A standard Virtual Office must not be marketed as satisfying that requirement by itself. - Other regulated professions – auditors, doctors, psychotherapists, architects, engineers and other chamber professions can have separate premises, records, title and professional-body rules, and one profession’s rule does not generalise to another. The safe position for a customer is simple: use the standard Virtual Office only after confirming that it fits your profession’s rules. A dedicated office presented as a compliant practice seat is a separate proposition, and it would need its own supported locations, contract, price, operational standard, evidence and professional-body review before it could be offered. ### Address, tax and where the work actually happens An Olea address can be your firm’s Geschäftsanschrift for correspondence and for the filings that accept it. It does not by itself create a Betriebsstätte under § 12 AO or an Ort der Geschäftsleitung under § 10 AO. Those concepts depend on the real premises, access, activity and management arrangements, and occasional meetings or on-demand workspace use do not automatically establish either. ### Who is responsible for what - You – describe the activity and legal form accurately, choose the correct registration route, maintain professional permissions, meet chamber, confidentiality and recordkeeping duties, keep the Impressum complete and disclose actual operating sites where required. - Olea – provides the approved address, the supporting use-of-address evidence, the approved-name mail workflow, the Digital Mailbox and access to request separately paid workspace. - Authorities and registers – examine registrations, classification and evidence, and control their own processing. - Professional bodies – decide admission and profession-specific practice or premises requirements. - Banks and platforms – apply their own address, KYC, risk and eligibility rules. ### Moving an existing firm Choose and activate the new address before replacing the old one. Then update the applicable register, Gewerbeamt or Finanzamt record, the Impressum, your professional chamber, banks, platforms, contracts and client communications. The sequence and the documents required depend on the legal form and the profession, so there is no one filing order or timetable that fits every firm – confirm yours with the relevant authority or adviser. ## FAQ ### Can a consultancy or agency use an Olea address? Yes, for most consultancies and agencies. An Olea location gives the business a real German street address for its applicable registration, its Impressum, client-facing materials and eligible business mail. Commercial providers normally follow the Gewerbeanmeldung route, genuine Freiberufler notify the Finanzamt, and companies and professional partnerships follow the relevant register and authority processes. ### How do I know whether I am a Gewerbe or a Freiberufler? The classification depends on the actual activity, your qualifications and the way the work is performed. Many agencies, recruitment firms, coaches, IT providers and consultancies are commercial businesses and register a Gewerbe. Genuine freelance professions under § 18 EStG normally notify the Finanzamt directly. A job title alone does not decide the answer, and the Finanzamt has the final say where the classification is unclear. ### Can I use the address in my Impressum and on client documents? Yes. Use your approved Olea address in the Impressum for a commercial website and on proposals, invoices, contracts, email signatures and business cards. You remain responsible for all the other information the Impressum requires and for any disclosure rules specific to your profession. ### Can lawyers, tax advisers and other regulated professionals use the standard Virtual Office? Only where the arrangement independently satisfies the profession’s own rules. The standard Olea Virtual Office does not by itself replace a required Kanzlei, berufliche Niederlassung, medical practice or other permanent professional premises. Confirm the address, access, confidentiality, records and chamber requirements with the relevant professional body before purchase. ### Can I meet clients at my address? Active Olea Virtual Office customers can request meeting rooms and private offices at participating locations. Workspace is booked and paid for separately and is confirmed only once the operator confirms availability and price. Include your confidentiality, equipment, accessibility and guest requirements in the request. ### Does the address create a German Betriebsstätte or place of management? No, not by itself. A Betriebsstätte and an Ort der Geschäftsleitung depend on where genuine business activity and recurring management take place and on the premises available in practice. A business address, a mail service and occasional workspace use do not determine those outcomes alone. ### Can a GmbH or Partnerschaftsgesellschaft use the address? Potentially, through the registration route that applies to the entity. A GmbH or UG follows the Handelsregister and the related authority processes. An eligible Partnerschaftsgesellschaft or PartG mbB follows the applicable Partnerschaftsregister and professional-law rules. Olea provides the address and the supporting evidence; the register, the authorities and the professional bodies keep their own decisions. ### What document does Olea provide? After the applicable onboarding approval, Olea provides the Nutzungsüberlassungserklärung or equivalent use-of-address evidence for your selected location. It supports your right to use the address. It does not replace a registration, a chamber approval or profession-specific premises evidence. ### How is my business mail handled? Every available location offers a Digital Mailbox, and Mail Pickup and recurring Mail Forwarding are available according to the location. The Digital Mailbox includes 5 letter-content scans per month, and scans are typically available within 5–7 days of receipt. Mail is accepted only for the names approved on your account and for eligible business items, so client property, privileged records and other profession-regulated material stay outside the standard workflow. ### How much does the 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%; paid mail options, workspace and usage-based extras are separate. ### Can banks and professional platforms verify the address? The address can support applications, and Olea can receive eligible posted verification letters. Each bank, payment provider, marketplace, professional directory or platform applies its own KYC, risk and eligibility rules, so approval is never guaranteed. ## Notes - Human pages: [German (primary)](https://oleaoffice.com/de/dienstleister) · [English](https://oleaoffice.com/en/professional-services) - 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 2026-09-16T12:30:04Z from the same sources as the human pages; regenerated at least hourly.