# Business address and virtual office for sole traders in Germany – Olea > A sole trader can use an Olea address as a Geschäftsanschrift for Finanzamt correspondence, as the serviceable address in an Impressum and for invoices, banks and business post. Every available location includes a digital mailbox, with workspace available to book. The Gewerbeanmeldung records the Betriebsstätte – the address where the business is actually carried on (§ 14 GewO) – so the sole trader gives the address that reflects how the business operates. ## Your business address as a sole trader in Germany Choose a serviceable German business address for your Impressum, Finanzamt correspondence and business post. 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). ## Why do sole traders use a business address? To look professional and keep their home address private – a sole trader’s address appears in the Impressum (§ 5 DDG) and on every invoice, so it matters which one they use. An Olea address gives you a serviceable business address at a real German office for your Impressum, invoices and Finanzamt correspondence. Your post is handled through a digital mailbox, and once you’re approved you receive a Nutzungsüberlassungserklärung confirming your right to use the address. - **A genuine German street address** – A real address at a staffed partner office – not a post-office box. - **Evidence that you may use it** – A Nutzungsüberlassungserklärung, after the applicable onboarding approval. - **Reliable receipt of business mail** – Eligible letters are accepted in the business and recipient names approved on your account, and handled through your selected mail option after activation. Your Gewerbeanmeldung is separate: it records your Betriebsstätte – where the business is actually carried on – and you decide which address that is. The Olea address does not by itself create a Betriebsstätte or a place of management. Legal basis: § 5 DDG · § 14 UStG · § 14 GewO · §§ 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 website or online shop generally needs a serviceable address under § 5 DDG, and you can publish your Olea address as that address. Formal correspondence can be received there, so you meet the requirement without putting your home address on the internet. You remain responsible for the other details your activity and legal form require, including the name you are required to trade under. **Who this is for** - Sole traders running a commercial website or online shop - Gewerbetreibende who do not want a home address published - Sole traders updating an Impressum after changing their business address **What Olea provides** - A real serviceable German 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. After registering your trade you complete the Fragebogen zur steuerlichen Erfassung to obtain your Steuernummer, and you can give your Olea address as your Geschäftsanschrift there and for ongoing Finanzamt correspondence. The address does not by itself decide your competent tax office, your Betriebsstätte or your Ort der Geschäftsleitung – those follow from where you genuinely manage and carry on the business. **Who this is for** - New sole traders completing German tax registration - Sole traders updating their Finanzamt correspondence address - Sole traders who work from home but want business post sent elsewhere **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 business post go? To the Olea office you chose. Once Olea approves your account, records the business and recipient names permitted on it and confirms activation, letters addressed to those names 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. **Who this is for** - Sole traders separating personal and business post - Sole traders who travel or work from changing locations - Sole traders replacing a home address on invoices and contracts **What Olea provides** - Unlimited receipt of letters in your approved business and recipient 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 bank account? Yes. Banks, payment providers and marketplaces check your 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 checks, so approval remains their decision. **Who this is for** - Sole traders opening a business bank account - Sole traders onboarding with payment providers - Sole traders registering with marketplaces and business platforms **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 sole-trader business with a virtual office Understand when a sole trader registers a Gewerbe, where a business address fits in and what stays dependent on the way the business actually operates. ### What is a sole trader in Germany? A sole trader is one individual carrying on business in their own name and for their own account. In German, the broad commercial route is an Einzelunternehmen operated by a Gewerbetreibender. It does not create a separate limited-liability company: the individual remains responsible for the business and its obligations. Most commercial activities require a Gewerbeanmeldung under § 14 GewO. A genuine Freiberufler follows a different route and normally notifies the Finanzamt directly instead. Classification depends on the activity, and the Finanzamt has the final say where the boundary is unclear. ### When do you register a Gewerbe? A person starting a standing commercial activity generally registers it with the competent local Gewerbeamt. The filing records the activity and the Betriebsstätte – the address where the business is actually carried on (§ 14 GewO). The authority may ask for identity evidence and permits for regulated activities. Give the address that reflects how your business operates. If you run a shop, warehouse, workshop, kitchen, studio, venue or a similar site, that location may need to appear in the relevant registrations. Your Olea address is a serviceable business address for your Impressum and Finanzamt correspondence. ### 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 approved business and recipient names - 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 trading-name information - Any licences, permits or professional approvals your activity requires - Clear information about other premises or operating sites - The Gewerbeanmeldung for your Betriebsstätte and any later changes the local authority requires - The Fragebogen zur steuerlichen Erfassung and the other Finanzamt steps - The complete Impressum and updates to invoices, contracts, banks and platforms ### Gewerbeanmeldung, Finanzamt and tax boundaries The Gewerbeamt and the Finanzamt do different jobs. The Gewerbeanmeldung records the trade and its Betriebsstätte. The Finanzamt registers the activity for tax and determines matters such as the competent tax office, the Betriebsstätte and the Ort der Geschäftsleitung from the facts. The Olea address can be used as your Geschäftsanschrift for correspondence and in the tax-registration process. It does not by itself move your management, create a fixed place of business or determine where Gewerbesteuer is due. Those outcomes depend on where you genuinely manage and carry on the business. ### Impressum and public privacy A commercial website or online shop generally needs a serviceable address under § 5 DDG. Publishing the Olea address can keep your home off the public-facing Impressum while formal correspondence can still be received. You remain responsible for the other information required for your business, activity and legal form. Using an Olea address can also separate your home address from invoices, contracts, supplier records and everyday correspondence. It cannot guarantee that a home address will never appear in non-public authority records, or in documents where the law or a provider requires a residential address. ### Business name and the Handelsregister boundary An ordinary sole trader is not automatically entered in the Handelsregister. You should use the personal name the law requires and may add a business designation where that is permitted. A person registered as an eingetragener Kaufmann or eingetragene Kauffrau uses the e.K. designation and follows the applicable Handelsregister process. Buying an Olea address does not create an e.K. registration and does not limit your liability. If the business grows or changes legal form, take appropriate legal and tax advice and update every record that uses the address. ### Banks, marketplaces and Google The address can support bank, payment-provider and marketplace onboarding, and Olea can receive eligible posted verification letters. Each provider applies its own KYC, activity, location and eligibility rules, so Olea cannot guarantee approval. Google’s rules for Business Profiles can require genuine customer-facing activity and may restrict virtual offices. Nothing about the address, a nameplate, signage or occasional workspace access promises Google verification. ### After activation Once Olea confirms activation, you can use the approved address for your Impressum, Finanzamt correspondence, invoices, contracts and eligible business mail. Keep Olea’s approved names and every authority and commercial record aligned whenever the name, the activity or the address changes. ## FAQ ### Which address goes on my Gewerbeanmeldung? A Gewerbeanmeldung records your Betriebsstätte – the address where the business is actually carried on (§ 14 GewO) – so give the address that reflects how your business operates. Your Olea address is a serviceable business address for your Impressum and Finanzamt correspondence. ### What supporting address document does Olea provide? After the applicable onboarding approval, Olea provides the approved Nutzungsüberlassungserklärung or equivalent use-of-address evidence for the location you selected. It supports your right to use the address. Banks, platforms and authorities decide what evidence they need and may ask for more. ### What information do I need to provide? Your identity and residential-address evidence, the nature and purpose of the business, the names that will receive mail and anything further requested during Olea’s onboarding and verification review. The Gewerbeamt may separately require permits or activity-specific evidence. ### What is the difference between a sole trader and a freelancer in Germany? A sole trader carrying on a commercial activity normally registers a Gewerbe. A genuine Freiberufler under § 18 EStG normally notifies the Finanzamt directly and makes no Gewerbeanmeldung for that activity. Classification depends on what you actually do, and the Finanzamt can decide the boundary. This page is written for the Gewerbe route. ### Will the address keep my home address private? It lets you use a professional address in your public Impressum and for many business records and communications instead of publishing your home address. You may still need to give your residential address privately to Olea, to authorities, to banks or to other providers where their rules require it. ### Does a sole trader need to be in the Handelsregister? Not automatically. Many sole traders operate without a Handelsregister entry. A business registered as an eingetragener Kaufmann or eingetragene Kauffrau follows an additional Handelsregister route and uses the e.K. designation. An Olea address does not itself create that status. ### When can I start receiving mail? Mail begins once Olea approves your account, records the business and recipient names permitted on it and confirms activation. Do not rely on an unapproved business or recipient name before then – add or change a recipient through Olea first. ### How is my mail handled? Every available location offers Digital Mailbox, which includes 5 letter scans a month and 10 archived paper originals in total. Mail Pickup and recurring Mail Forwarding are available where your selected location supports them. Digital Mailbox customers can request one-off forwarding of eligible originals, and eligible registered mail can be forwarded with any primary mail option. ### Will banks, marketplaces or Google accept the address? The address can support an application and Olea can receive eligible posted verification letters. Each bank, payment provider, marketplace or platform applies its own rules and makes its own decision. Google Business Profile has specific rules about virtual offices and genuine customer-facing activity, so verification is not guaranteed. ### 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 sole-trader business to Olea? Yes. Choose and activate the new address and obtain the supporting document before you update the Finanzamt, Impressum, banks, platforms, invoices, contracts and any other records that use the old address. The change process and the evidence required are controlled by the relevant authority or provider. ## Notes - Human pages: [German (primary)](https://oleaoffice.com/de/einzelunternehmer) · [English](https://oleaoffice.com/en/sole-traders) - 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.