Do you wish to handle or transport substances that pose an explosion hazard for commercial purposes? If so, you will need a permit from the relevant local authority.
If, in a commercial context, (whether as a commercial or self-employed business, an agricultural or forestry enterprise, or when employing staff) with explosive substances, you will need a permit from the relevant local authority.
Permit holders may be either natural persons orlegal entities (public limited companies (AG), limited liability companies (GmbH), cooperatives, associations, federal states and local authorities). General partnerships (OHG) and limited partnerships (KG and GmbH Co KG) are treated in the same way as legallegal entities and are therefore eligible for a permit.
In the case of civil-law partnerships (GbR), the licence is granted to the partners authorised to represent the partnership or to manage its affairs.There may be severalshareholders may be authorised to manage the business. In such cases, all persons responsible for business areas relating to explosives within the partnership must be listed in a partnership-specific licence.
Activities involving explosive substances carry a high risk of danger. The aim of the Explosives Act is to protect people and property from these dangers.
To prevent accidents and misuse, explosives legislation imposes strict requirements on individuals who wish to handle explosive substances.
These include the following requirements:
As part of the process of verifying reliability, information is obtained from other authorities, such as the police, the public prosecutor’s office and the Office for the Protection of the Constitution.
As a business owner, you require a licence to handle and transport, for example, the following explosive substances:
The official licence ensures that only those persons who meet the requirements for safe handling are granted access to explosive substances.
Where applicable, when applying for a commercial licence, the competent authority may request further information from you regarding the storage facilities available for explosive substances.
For activities carried out above ground, the district police authority.
Depending on the location of your business, the district police authority is
For underground activities only (for example, in tunnelling or mining): the State Office for Geology, Raw Materials and Mining (LGRB) at the Regional Council in Freiburg.
If you are from Germany or a Member State of the European Union and wish to take up or carry out a service activity in Baden-Württemberg in accordance with the EU Services Directive, or if you are already providing a service here, you can also contact the Single Point of Contact.
The Single Point of Contact will guide you step by step through the individual administrative procedures.
Further information on the Single Point of Contact can be found on this website under the heading ‘Single Point of Contact’.
In order to obtain a licence to handle and deal with explosive substances, you must meet the following requirements:
1. Personal integrity
You must be a person of good character . The required good character is normally deemed to be present if you have behaved lawfully to date and have no previous criminal convictions.
For example , you are not considered a person of good character if
Detailed information on the requiredreliability requirements can be found in Section 8a of the Explosives Act.
2. Personal suitability
You are deemed personally suitable if you have no limitations, for example relating to your mental or physical health or resulting from drug or alcohol dependency.
Personal suitability also means that there are no personal reasonswhy
Note: If there are justified doubts regarding your personal suitability, the authority may require you to submit additional medical reports. These may be reports from a general practitioner, a specialist doctor or a specialist psychologist. You must submit these within a specified time limit. If you refuse the examination or fail to submit the report by the deadline, the authority may conclude that you are unsuitable.
3. Professional competence
You must possess professional competence. This is demonstrated by a certificate confirming successful completion of a state-run or state-recognised training course.
You may also provide evidence of professional competence through
Note: The three options mentioned above for demonstrating specialist knowledge are not available if the authorisation to carry out blasting work or to handle explosivesin the context of explosive ordnance disposal.
4. Storage
If the intended activity involves the storage of explosives, you must have suitable premises or storage facilities available.
The above requirements regarding personal reliability, personal suitability, professional competence and storage apply to
The above-mentioned requirements regarding personal reliability, personal suitability, technical competence and storage do not apply to you as the applicant if the management of the handling and transport of explosive substances is delegated to a competent manager.
Nor do the requirements apply to persons in the role of plant or branch manager if the management of the handling and transport of explosive substances has been delegated to a competent manager within the plant or branch.
5. Nationality and place of residence
The same requirements as those applicable to German nationals or to applicants with a commercial establishment in Germany apply to:
You must apply for this permit. Please contact your local district police authority or, for underground activities, the State Office for Geology, Raw Materials and Mining at the Freiburg Regional Council.
Depending on the options provided by the district police authority at the town hall or the district administration office, you can either download an application form or submit an online application.
Submit the completed application to the relevant district police authority or, for underground activities, to the State Office for Geology, Raw Materials and Mining at the Freiburg Regional Council.
The authority will check whether the requirements are met on the basis of the documents submitted. In addition, it must obtain statements from other authorities (for example, the local police station or the Office for the Protection of the Constitution regarding personal reliability) and may request expert opinions.
The licence may be restricted in scope or subject to conditions. This is intended to protect the life, health and property of employees and third parties.
Conditions may also be added or amended at a later date. Normally, you will be granted a licence of indefinite duration. In individual cases, however, it may also be granted for a fixed term.
The competent authority may request further documents to verify your personal reliability.
If you are resident abroad, you will need documents from your home country proving your personal reliability.
In the case of legal entities (GmbH, corporate entities, AG, registered cooperatives), you need only complete the application form for the legal entity.
You must submit all personal documents for each of the natural persons authorised to manage the business (for example, identity documents).
For the legal entity, you will also need an extract from the Central Trade Register.
Partnerships (KG, OHG, PartG, GmbH Co. KG) are treated in the same way here.
GbRs are not eligible for authorisation as such. Therefore, each managing partner must obtain authorisation.
For each of these individuals, you must submit a completed application form and all relevant personal documents.
You can enquire about the processing time at your local authority.
Your company may carry out the activities permitted under the licence.
Employees entrusted with these activities require a certificate of competence in accordance with Section 20 of the Explosives Act and are obliged to attend state-recognised refresher courses every five years, provided that they carry out any of the following activities:
The above-mentioned obligation to attend state-recognised refresher courses does not apply to you as the applicant if the management of the handling and transport of explosive substances has been delegated to a competent manager.
Nor does the obligation apply to persons acting as managers of a business or branch office if the management of the handling and transport of explosive substances has been delegated to a competent manager within the business or branch office.
The competent authority shall reassess licence holders at least every five years to verify their reliability and personal suitability.
Gesetz über explosionsgefährliche Stoffe (SprengG):
Erste Verordnung zum Sprengstoffgesetz (1. SprengV):
machine generated, based on the German release by: Umweltministerium Baden-Württemberg, 19.05.2026