This business relocation checklist shows you what to do before, during and after moving your business. Most checklists deal with boxes and removal vans. This one is about the places where your address appears: authorities and registers, the Google Business Profile, Apple Maps, Bing, directories, your website and the answers from ChatGPT and Google.
You get a checklist to tick off that saves your progress, an overview of authorities for Austria, Germany and Switzerland and a guide to finding every old listing after the move. All details are based on authorities, chambers and the platforms' help pages, the sources are linked below.
- When relocating a business you have to update authorities, registers and every online listing.
- In Austria the trade authority must be informed by your first working day at the new location, the tax office and municipality within one month.
- In Germany, since November 2025 you only re-register your trade with the trade office at the new location.
- If a GmbH's registered seat changes, a notary is needed, in Germany already for any new business address.
- In your Google Business Profile you change the address in the existing profile and verify again, reviews move along.
- Three months later search for the old address, because old listings can overwrite the new one.
Business relocation: the points most often forgotten
Furniture, boxes and internet are on everyone's radar. What gets forgotten are the places where your address appears without you thinking about it:
- The trade authority: in Austria the notification must arrive at the latest on your first working day at the new location, otherwise a fine may follow.
- The Google Business Profile: after a move Google asks for verification again. Creating a second profile is a typical mistake, Google explicitly advises against it.
- Apple Maps and Bing: Apple Maps supplies Siri and the iPhone, Bing supplies Microsoft services. If you only update Google, you miss these users.
- Old directory listings: Herold, Gelbe Seiten or industry portals keep showing the old address until you change it yourself.
- Legal notice and structured data: the address in the legal notice is mandatory, and Google also reads it from your website's code.
- AI answers: ChatGPT and Google may keep naming the old address as long as it still appears elsewhere online.
The checklist to tick off
The checklist is sorted by timing. Logistics are summarised briefly, the focus is on authorities and listings. Tick off what is done, your progress is saved in this browser. Use the button at the bottom to print it or save it as a PDF.
Authorities and registers in Austria, Germany and Switzerland
Who you have to inform depends on the country, the legal form and whether you change municipality. Pick your country:
| Authority | What | Deadline and form |
|---|---|---|
| Trade authority | Report the change of location to the authority of the new location, via GISA or informally | At the latest on the day you start at the new location. Free of charge. The WKO is informed automatically |
| USP | Sole traders handle trade authority, tax office and municipality with one application | With ID Austria. Registered sole traders also notify the company register |
| Company register | New business address in the same municipality: simplified filing without a notary. New seat in another municipality: amendment of the articles | For a GmbH: resolution notarised, filing by all managing directors with certified signatures, at the previous court |
| Tax office | Change the address in FinanzOnline under master data | Within one month |
| ÖGK | Same federal state: change notice. Different federal state: deregister employees and register them with the new ÖGK | Amend employment contracts and inform employees in writing within one month |
| Municipality | Inform the old and new municipality, with employees also for municipal tax | Within one month |
| SVS | For self-employed people the USP recommends informing the SVS directly | No deadline stated |
| Authority | What | Deadline and form |
|---|---|---|
| Trade office | Re-registration with the trade office at the new location. Since November 2025, registration with the reason relocation automatically counts as deregistration at the old office | At the same time as the move |
| Commercial register | File the new business address or change of seat. For a GmbH, moving the seat is an amendment of the articles | Electronically in notarially certified form via a notary, at the previous registry court. A different registry court means a new register number, so update letterheads and legal notice |
| Tax office | Trade businesses report the move to the municipality, freelancers to the tax office. If the tax office changes, you get a new tax number | Within one month |
| Chamber of commerce or crafts | If you move to another chamber district, the responsible chamber changes. It usually learns about it from the trade notification | No separate deadline |
| Establishment number | Report the address to the Federal Employment Agency's establishment number service via payroll software or the social insurance portal | The service passes the data to all social insurance bodies |
| Employers' liability insurance | Inform it about the move and attach the trade registration | If the type of business or the basis for contributions changes, within four weeks (section 192 SGB VII) |
| Authority | What | Deadline and form |
|---|---|---|
| Commercial register office | Report the new domicile or new seat. For AG and GmbH with a change of seat: amendment of the articles with a public deed | Change of domicile CHF 30. When changing canton, file with the new office. Possible online via EasyGov |
| VAT | For AG, GmbH, cooperatives and general partnerships the commercial register reports the change automatically | When changing canton, the register does not inform other authorities automatically, so notify the cantonal tax office and compensation fund yourself |
| Compensation fund | Inform it directly, especially when changing canton | No deadline stated |
| Post | Change of address with forwarding for business customers, 6, 12 or 18 months | Ideally 4 working days ahead. Online from CHF 35 |
New business address or new registered seat: the difference
For companies such as a GmbH or AG there are two things that are often confused. The registered seat is the municipality stated in the articles of association. The business address is the specific address with street and number.
- Move within the same municipality: only the business address changes. In Austria a simplified filing with the company register without a notary is enough.
- Move to another municipality: usually the seat changes too. Then you need a shareholders' resolution to amend the articles, notarised, and a filing with the register.
This affects your business stationery: in Austria section 14 UGB requires, among other things, the registered seat, the company register number and the register court on business letters and the website. In Germany section 35a GmbHG and section 37a HGB likewise require on business letters the seat or place of business and the registry court. So if the seat changes, letterheads, invoices and email signatures must be updated, not just the street.
Move your Google, Apple, Bing and directory listings
Online the move is done quickly if you follow three rules: change existing profiles instead of creating new ones, use exactly the same spelling everywhere and only change once you are working at the new location.
- Google Business Profile: Edit profile, Location, enter the new address, if needed use Adjust to place the marker, save. According to Google you have to verify again after a move. Explicitly do not create a new profile. If you keep the name, Google transfers the reviews automatically, though for some categories such as hotels it may not. Changes usually appear after about ten minutes but can take up to 30 days. If someone else suggests a change, according to Google you have 4 days to reject it. The full guide is in Edit your Google Business Profile.
- Apple Business: under Business › Locations choose the location, change the address and drag the map over the right building. According to Apple the address must also be on your website. More in Add your business to Apple Maps.
- Bing Places: how moving works there is covered in Bing Places for Business.
- Directories and portals: change each listing yourself or report it to the provider. Which ones you need in your country is shown in Local listing management.
Accidentally created a new Google profile? Remove the new profile and change the address in the old one, that is where your reviews are. If you have already verified the new one, Google support can transfer the reviews. How that works is covered in Delete your Google Business Profile.
Website, legal notice and structured data
Your website is the template for all other listings. Update it on moving day:
- Legal notice: in Austria section 5 ECG requires the geographical address, in Germany section 5 DDG the address at which you are established. In Switzerland the Unfair Competition Act requires complete contact address details for online sales.
- Contact, directions and footer: including embedded maps, route links and PDFs such as price lists or directions.
- Structured data: the address in the LocalBusiness markup must match the visible address. Google requires current information and no details visitors cannot see. If you add coordinates, use at least five decimal places.
- Automatic emails: confirmations from your shop, booking or appointment system often contain the address in a separate template.
- Notice of the move: a short line on the home page for a few weeks helps customers who still know the old address.
Why the old address lingers and how to find it
Even if you have cleanly updated Google, Apple and Bing, the old address remains in directories, on review sites, in old press articles and business directories. Google itself says it updates profiles with licensed content and user reports when sources suggest details are wrong or outdated. So an old listing can overwrite your new address again:
How long this takes cannot be said in general, there are no reliable figures. That is why the check three months after the move belongs firmly in the checklist: search for the old address and old phone number in quotation marks, and ask ChatGPT and Google where your business is. How to fix individual wrong AI answers is covered in Fix wrong AI answers.
Move done? Check where the old address still appears
Searching for every old listing by hand takes hours. faktado.ai does it for you: the app searches the web for mentions of your business, compares address, phone and opening hours with your website, asks ChatGPT and Google about your business and shows you every place where the old address still appears, with the way to correct it. The free check shows you within about 15 minutes where you stand.
- USP (Austria): change of location
- USP (Austria): relocation
- USP (Austria): change of address
- Section 46 GewO (Austria)
- Section 5 ECG (Austria)
- Section 14 UGB (Austria)
- Section 14 GewO (Germany)
- IHK Frankfurt: new procedure when relocating
- IHK Frankfurt: business relocation
- Section 31 HGB
- Section 138 AO
- Section 5 DDG
- Minijob-Zentrale: company address change
- Deutsche Post: mail forwarding
- Swiss SME portal: change seat or address
- Swiss FTA: changes for legal entities
- Swiss Post: change of address with forwarding
- Swiss Unfair Competition Act
- Google Help: change address
- Google Help: verification again
- Google Help: duplicate profiles
- Google Help: reviews when moving
- Google Help: updates by Google
- Apple Business: location attributes
- Google Search Central: LocalBusiness
- Google Search Central: structured data policies
- oesterreich.gv.at: mail forwarding
- Section 192 SGB VII
- Section 2 IHKG
- Section 13h HGB
- Section 15 FZV
maxonline, the SEO and GEO agency behind faktado.ai, takes care of it for you.
FAQ
Who do I have to notify about a business relocation?
In Austria the trade authority at the new location, the company register (if registered), the tax office, the municipality and the ÖGK (if you have employees). In Germany the trade office, the commercial register (if registered), the tax office and the establishment number service (if you have employees). In Switzerland mainly the commercial register office. Plus Google, Apple, Bing, directories, customers and suppliers.
By when do I have to report the relocation in Austria?
The notification must reach the trade authority at the latest on the day you start working at the new location. It is free of charge. According to Austria's business service portal (USP), late notification risks a fine of up to 2180 euros.
Do I have to deregister my trade at the old office?
In Germany not since November 2025: you register with the trade office at the new location with the reason relocation, which automatically counts as deregistration at the old office. In Austria you report the move to the trade authority of the new location.
Do I need a notary to move my GmbH?
If the seat stays in the same municipality, only the business address changes. In Austria a simplified filing without a notary is then enough. In Germany you already need a notary for the new business address, because the filing must be notarially certified. If the seat moves to another municipality, that is an amendment of the articles and must be notarised.
How do I change the address in my Google Business Profile after a move?
Via Edit profile, Location and the pencil icon next to the business location. Google then asks for verification again. Do not create a new profile. If the name stays the same, Google transfers the reviews automatically.
Why does Google still show the old address after the move?
Either the change is still under review, which can take up to 30 days, or the new verification is missing. Or old listings in directories and portals contradict the new address and Google takes it over again. Search for the old address in quotation marks and correct every listing.
How long does mail forwarding for businesses last?
With Deutsche Post 6 months for 51.90 euros online, ordered at least 5 working days ahead. With Swiss Post 6, 12 or 18 months, online from CHF 35. In Austria the duration can be chosen freely according to oesterreich.gv.at, up to one year, ordered at least three working days ahead. Ask Austrian Post for its business prices.
Harald FischlManaging Director, maxonlineHarald is Managing Director of maxonline, an SEO and GEO agency from Lower Austria focused on hospitality. He works every day on how businesses are presented correctly in search engines and AI answers. More about Harald