Procedure descriptions
Apply for a licence to handle and deal with explosive substances on a commercial basis
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:
- Age (at least 21 years old),
- suitability,
- reliability and
- professional competence.
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:
- Explosives, such as blasting agents or pyrotechnic compositions
- NC powder (nitrocellulose powder) or black powder
- Stage pyrotechnics/technical pyrotechnics
- Category F3 and F4 fireworks
- Category F2 fireworks which are listed as requiring a licence under the First Ordinance to the Explosives Act, for example those containing a flash-bang charge
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.
Responsible authority
For activities carried out above ground, the district police authority.
Depending on the location of your business, the district police authority is
- the city council in urban districts and large district towns, or
- the district administration.
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’.
Recht, Ordnung und Sicherheit [Stadt Heidenheim]
Contact
Telefon (0 73 21) 3 27-31 10
E-Mail recht.ordnung@heidenheim.de
Details
Prerequisite
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
- you were convicted of a criminal offence less than ten years ago,
- there are facts justifying the assumption that you will misuse or handle explosive substances recklessly,
- you were a member of an organisation that has been irrefutably banned under the Associations Act, and less than ten years have passed since the end often years have not yet elapsed since the end of your membership, or
- you have been held in preventive police custody more than once within the last five years, with a court order, on grounds of violent behaviour.
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
- you might handle explosive substances carelessly or improperly, or
- there is a specific risk to yourself or others.
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.
- Minimum age: usually 21 years
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
- at least three years’ practical experience during which you were able to acquire the necessary professional competence, or
- completing a degree programme at a university, a university of applied sciences or a technical college, followed by at least one year’s practicalperiod of practical work, provided this enabled you to acquire the necessary professional competence, or
- in justified exceptional cases, by passing an examination set by the competent authority without having attended a training course.
In Baden-Württemberg, the Tübingen Regional Council (Department 54.4) is responsible forthe examination.
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
- you as the applicant,
- the persons responsible for managing the business, and
- the persons responsible for managing a branch or a dependent branch office.
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:
- nationals of a Member State of the European Union (EU) and
- companies incorporated under the laws of another EU Member State.
Procedure
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.
Deadlines
- You may not carry out this activity until you have been granted a licence to handle and deal with explosive substances on a commercial basis.
- You must commence the activity within one year. Otherwise, the licence will lapse.
- If you do not carry out your activity for at least two years, the licence will also lapse.
Required documents
- completed application form
- A copy of your identity card or a comparable form of identification
- To prove personal reliability:
- if resident in Germany:
- Certificate of Good Conduct
- Extract from the Central Trade Register
- If you are resident abroad: documents from your home country proving your personal reliability
- if resident in Germany:
- To prove the legal form of the business:
- if the company is based in Germany:
- For companies entered in a register: an extract from the Commercial Register or the Partnership Register
- otherwise, a copy of the articles of association (for example, in the case of a civil-law partnership (GbR))
- If the company is based abroad: documents from the country of incorporation proving the legal form
- if the company is based in Germany:
- if the licence is being applied for on your behalf as the company owner and you intend to handle explosive substances yourself, you must also provide evidence of your specialist knowledge (for example, certificates from training courses attended or evidence of professional experience)
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.
Costs
- For surface operations, the fees are determined in accordance with the applicable schedule of fees of the district police authority responsible for issuing the permit.
- For underground activities, the fee for applications submitted to the Freiburg Regional Council is determined in accordance with Section 7.1.3.1 of the Schedule of Fees of the Baden-Württemberg Ministry of the Environment and ranges from EUR 220.00 to EUR 500.00.
Processing time
You can enquire about the processing time at your local authority.
Miscellaneous
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:
- Carrying out blasting operations
- Manufacture of explosive substances
- Work in the clearance of unexploded ordnance
- Transport of explosive substances in accordance with dangerous goods regulations
- Setting off large-scale fireworks displays
- Presentation of effects in theatres or similar venues using pyrotechnic articles, pyrotechnic assemblies or other explosive substances.
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.
Legal basis
Gesetz über explosionsgefährliche Stoffe (SprengG):
- § 7 Erlaubnis
- § 8 Versagung der Erlaubnis
- § 8a Zuverlässigkeit
- § 8b Persönliche Eignung, Begutachtung
- § 9 Fachkunde
- § 10 Inhalt der Erlaubnis
- § 11 Erlöschen der Erlaubnis
Erste Verordnung zum Sprengstoffgesetz (1. SprengV):
- § 32 Absatz 5 Pflicht zum Besuch von Wiederholungslehrgängen
- § 38 Verfahren für Bürger der Europäischen Union, eines EWR-Vertragsstaaten oder der Schweiz
- § 39 Verfahren für Bürger der Europäischen Union, eines EWR-Vertragsstaaten oder der Schweiz
Release note
machine generated, based on the German release by: Umweltministerium Baden-Württemberg, 19.05.2026
Contact
Bürger- und Standesamt (Bürgeramt)
eMail buergeramt@heidenheim.de
Telefon (0 73 21) 3 27-33 42
Fax (0 73 21) 3 23-33 32