Key points at a glance
- You may only use "Meister" and "Meisterbetrieb" (master craftsman business) under § 21 GewO if you or your qualified managing director under trade law passed the master craftsman exam. The same applies to the quality seal.
- For private customers you state prices gross, including VAT (§ 9 PrAG). This also applies to hourly rates in advertising.
- You may only charge consumers for a cost estimate (Kostenvoranschlag) if you told them beforehand. Without an express reservation it counts as binding (§ 5 KSchG).
- If you show reviews on your own website, you state whether and how you check that they are genuine (§ 2 (6b) UWG). Bought or invented reviews are prohibited.
- Photos from homes and of customers need consent. Ask in writing, ideally in the job order itself.
This article is general information, not legal or tax advice. Rules change: check the details with your economic chamber or chamber of crafts, your trade guild or your tax adviser.
"Meister" and "Meisterbetrieb": who may use them
The master title is one of the strongest selling points in the trades, and that is exactly why it is protected. § 21 GewO (Trade Act) sets out three levels:
| Title | Who may use it | Example |
|---|---|---|
| "Meister" / "Meisterin" for the person | Anyone who passed the master craftsman exam in the relevant craft (para. 3) | "Tischlermeisterin Anna Steiner" |
| Before the name, also as "Mst." | The same people; can be entered in official documents (para. 5) | "Mst. Josef Brandstätter" |
| "Meister", "Meisterbetrieb" in the company name and at the premises | Businesses whose owner or qualified managing director under trade law passed the master craftsman exam (para. 4) | "Malerei Novak, Meisterbetrieb" |
| "Meisterbetrieb" quality seal | The same businesses; details are set out in a regulation | Seal on website, quote and van |
So what matters is the person who holds the business's trade licence. A journeywoman who passed the master craftsman exam may call herself Meisterin. That does not make the business a Meisterbetrieb, though, as long as neither the owner nor the qualified managing director is a master. If the master managing director leaves the business, the title has to disappear from the website, letterhead and van.
Prices, hourly rates and travel costs
The Preisauszeichnungsgesetz (PrAG, Price Labelling Act) applies whenever you offer something to consumers. Three rules matter for trades businesses:
- State gross prices (§ 9 PrAG): prices including VAT and all other charges and surcharges. If you also name the net price for business customers, it must not be more prominent than the gross price.
- Services in a price list (§ 4 PrAG): you display prices for services in price lists hung clearly visible on your business premises. This mainly affects car workshops and businesses with a showroom or customer counter.
- Voluntary prices in advertising (§ 13 PrAG): if you name a price on your website, flyer or van, the same rules apply. If you only write "price on request", you don't have to display anything.
How to get it right
- "Hourly rate journeyman €68 incl. 20 % VAT, flat-rate call-out within Graz city limits €35"
- "From" prices only if the service really exists at that price, e.g. "smoke detector installation from €49 each, minimum 5"
- Stating night, weekend and emergency surcharges with the hourly rate
- Clearly separating material costs from labour
Better not
- Advertising net prices in large print to private customers and hiding "plus VAT" in the small print
- "From €39 per hour" if that rate only applies to apprentices
- Keeping quiet about the call-out and then charging €60 per visit
- "Up to 50 % off" when hardly any service is actually reduced that much
If you also sell goods, such as spare parts, leftover tiles or care products, § 9a PrAG applies to price reductions: next to the reduced price, you state the lowest price of the last 30 days. Breaches of the PrAG cost up to €2,500. As a rule, however, the authority must first give you a deadline to put things right.
Cost estimates: free, paid, binding?
Two laws meet in the cost estimate: § 1170a ABGB (Civil Code) for all contracts for work and § 5 KSchG (Consumer Protection Act) for consumers. Four clear rules follow from them.
Payment only after notice
Consumers only pay for a cost estimate if you told them beforehand (§ 5 (1) KSchG). A sentence on your website such as "We charge €90 for cost estimates with a site visit; the amount is credited if you place the order", plus the same information on the phone, makes things clear.
Binding if in doubt
If the contract is concluded on the basis of your cost estimate, its accuracy counts as guaranteed unless you expressly state otherwise (§ 5 (2) KSchG). So if you mean "non-binding", you have to write it down.
Binding means: no extra charge
With a binding cost estimate, you cannot charge additional costs even if the work turned out to be bigger than expected. There are exceptions for changes the customer asks for.
Non-binding means: warn in good time
If a considerable overrun becomes apparent, you must report it without delay under § 1170a ABGB. Otherwise you lose the right to the extra costs. The customer can then withdraw from the contract and pays for the work done so far.
An example: a plumber in Salzburg gives a non-binding estimate of €6,400 for replacing a riser pipe. When the wall is opened, it turns out the branches are rusted too. He stops, sends the customer photos and a supplementary offer for €1,900 the same day and gets her approval confirmed by email. That way the extra work gets paid, and the customer does not feel caught off guard.
Misleading advertising and comparisons
The Gesetz gegen den unlauteren Wettbewerb (UWG, Unfair Competition Act) prohibits claims that can mislead customers about performance, price, qualification or availability (§ 2 UWG). Comparative advertising is generally allowed under § 2a UWG if it is factual, verifiable and not disparaging. In everyday trades work this means:
- Be able to prove top claims: "The cheapest tiler in Innsbruck" or "Vienna's fastest emergency team" are claims you have to back up in a dispute. Better: "fixed price after measurement" or "on average 45 minutes to arrival within the city, measured in 2025".
- Advertise your emergency service honestly: "available 24/7" means someone answers and comes at night. If all you have is a voicemail, don't write it.
- No borrowed plumes: references, certificates and partner logos only if they are current and really yours.
- "Free" really means free: a "free site visit" followed by a call-out fee on the invoice is misleading.
Reviews: collect them, yes; buy them, no
Since the EU Modernisation Directive was implemented, the UWG has had clear rules on online reviews. Items 23b and 23c of the annex prohibit submitting or commissioning fake reviews and misrepresenting reviews. It is also misleading to claim that reviews come from real customers if you don't check this reasonably.
How to handle reviews in a legally sound way:
- Ask satisfied customers politely for a review after handover, e.g. with a QR code on the invoice
- Don't offer anything in return for a positive review, not even a discount on the next job
- Don't have family, employees or agencies write reviews
- If you show reviews on your website, explain next to them under § 2 (6b) UWG whether and how you check that they are genuine, for example: "These reviews come from our Google profile. We do not check whether every review comes from a job."
- Don't pick only the five-star reviews and present them as the overall picture
- Reply to criticism factually, without revealing the customer's data
More genuine Google reviews
Create a free QR code that leads straight to your Google review form. Ideal for invoices, handover reports and business cards.
How to present references and reviews effectively on your website is shown in References and reviews for tradespeople. How your Google profile helps with this is covered in Google Business Profile for trades businesses.
Before-and-after photos and pictures at customers' homes
Nothing sells a bathroom renovation better than a photo of one. Legally, though, it is not your bathroom. Photos from a home show how people live, often also people, names on the letterbox or the house number. That is personal data under the GDPR, and images of people are additionally protected by § 78 of the Urheberrechtsgesetz (Copyright Act).
- Get consent in writing: most easily as a separate line in the job order or handover report, ticked separately and revocable at any time.
- Photograph neutrally: remove family photos, mail, medication, artworks and number plates from the picture or make them unrecognisable.
- Keep the location vague: "period flat in Graz-Geidorf" instead of the address.
- Ask your employees: your team also needs to give consent before appearing on the website or Instagram.
- Stay genuine: don't pass off stock photos as your own references, and don't heavily retouch after photos.
Company van, site sign and vouchers
Your van is advertising on wheels, so the same rules apply as on your website: master title only with entitlement, gross prices, emergency service only if it exists. Neither the E-Commerce-Gesetz nor § 63 GewO has a general requirement to put legal notice details on the vehicle. Name, trade, phone number and website still belong on it, so that neighbours of the job site can find you.
Vouchers and promotions: vouchers for a heating service, window maintenance or an hour of painting are popular Christmas presents. Don't make their validity too short: Austrian courts take a critical view of short expiry periods on vouchers, and without an objective reason the long general limitation period applies in principle. For promotions such as "spring check 15 % off", the original price must be genuine, i.e. you must actually have charged it before.
If you are reworking your advertising, check your legal notice at the same time: all details for website, social media and emails are in the post Legal notice for trades businesses in Austria.
Sources
- Gewerbeordnung 1994, § 21 (master craftsman exam, master title), RIS
- WKO: "Meisterbetrieb" and "staatlich geprüft" quality seals
- Preisauszeichnungsgesetz, RIS
- Konsumentenschutzgesetz, § 5 (cost estimate), RIS
- ABGB, § 1170a (cost estimate), RIS
- UWG, § 2 (misleading commercial practices), RIS
- UWG, § 2a (comparative advertising), RIS
- UWG, full text with annex, RIS
- Urheberrechtsgesetz, § 78 (protection of images), RIS
- General Data Protection Regulation (EU) 2016/679
