What is GISA?
The essentials
GISA at a glance
- Full name: Gewerbeinformationssystem Austria
- Live since: 30 March 2015
- Replaced: the 14 separate regional trade registers
- Legal basis: § 365 GewO 1994, introduced by BGBl. I No. 18/2015
- Run by: the federal government, the provinces and the statutory cities jointly; established at the BMWET
- Search: public and free of charge (§ 365e para. 4 GewO)
- Holds: active trade licences with location, exact wording and GISA number
What a GISA number is
Every single trade licence receives its own GISA number when it is entered — a permanent identifier that does not change. It is named explicitly in § 365a para. 1 GewO among the data to be recorded.
The part that surprises people: the number belongs to the licence, not the person. Register three trades and you hold three GISA numbers. It is how an authority, a client or a bank looks up that one specific licence — which is why you will often see it on an Austrian invoice or a contract.
Who may see what
The register is not simply public. § 365e GewO splits the data into three tiers — the part most explanations leave out:
| Tier | Who may access it | Basis |
|---|---|---|
| Public Name or company, location, exact wording of the licence, GISA number, dates | anyone, no reason required | § 365e para. 1 in conjunction with § 365a para. 1, § 365b para. 1, § 365d |
| On legitimate interest further personal details | only those who credibly show that interest | § 365e para. 1 (parts of § 365a para. 2, § 365b para. 2) |
| Not at all specially protected data | nobody — disclosure is excluded by law | § 365e para. 1, final sentence |
There is no “good reason” exception for the third tier. The statute does not say “only where necessary” — it says no information is to be given.
Access is free — by law
One distinction worth knowing: a search (§ 365e) is looking something up in the open register. An extract (§ 365c) is a document bearing an official signature, used as proof towards third parties. There are five kinds of extract; the more extensive ones require a legitimate interest.
GISA is not the Firmenbuch
Foreign founders mix these up constantly. They answer different questions:
| Question | GISA | Firmenbuch (companies register) |
|---|---|---|
| Answers | May this person or company carry out this activity commercially? | Does this company exist as a legal entity, and who represents it? |
| Who is listed | everyone holding an active trade licence | corporations, partnerships, registered sole traders |
| Kept by | the trade authorities, technically at the BMWET | the courts |
For a sole trader not entered in the Firmenbuch, the BMWET describes GISA as the only authentic source of information. That is the practical core: for most one-person businesses in Austria, GISA is the only official proof that they exist.
GISA as open data
The active trade licences are also published as an open dataset —
without personal data, under CC-BY 4.0 on
data.gv.at
(dataset OgdAufrechteGewerbeberechtigung), refreshed monthly.
That is exactly what our market check computes density from. If you want to run the numbers yourself, you do not need us — the source is open to everyone.
GISA vs. GISA-Express
GISA-Express is a function inside it, live since February 2026: automated registration of standard cases without manual review by an official. How it works and where it stops is on GISA-Express.
What is not here
- No way to have an entry deleted. An entry ends when the trade licence ends — not on request. The grounds for termination are in the GewO, not on this page.
- No lookup of individual businesses. We do not mirror the register. To find a specific entry, search directly at gisa.gv.at.
- No legal advice. Which data must be disclosed to whom in an individual case is decided by the authority, not by this page.
Sources
- GewO 1994, consolidated version (RIS) — §§ 365, 365a, 365b, 365c, 365d, 365e
- BMWET — Gewerbeinformationssystem Austria
- gisa.gv.at — the official search
- data.gv.at — open dataset, CC-BY 4.0