Since 1 January 2023 the VBG membership number has been called the company number (Unternehmensnummer, UNR.S) and has 15 digits. A new company receives it after registering with the Verwaltungs-Berufsgenossenschaft (VBG), which is due within one week of the start of the business under section 192 (1) SGB VII. Classification, payroll reporting and occupational safety duties follow.
How to respond to letters from the VBG in general is covered in the article a letter from the Berufsgenossenschaft. This article sets out the path from the founding day to the first contribution notice and shows which number is needed for what.
Which accident insurance institution is responsible is explained in DGUV and the Berufsgenossenschaft for offices. For pure office and administrative businesses this is usually the VBG; retail, hospitality or health services belong to other Berufsgenossenschaften. Everything below assumes the VBG; the procedures at other Berufsgenossenschaften are similar, but forms and deadlines in their statutes may differ.
Membership number vs. company number: what changed in 2023
The company number (UNR.S) is the identifier of a member company that has been uniform across all Berufsgenossenschaften and public accident insurance funds since 1 January 2023. It replaced each institution's own membership number. The VBG now issues a membership number only for voluntary entrepreneur insurance, which is the personal cover of the entrepreneur.
The company number has 15 digits. The first twelve identify the entrepreneur as a natural or legal person, the last three identify the individual company. Anyone who founds two companies therefore receives two company numbers; anyone who takes out entrepreneur insurance in person also receives a membership number. Existing members were switched over automatically at the turn of 2022 to 2023.
Anyone searching today for their "VBG membership number" almost always means the company number. It appears on every letter from the VBG and is needed for the digital payroll report, for accident reports and for the application for the establishment number.
| Number | Issued by | Used for | When |
|---|---|---|---|
| Company number (UNR.S), 15 digits | Accident insurance institution, such as the VBG | Payroll report, accident report, correspondence with the Berufsgenossenschaft, application for the establishment number | a few days after registration |
| Membership number | VBG | voluntary entrepreneur insurance only | after applying for entrepreneur insurance |
| Establishment number (BBNR), 8 digits | Establishment number service of the Federal Employment Agency | Social security reports | before the first payroll run |
| PIN for the payroll report | Accident insurance institution | Master data retrieval in the payroll software | before the first payroll report |
Registration within one week under section 192 SGB VII
Registration with the accident insurance institution is due within one week of the start of the business. Under section 192 (1) SGB VII, the nature and purpose of the business, the number of insured persons and the opening date or the day preparatory work began must be reported. The VBG offers an online form for this.
Membership of the Berufsgenossenschaft arises by law, not by application. Registration is therefore a notification, not an application: employees are insured against occupational and commuting accidents from their first working day, even if the notification is still missing.
The law itself contains a relief. The duty to notify is deemed fulfilled if a notification under the Trade Regulation Act (Gewerbeordnung) is filed within one week. For a GmbH with a trade registration, the deadline is therefore formally met. Liberal professions such as tax advice, architecture or law firms do not register a trade and must always register with the Berufsgenossenschaft themselves.
A missed notification is an administrative offence under section 209 (1) no. 8 SGB VII, punishable by a fine of up to 2,500 euros. The retroactive assessment is usually more expensive: contributions are charged for every year in which insured persons worked. Changes in the nature and purpose of the business must be reported within four weeks under section 192 (2) SGB VII.
Classification under the hazard tariff: the notice founders should check
Classification is the assignment of a company to a hazard tariff position and thus to a hazard class. Under section 159 (1) SGB VII, the accident insurance institution classifies companies for the tariff period according to its hazard tariff. The result appears in the classification notice and determines the contribution for several years.
In the VBG hazard tariff valid from 1 January 2022, financial services sit at hazard class 0.47, information and communication at 0.52 and consulting, including law firms and tax advisers, at 0.63. An incorrect tariff position can shift the contribution noticeably, for instance if a software company is classified as an engineering firm with hazard class 0.83.
Anyone who gives incomplete information at registration risks an estimate: under section 159 (2) SGB VII the institution classifies the company on its own assessment if the entrepreneur does not meet the duty to provide information. The business purpose should therefore be described in the registration as concretely as it looks in day-to-day work, not as broadly as it is worded in the articles of association.
Payroll report and first contribution: the first year worked through
The contribution to the Berufsgenossenschaft is set retroactively for the past calendar year. It is based on the payroll report, which the company submits digitally by 16 February of the following year under section 165 SGB VII in conjunction with section 99 SGB IV. The VBG sends the first contribution notice in April of the following year.
An example shows how the first year plays out. A consulting GmbH starts on 2 March 2026, registers its trade on 5 March and hires four employees on 1 June 2026, each earning 4,000 euros gross per month. The total pay for 2026 is therefore 7 months × 4 × 4,000 euros = 112,000 euros.
| Date | Event | Legal basis |
|---|---|---|
| 2 March 2026 | Start of the business | section 192 (1) SGB VII |
| by 9 March 2026 | Registration with the VBG or trade notification | section 192 (1) SGB VII |
| March 2026 | Company number, application for establishment number, classification notice | section 159 SGB VII |
| before 1 June 2026 | Risk assessment, initial training, safety support, first aid supplies | sections 5 and 12 ArbSchG, section 2 ASiG |
| by 16 February 2027 | Payroll report 2026 with total pay of 112,000 euros | section 165 SGB VII, section 99 SGB IV |
| April 2027 | Contribution notice 2026 and advance payment notice 2027 | sections 164 and 168 SGB VII |
Using the VBG figures for the 2025 levy year, the main contribution comes to 112,000 euros × 0.63 × 4.40 euros ÷ 1,000 = around 310 euros. The burden sharing by pay does not apply at this total, because the VBG applies an allowance of 270,000 euros. The VBG calculates the 2026 contribution with the contribution rate it sets for 2026. The formula, surcharges and examples for larger businesses are in the article Berufsgenossenschaft contribution.
Entrepreneur insurance: the cover that does not come automatically
Entrepreneurs are not compulsorily insured with the VBG. They can insure themselves voluntarily under section 6 SGB VII and receive their own membership number for it. Without this insurance, a founder who has an occupational or commuting accident has no claim against the statutory accident insurance.
For a GmbH the question depends on the status of the management. An external managing director without shares is usually an employee and therefore compulsorily insured. A majority shareholder who controls the company is usually treated as an entrepreneur. In case of doubt, a status determination procedure at the German Pension Insurance settles the position bindingly.
Voluntary insurance is a separate application and is not handled by registering the company. It is worth having mainly because private accident insurance rarely covers occupational diseases and commuting accidents to the same extent.
Which occupational safety duties start with the first employee
With the first employee, four occupational safety duties begin: the risk assessment under section 5 ArbSchG, training before work starts under section 12 ArbSchG, support from an occupational safety specialist and company doctor under section 2 ASiG, and first aid supplies under ASR A4.3. Membership of the VBG replaces none of these duties.
The Berufsgenossenschaft monitors these duties under section 17 SGB VII. New members can also receive a VBG questionnaire on their safety organisation or a site inspection. The VBG visit forecast estimates when that is likely, and the duties quick check shows which duties apply at your headcount.
The order and thresholds for the start-up phase, from the first first aider to the occupational safety committee at more than 20 employees, are covered in the article occupational safety for new businesses and start-ups.
Membership and occupational safety in six steps
For an office start-up, registration and the first duties can be handled in six steps. The first three belong in the first week after the start of the business, the other three at the latest before the first working day of the first employees.
- Check responsibility. Check whether the business purpose belongs to the VBG or to another Berufsgenossenschaft.
- Register online. Report nature and purpose, number of insured persons and opening date within one week, even if the trade has already been registered.
- Pass on the company number. Give the number to payroll or the tax adviser and apply for the establishment number.
- Check the classification notice. Compare hazard tariff position and hazard class with the actual business.
- Decide on entrepreneur insurance. For founders who do not count as employees, consider voluntary insurance.
- Set up occupational safety before the first working day. Arrange the risk assessment, initial training, safety support and first aid supplies.
For office and administrative businesses, Safety Club takes care of the sixth step and everything after it: an occupational safety specialist on site plus digital, audit-proof documentation. Founding a company right now? Get in touch.
This article is general guidance and does not replace legal advice on individual cases. The current versions of the regulations cited, the hazard tariff and statutes of your accident insurance institution, and the notices you receive from it are authoritative.
