Key points at a glance
- In Austria you become a Rechtsanwält:in (lawyer) by entry on the list of lawyers kept by the committee of the chamber in whose district your office is located (§ 5 RAO), not by appointment.
- Requirements include five years of practical training, at least three of them with lawyers and, since 1 July 2025, five months at a court or public prosecutor's office, plus the Rechtsanwaltsprüfung (bar exam).
- Before registration you need professional indemnity insurance of at least €400,000 per claim (§ 21a RAO), or €2,400,000 for a Rechtsanwalts-GmbH.
- The biggest running cost is usually chamber and pension contributions, which vary from chamber to chamber.
- For your first clients, what counts is your network, legal aid appointments, the ÖRAK lawyer search and a website that presents your practice areas factually and completely.
This post is general information, not legal or tax advice for your individual case. Laws, professional guidelines and chamber fees change: check the details with your chamber, the relevant authority or your professional association before you make a decision.
The route to registration at a glance
The Rechtsanwaltsordnung (RAO, Austrian Lawyers' Act) ties the right to practise to requirements that can be verified. Only once all of them are proven does the committee of the competent Rechtsanwaltskammer (bar association) enter you on the list. From that day you may use the protected professional title, in the form that matches your gender (§ 1 para. 1a RAO). The typical route looks like this:
Degree in Austrian law
At least four years or 240 ECTS credits, including at least 200 ECTS in the compulsory subject areas; the degree may also be made up of several programmes (§ 3 RAO).
Court training (Gerichtspraxis)
At least five months at a court or public prosecutor's office. This shorter period applies to court training applied for from 1 July 2025; before that it was seven months (§ 2 para. 2 RAO).
Trainee period in a law firm
Entry on the list of trainee lawyers (Rechtsanwaltsanwärter:innen) and at least three years working for lawyers. Five years of practical training are needed in total; certain other legal work is credited (§ 2 RAO).
Training courses
At least 42 half-days of training courses (§ 1 para. 2 lit. f RAO), which you attend alongside your trainee period.
Bar exam (Rechtsanwaltsprüfung)
You may sit it after three years of practical training, including five months at a court or prosecutor's office and two years in a law firm (§ 2 RAPG). The exam is held before the examination board at the Oberlandesgericht (higher regional court) and has a written and an oral part.
Application, pledge, registration
After the five years you apply for registration to the committee of the chamber where your future office will be, take the professional pledge (Gelöbnis, § 7 RAO) and are published in the ÖRAK electronic directory (§ 5 para. 5 RAO).
Realistically, then, your own firm comes no earlier than about five years after graduation. Even so, do not leave planning the launch until the last month: indemnity cover, premises, software and website all need lead time, and many decisions depend on one another.
The application to the Rechtsanwaltskammer
The competent body is the chamber in whose district your office will be located (§ 5 para. 1 RAO). Austria has nine Rechtsanwaltskammern, one per federal state, with the Österreichischer Rechtsanwaltskammertag (ÖRAK, Austrian Bar) as the umbrella organisation. With the application you submit evidence of your degree, practical training, training courses and exam, together with confirmation of your indemnity insurance (§ 21a para. 1 RAO). The committee also checks that you are trustworthy (Vertrauenswürdigkeit, § 5 para. 2 RAO).
Registration also brings the duties of membership: the chamber fee, contributions to the pension scheme (Versorgungseinrichtung) and being appointed to legal aid cases (Verfahrenshilfe) on a rota basis (§§ 45, 45a RAO). For legal aid, the federal government pays a lump sum to the legal profession, which is credited towards pension provision. A branch office (Kanzleiniederlassung) is only possible with the chamber's approval and a lawyer on site (§ 7a RAO).
Professional indemnity under § 21a RAO
No proof of insurance, no registration. The minimum sum insured is €400,000 per claim. If you set up a Rechtsanwalts-GmbH, a Flexible Kapitalgesellschaft or a partnership whose sole general partner is such a company, it rises to €2,400,000. Excluding or limiting run-off cover in time is not permitted (§ 21a para. 5 RAO), and the insurer reports changes and the end of the contract directly to the chamber (§ 21a para. 6 RAO).
The minimum sum is a floor, not a recommendation. If you handle property transactions with escrow, advise companies or take on high-value disputes, align your cover with your own risk. Get several quotes and have the territorial scope confirmed: you will also need it later for the information duties under the Dienstleistungsgesetz (Services Act) on your website.
Sole practice or law firm company?
Most lawyers start alone. A sole practice is not entered in the commercial register (§ 1 para. 4 RAO) and needs no partnership agreement. If you want to appear together with colleagues, you choose one of the legal forms under § 1a RAO. Since the Berufsrechts-Änderungsgesetz 2026 (largely in force since 1 August 2026), the circle of possible partners and shareholders is narrower: essentially only lawyers, under certain conditions former lawyers, and a general partner GmbH or FlexKapG may hold an interest (§ 21c RAO).
| Form | Commercial register | Minimum indemnity cover | Typical case |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sole practice (Einzelkanzlei) | no | €400,000 | starting alone, also with trainees and an assistant |
| Civil-law partnership (GesbR) | no | €400,000 per lawyer | loose cooperation with joint practice |
| Rechtsanwalts-Partnerschaft (OG/KG) | yes | €400,000 | joint appearance under one firm name |
| Rechtsanwalts-GmbH or FlexKapG | yes | €2,400,000 | limited liability, several shareholders |
A stock corporation (AG) is not permitted, and lawyers must hold the majority of the capital and controlling influence. The name of a firm may only include the names of (former) lawyers, must refer to the legal profession and must not claim exclusivity in a field or a place (§ 1b RAO). Important for how you present yourself: a sole practice that uses „Rechtsanwälte“ (lawyers, plural) or „& Partner“ in its name risks disciplinary proceedings. More on this in the post Advertising for lawyers in Austria.
What costs to expect
The chambers set their own fees, so there is no single figure for all of Austria. The following examples come from the published 2026 fee and levy regulations (Beitrags- und Umlagenordnungen) of individual chambers and show the order of magnitude. Ask your chamber for the current amounts and for reductions in the first years.
| Item | Example | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Entry on the list | €300 one-off (Salzburg) | one-off chamber fee |
| Chamber fee | €900 basic fee (Salzburg); €1,300 (Burgenland) | increases for each trainee lawyer employed |
| Escrow insurance | €360 (Burgenland) | contribution to the chamber's escrow scheme |
| Second-risk insurance | €1,142.31 a year for a €400,000 sum (Salzburg) | via the chamber |
| Pension provision part A | around €747 a month after credits (Vorarlberg) | compulsory contribution to the pension scheme |
| Pension provision part B | €750 a month, reducible to €150 on first registration (Vorarlberg) | apply for the reduction |
| Professional indemnity | on quotation | depends on sum insured and type of work |
| Website | €1,800 net one-off, hosting €30 net per month | fixed price at Meine-Kanzlei-Website |
On top of that come premises, practice management software, the lawyer ID card, connection to the electronic legal communication system (ERV) and staff, if any. As a lawyer you provide services subject to VAT and usually reclaim the VAT on investments as input tax. That does not apply while you use the small business scheme (annual turnover up to €55,000 gross since 2025): then the gross amount is your actual cost.
What does the firm website cost in the first year?
The cost calculator compares an agency, a website builder and a fixed-price website including hosting and domain, so you can budget this item realistically.
Organisation in the first weeks
To do before and shortly after registration
- Apply to the chamber for your lawyer ID card with the electronic lawyer signature
- Set up access to electronic legal communication (ERV) via a transmission provider; you must keep the necessary facilities available (§ 9 para. 1a RAO)
- Open a client trust account (Anderkonto) and keep the trust ledger as soon as you take on escrow mandates (§ 10a RAO)
- Organise anti-money laundering training for yourself and your staff (§ 21b RAO)
- Bind your staff to professional secrecy (§ 9 para. 2 RAO)
- Register with the tax office and apply for a VAT ID; no trade registration is needed because the Gewerbeordnung (Trade Act) does not apply to lawyers (§ 2 para. 1 no. 10 GewO 1994)
- Record your CPD: 36 hours per three calendar years, no more than 18 of them by self-study (§ 54 RL-BA 2015)
- Prepare fee templates: with every new instruction, inform the client of the basis on which the fee is calculated and of your right to interim invoices (§ 15 para. 2 RL-BA 2015), ideally in a written fee agreement; for unpaid fee notes, keep a template for a payment reminder and dunning letter ready
Whether you are entitled to fee exemptions under the Neugründungs-Förderungsgesetz (New Business Promotion Act) when you set up is best clarified directly with your chamber as your statutory professional body. A general roadmap for all firm professions, from premises to insurance, is in the post Setting up a firm in Austria.
Where your first clients come from
The client base of the firm where you trained does not belong to you. In the first months, several small sources usually add up: standing in for colleagues at hearings, legal aid appointments, referrals from tax advisers and notaries, and people who know you from earlier files. The chambers also offer the Erste Anwaltliche Auskunft, a free initial orientation meeting staffed by lawyers on a rota.
- ÖRAK lawyer search: enter your practice areas in full, because people looking for a lawyer filter by them.
- Google Business Profile: for searches such as „Anwalt Arbeitsrecht Linz“ or „employment lawyer Vienna“, the map pack is often decisive. How to set it up is explained in the post Google Business Profile.
- Clear fee information: fees can be freely agreed (§ 16 para. 1 RAO), but a share of the amount in dispute (quota litis) is prohibited. Explaining the first meeting and how you bill in a transparent way removes one of the biggest hurdles before people get in touch.
- Make your specialism visible: Austria has no specialist lawyer titles (Fachanwalt). That makes a truthful, specific description of your areas of practice all the more important.
The website: business card and first meeting in one
Anyone looking for a lawyer usually checks online first whether the practice area, location and costs fit. A law firm website therefore has to answer three questions quickly: what you handle, how the first meeting works and how to reach you. Then come the mandatory details, which are more extensive for lawyers than for many other businesses: chamber, professional title, reference to the professional rules, disclosure (Offenlegung) and details of the indemnity insurance. Exactly what belongs there is shown in the post Imprint for lawyers in Austria.
How to get it right
- Describe practice areas with typical issues, e.g. „notice, summary dismissal, severance pay“
- State the format and cost of the first meeting openly, with prices marked gross or net
- Show your background, languages and availability
- A contact form with a note not to send confidential details before the engagement is accepted
Better avoid
- „The best divorce firm in Graz“ or similar superlatives
- „Rechtsanwälte“ (plural) in the name while you work alone
- Promises of success such as „We will get you the maximum“
- Naming clients or cases without their consent
Which pages and content a firm website needs is covered in the post Website content, and what costs to expect in the post Website costs. With us, a finished firm website costs €1,800 net one-off, or €3,600 net with a content management system you can edit yourself.
Example websites for law firms
See what a firm website with practice areas, team, fee information and a complete imprint can look like, and get a free preview made for your firm.
Sources
- RIS – Rechtsanwaltsordnung (RAO)
- RIS – RAO, § 21a (professional indemnity insurance)
- RIS – Rechtsanwaltsprüfungsgesetz (RAPG)
- RIS – Gewerbeordnung 1994, § 2
- ÖRAK – Richtlinien für die Ausübung des Rechtsanwaltsberufes (RL-BA 2015)
- ÖRAK – the Rechtsanwaltskammern
- ÖRAK – Erste Anwaltliche Auskunft (free initial advice)
- ÖRAK – Beitragsordnung Salzburg 2026
- ÖRAK – Beitragsordnung Burgenland 2026
- ÖRAK – Umlagenordnung Vorarlberg 2026
- Austrian Parliament – Berufsrechts-Änderungsgesetz 2026
- USP – small business scheme from 2025
