Photovoltaics: Planning, Installation and Maintenance Require Registration in the Register of Skilled Crafts (Higher Regional Court of Koblenz)

On 2 June 2026 (case no. 9 U 1015/25), the Higher Regional Court (Oberlandesgericht, OLG) of Koblenz ruled that the planning, installation, commissioning and maintenance of photovoltaic systems constitute essential activities of the roofing trade and the electrical engineering trade and therefore require registration in the register of skilled crafts (Handwerksrolle) (§ 1(2) of the German Crafts Code, HwO). The defendant company was not registered in the register of skilled crafts. Nevertheless, it advertised its PV services "from a single source". The OLG Koblenz thereby upheld the judgment of the lower court, the Regional Court (Landgericht) of Mainz (case no. 12 HK O 11/25). The obligation to register in the register of skilled crafts, the court held, is a market conduct rule within the meaning of the German Act against Unfair Competition (UWG). A breach therefore simultaneously constitutes an act of unfair competition under § 3a UWG (breach of statutory duty) in conjunction with § 8 UWG. The OLG Koblenz also found a misleading practice under § 5a UWG, because the company published customer reviews without disclosing their authenticity and origin. The claimant trade association was therefore entitled to demand cessation under § 8 UWG.

Consequences for practice:

Providers in the PV market who install on their own responsibility mandatorily require the appropriate registration in the register of skilled crafts. In the event of breaches, costly warning letters (Abmahnungen) and, where applicable, court proceedings loom. What remains permissible without registration in the register of skilled crafts is the advertising of pure brokerage activities for photovoltaic systems and corresponding project development. Compliance with this delimitation should be documented as thoroughly as possible.