7
members needed to register an e.V. (§ 56 BGB), which is why the unregistered route exists
2
adults are enough to found a Verein that is not registered
€0
no notary, no court, no register entry, no fee
3
documents METRO asks an unregistered association to bring
Which route is yours?
METRO sells to businesses and to associations. Three answers decide which door you use.
A registered business?
Gewerbe or freelance, in your name.
Already in a Verein?
Any club, however small.
Adults who would join you
Including you.
Found a nicht eingetragener Verein with 3 people. No register, no notary, no fee.
What METRO asks to see
- Photo ID
- Vereinssatzung (the written statute you are about to draft)
- METRO’s own “Bestätigung des Vereinsvorstandes” form, naming you as main card holder (download it from METRO’s Verein page and have a board member sign it)
Your steps
- 1Agree the purpose. It has to be a real shared non-economic aim, not "shopping".
- 2Draft the statute: name, seat, purpose, membership, board, meetings, contributions, dissolution.
- 3Hold a founding meeting, adopt the statute, elect the board, and write the minutes.
- 4Everyone signs the statute and the minutes.
- 5Have a board member sign METRO’s confirmation form naming you as main card holder.
- 6Take photo ID and the statute to a METRO market, or register online.
Under § 54 Abs. 2 BGB, whoever acts in the association’s name is personally liable for that deal. In practice that is the person who signs, so keep the buying modest and the purpose real.
What a Satzung looks like
One worked example for an invented club, so you can see the shape of the document METRO asks for. Yours has to describe your own association.
Read this before you copy anything
- This is an example, not legal advice and not a template to file as-is. Ankommo is not a law firm and cannot advise on your case. Founding an association is a legal act, and the statute you sign binds you and everyone who signs with you.
- The association has to be real. A genuine shared purpose, actual members, actual meetings. Writing a statute for a club that does not exist, to get a card, is a false statement to a retailer, and this page will not help you do it.
- You stay personally liable. Under § 54 Abs. 2 BGB, whoever acts in the association's name is personally liable for that deal. Registering removes that; not registering keeps it.
- METRO's requirements are their terms, not law. They can change without notice and individual markets have asked for more. This list was read off their own pages in August 2026. Check theirs on the day.
Muster-Satzung (example, invented club)
Satzung des Kochfreunde Leipzig
§ 1 Name und Sitz
Der Verein führt den Namen "Kochfreunde Leipzig". Er hat seinen Sitz in Leipzig.
Der Verein ist nicht in das Vereinsregister eingetragen. Er ist ein Verein ohne
Rechtspersönlichkeit im Sinne des § 54 BGB.
§ 2 Zweck
Der Zweck des Vereins ist die Förderung gemeinsamen Kochens und der Esskultur.
Der Verein verfolgt keinen wirtschaftlichen Geschäftsbetrieb. Er ist selbstlos
tätig und verfolgt nicht in erster Linie eigenwirtschaftliche Zwecke.
§ 3 Geschäftsjahr
Das Geschäftsjahr ist das Kalenderjahr.
§ 4 Mitgliedschaft
(1) Mitglied kann jede natürliche Person werden, die den Vereinszweck
unterstützt.
(2) Über die Aufnahme entscheidet der Vorstand auf schriftlichen Antrag.
(3) Die Mitgliedschaft endet durch Austritt, Ausschluss oder Tod. Der Austritt
ist gegenüber dem Vorstand schriftlich zu erklären.
(4) Ein Ausschluss ist bei grobem Verstoß gegen die Interessen des Vereins
durch Beschluss der Mitgliederversammlung möglich.
§ 5 Beiträge
Der Jahresbeitrag beträgt 12,00 Euro und ist zu Beginn des Kalenderjahres
fällig. Die Mitgliederversammlung kann die Höhe des Beitrags ändern.
§ 6 Organe
Organe des Vereins sind die Mitgliederversammlung und der Vorstand.
§ 7 Mitgliederversammlung
(1) Die ordentliche Mitgliederversammlung findet mindestens einmal jährlich
statt.
(2) Die Einladung erfolgt in Textform unter Angabe der Tagesordnung mit einer
Frist von zwei Wochen.
(3) Jede ordnungsgemäß einberufene Mitgliederversammlung ist beschlussfähig.
(4) Beschlüsse werden mit einfacher Mehrheit der abgegebenen Stimmen gefasst.
Satzungsänderungen und die Auflösung des Vereins bedürfen einer Mehrheit
von drei Vierteln der abgegebenen Stimmen.
(5) Über die Beschlüsse ist ein Protokoll zu führen, das vom Versammlungsleiter
zu unterzeichnen ist.
§ 8 Vorstand
(1) Der Vorstand besteht aus der bzw. dem Vorsitzenden und der bzw. dem
Kassenwart.
(2) Der Vorstand wird von der Mitgliederversammlung für zwei Jahre gewählt und
bleibt bis zur Neuwahl im Amt.
(3) Der Verein wird durch die Vorstandsmitglieder jeweils einzeln vertreten.
(4) Der Vorstand führt die laufenden Geschäfte des Vereins.
§ 9 Kassenführung
Der Kassenwart verwaltet die Mittel des Vereins und legt der
Mitgliederversammlung jährlich Rechnung.
§ 10 Auflösung
(1) Die Auflösung kann nur von einer Mitgliederversammlung mit einer Mehrheit
von drei Vierteln der abgegebenen Stimmen beschlossen werden.
(2) Bei Auflösung fällt das Vermögen des Vereins an eine von der
Mitgliederversammlung zu bestimmende gemeinnützige Einrichtung.
§ 11 Inkrafttreten
Diese Satzung wurde in der Gründungsversammlung am 05.09.2026 in Leipzig
beschlossen.
Unterschriften der Gründungsmitglieder:
____________________________
Anna Weber
____________________________
Bilal Khan
____________________________
Chiara Rossi
You also write short minutes of the founding meeting (who attended, that the statute was adopted, who was elected). METRO's own confirmation form naming the main card holder is a separate download from their Verein page, signed by a board member.
What a Verein Actually Is
A Verein is a group of people who agree to pursue a shared purpose that is not a business. German law splits it in two. Register it at the Amtsgericht and it becomes an e.V., a legal person in its own right, which needs seven members, a notary and a fee. Do not register it and it is a Verein ohne Rechtspersönlichkeit, often written n.e.V., which needs none of those things.
Until 2024 the unregistered form was the poor relation, governed by partnership rules. The MoPeG reform changed that on 1 January 2024: under the current § 54 BGB, an unregistered association with a non-economic purpose is governed by the same association rules as a registered one and can hold rights and duties itself.
One thing did not change. § 54 Abs. 2 BGB keeps Handelndenhaftung: whoever acts in the association's name toward somebody else is personally liable for that deal. Registering removes that exposure. Not registering keeps it, which is the price of the shortcut and the reason to keep what the association does modest.
The condition everything turns on
§ 54 BGB gives the association form to groups whose purpose is not an economic business operation. A cooking club, a football team, a neighbourhood group, a film society: all fine. A vehicle whose only function is to buy wholesale and resell is not an association, whatever the statute says.
Before you found anything
Where This Route Stops
It does not work alone. An association is an agreement between people. One person with a signed statute is not an association, and handing that over a counter is a false statement to a retailer. If you cannot find a second person who genuinely wants the same thing, this route is closed.
The purpose has to be real. You are writing down a reason your group exists and signing it. Write something you would be comfortable explaining out loud, because the statute is the only evidence the association exists on this route.
The card belongs to the association. METRO issues it against the association, with a board member confirming who holds it. If what you actually want is a cheaper weekly shop for your own household, that is not what this is, and it is better to know that now than at the till.
Requirements are a retailer's terms, not law.METRO can change what it asks for without notice, and individual markets have been known to ask for more than the website lists. The document list here was read off METRO's own pages in August 2026. Check theirs on the day.
Questions People Actually Ask
Is this legal, or a loophole?
It is neither clever nor hidden. METRO names associations as a customer group on their own website, alongside trades and freelancers, and the page for associations opens by saying that whether you are registered or not, associations are always welcome. The unregistered association is a normal legal form set out in § 54 BGB. What makes it feel like a trick is only that most people have never heard of it.
How many people do I need?
Two adults is the legal minimum to form an association, because an association is an agreement between people. Three is steadier: a board of a chair and a treasurer plus one more member survives somebody moving away, and it reads as an association rather than two friends with a document. Seven is a different number entirely, and it only applies if you want to register in the Vereinsregister and become an e.V.
What does it cost?
Nothing. An unregistered association needs no notary, no court, no register entry and no fee. That is the whole difference from an e.V., where you pay a notary to certify the registration and the Amtsgericht to record it. The unregistered route costs you a meeting and two printed documents.
Do we need a bank account or a tax number?
Not for this. METRO asks an unregistered association for photo ID, the statute, and their own signed confirmation form naming the main card holder. The tax number is on the list for registered associations only. A club account is useful once money moves through the association, but it is not on METRO’s list for this route.
Can I just shop for my own household with the card?
That is not what the card is for. METRO is a wholesaler serving businesses and associations, and the card is issued to the association for what the association buys. Treat it as the club’s card, because that is what it is. If your honest answer is that you want cheap groceries for your flat, this route is the wrong one and you should say so to yourself before you found anything.
What am I personally on the hook for?
Since the MoPeG reform took effect on 1 January 2024, an unregistered association with a non-economic purpose is treated under the rules for registered associations and can hold rights and duties itself. But § 54 Abs. 2 BGB keeps what German lawyers call Handelndenhaftung: whoever acts in the association’s name toward a third party is personally liable for that deal. In plain terms, the person who signs is the person who pays if it goes wrong.
Do we have to be gemeinnützig?
No, and it is worth not chasing it. Charitable status is granted by the tax office, brings reporting duties, and is completely unnecessary for a METRO card. Your association simply has to have a purpose that is not a commercial business operation, which is the condition § 54 BGB turns on.
This is information, not legal advice. Founding an association is a legal act and the statute you sign binds you. If real money or real liability is involved, pay somebody qualified to read it first.
While you are sorting out life admin
You Just Signed Something in German
Satzung, Vorstand, Beschlussfassung. German paperwork is its own vocabulary, and it turns up again at the Bürgeramt, the Finanzamt and the Ausländerbehörde. Start free at your level.
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