Auftrag

Auftrag is a German noun meaning assignment, order, or commission. It covers a wide range of uses, from a casual request to perform a task to a formal procurement or public commission. In everyday language it can refer to any instruction given to someone to do something; in business and cultural contexts it often denotes a formal task that must be carried out or a work contract.

Etymology and scope: the term derives from the verb auftragen, to lay something upon or to assign. The concept appears across administrative, legal, and artistic contexts in German-speaking regions, and it remains common in contemporary procurement and project work.

In German civil law, Auftrag describes a contract under which one person (the Auftraggeber) entrusts another (the Beauftragter) with the performance of a service. The Beauftragter is obliged to carry out the entrusted task faithfully and with appropriate care and to report back as required. The Auftraggeber generally pays compensation and reimburses necessary expenses. The Auftrag contract is distinct from an employment contract (Arbeitsvertrag) and from a contract for work (Werkvertrag), though both can interact with it in practice.

Applications and examples include business orders, service commissions, professional mandates, and artistic or architectural commissions where a client requests a person or organization to produce a result or provide a service. The term is also used in procurement and public administration to describe formal instructions to suppliers or contractors.

See also: Auftraggeber (principal), Auftragnehmer (contractor/agent), Beauftragung (commissioning), Beauftragter (the commissioned party).