When service ends under the new hours, what an operating licence costs, the VIP table rules, what the bill and the team cost, and the nights that fill the city.
Amsterdam runs late by rule. From 14 October 2026, clubs may open to 4 a.m. Sunday to Thursday and 5 a.m. on Friday and Saturday, and bars to 1 a.m. and 3 a.m., with 12 late exemptions a year. About 150 evening cafés around Rembrandtplein and the Leidsebuurt keep 3 a.m. and 4 a.m. hours. De Pijp, NDSM and Noord are named as nightlife areas too. Existing venues keep their current hours until 14 October 2029. The year peaks at King’s Night and King’s Day and at Amsterdam Dance Event in October. Bottle service sits under a notification rule, with certified door staff and bank payments only, so an operator budgets for the paperwork as well as the night.
What the Dutch State and the City of Amsterdam ask of a licensed room, from opening hours to the door. Liquor licences come from the City of Amsterdam, Horeca.
These are the maximum standard hours under the new rules from 14 October 2026; bars are cafés, eating cafés and cocktail bars, clubs are discos and nightclubs. Existing venues keep their current hours until 14 October 2029. Later nights need an exemption.
A venue serving alcohol needs a Verklaring Sociale Hygiene. It applies to owners and co-owners, and managers must be 21 or older, of good conduct and allowed to work in the Netherlands.
MoreAnyone registered before 1 July 2023 must reconfirm before 1 July 2028. Servers must be 16 or over, and under-18s cannot drink alcohol while working.
Source: Business.gov.nlA venue with a door person must have a door policy and publish it to guests. Its rules must be clear, checkable and not discriminatory. VIP tables need certified door staff.
MoreWrite the policy down before you open, and put it where guests can read it.
Source: Door policyIt is forbidden to supply alcohol to anyone whose age of 18 has not been established.
MoreAt VIP tables, check the ID of every guest for age 18.
Source: wetten.overheid.nlRunning a horeca business needs an exploitatievergunning from the City, on top of the mayor’s licence the Alcoholwet requires. It costs €3,621.50 with a terrace, and you pay even if it is refused.
MoreThe City has 16 weeks to decide and runs a Bibob integrity check. Budget for the wait before you sign a lease.
Source: Operating licenceA venue that offers VIP tables must notify the City. The venue sells the tables itself, certified door staff check guests, cameras cover the whole VIP area and footage is kept for at least 9 days.
MoreGuests pay every VIP bill and every bottle of alcohol in the venue through the bank. No cash. You also need a safety plan.
Source: VIP tablesSummer terraces run to 1 a.m. on weekdays and 2 a.m. at weekends, from 1 March to 1 November. Winter terraces close at midnight.
MoreDistricts may set earlier times, and current district terrace policies stay until replaced.
Source: Horecabeleid 2025The new maximum hours for bars are 7 a.m. to 1 a.m. Sunday to Thursday and to 3 a.m. Friday and Saturday. Clubs run 9 a.m. to 4 a.m. Sunday to Thursday and to 5 a.m. Friday and Saturday.
MoreFor most bars and clubs these are also the current hours. About 150 evening cafés keep 3 a.m. and 4 a.m.
Source: Horecabeleid 2025The new rules start on 14 October 2026. Existing venues keep their hours until 14 October 2029. A new operator, even at an existing address, gets the new rules at once.
MoreTaking over a room resets its hours to the new standard.
Source: City of AmsterdamAn exemption for later opening costs €335.50. Windows and doors stay closed and at least one supervisor stands at the door. It covers the building, not terraces.
MoreApply one day ahead, or one week ahead if you had a warning in the last 6 months. Up to 5 a year, and once a month for a night venue.
Source: Late exemptionFrom 14 October 2026, bars and clubs can have 12 late exemptions a year, at least 6 days apart, and neighbours must be told. Clubs can also apply for a flexible permit for up to five years.
MoreThe flexible permit needs a good record over the previous two years, and districts may exclude areas such as residential ones.
Source: Horecabeleid 2025Weekend closing times apply at Easter, Whitsun, Christmas, New Year’s Eve and the night before King’s Day. No individual exemption can be had on New Year’s Eve or King’s Night.
MoreWhen 25 or 31 December is not a Friday or Saturday, the following night still gets Friday and Saturday hours.
Source: Horecabeleid 2025A new bar or club needs the City’s operating licence before it opens. In Amsterdam the path runs in this order.
The use must fit the zoning and not harm the surroundings, and you must show how the start capital is funded.
Source: Operating licenceManagers must be 21 or older, of good conduct and allowed to work in the Netherlands, with a social hygiene certificate where alcohol is served. The Alcoholwet forbids running a horeca business without the mayor’s licence.
Source: Operating licenceSource: wetten.overheid.nlThe fee is €3,010.80 without a terrace and €3,621.50 with one. You pay even if the City refuses.
Source: Operating licenceIssued by the City of Amsterdam, Horeca
General information, not legal advice. Laws and licence conditions change and vary by venue. Confirm with the City of Amsterdam before acting on it.
How a table’s bill adds up once tax and a service charge are on it, and what guests pay at the door.
| Minimum spend | €1,000.00 |
|---|---|
| Service charge 10%, added by the venue | €100.00 |
| BTW 21%, included in the prices | €190.91 |
| Guest pays | €1,100.00 |
| Tip the guest chooses to add | No tax |
Prices include BTW. Alcoholic drinks carry the 21% rate, including mixed drinks.
Source: BTW on drinksFood and non-alcoholic drinks in a horeca business carry the 9% rate, so a table with soft drinks and food on the bill splits between 21% and 9%.
Source: BTW on foodEntry to a disco or club where the artists play a minor part is 21%. A ticketed dance party built around the performance is 9%.
Source: BTW on entryThe sources read do not say how BTW treats a service charge, so the example taxes it at the drinks rate. Check with the Belastingdienst before you print a bill.
Source: BTW on drinksGuests must pay the VIP table bill and every bottle of alcohol in the venue through the bank. The venue accepts no cash.
Source: VIP tablesRough estimates for tickets and bottle-service tables, from public listings and venues’ own pages.
€15 to €30
Typically about €20
No Amsterdam venue publishes a club night price on its own page, so this is a general estimate for a Thursday to Saturday club night, generalised from comparable European cities. Headliner and festival nights cost more.
€400 to €1,000
A typical table, about €600
No Amsterdam club publishes a table minimum on its own page, so this is a general estimate for the lowest table, generalised from comparable European cities, before the service charge. Prices include BTW.
Figures are estimates from the sources and samples listed. They change often and may be wrong. Check with the venue or the relevant authority before relying on them. Venues and events named here aren’t affiliated with VenueStack and haven’t endorsed this guide.
The legal minimum wage, and the rules on tips and pay.
Minimum wage €14.99 an hour, since 1 July 2026Source: Rijksoverheid
The minimum for age 21 and over was €14.71 from 1 January 2026 and is €14.99 from 1 July 2026.
Source: RijksoverheidWorkers aged 15 to 20 have lower fixed minimums: €4.50 to €11.99 an hour from 1 July 2026.
Source: RijksoverheidServers must be 16 or over, and under-18s cannot drink alcohol while working.
Source: Business.gov.nl
The nights that fill a room, or empty it, month by month.
No city-wide dates
No city-wide dates
Summer terraces may run to 1 a.m. on weekdays and 2 a.m. at weekends until 1 November.
Weekend closing times apply, so every night of the long weekend trades late.
Weekend closing times apply and no individual exemption can be had.
The street party of the year, with the whole city trading.
Weekend closing times apply over the holiday.
No city-wide dates
No city-wide dates
No city-wide dates
No city-wide dates
A five-day club festival. Participating venues share an opening-hours exemption and need a safety plan, certified door staff, a drugs safe fixed to the wall and free drinking water.
Official siteTerraces close at midnight until 1 March.
Weekend closing times apply at Christmas; when 25 December is not a Friday or Saturday, the following night still gets Friday and Saturday hours.
Weekend closing times apply and no individual exemption can be had.
Amsterdam’s nightlife districts and the rooms each is known for.
A nightlife area where many of the roughly 150 evening cafés with 3 a.m. and 4 a.m. hours sit.
A nightlife area where many of the roughly 150 evening cafés with 3 a.m. and 4 a.m. hours sit.
Named by I amsterdam as one of the city’s nightlife areas, on the north bank.
Named by I amsterdam as one of the city’s nightlife areas.
What the City spends on its nights. This describes city policy, not any venue’s guests.
Sell tickets, take table bookings with deposits, run the guest list and check guests in at the door, in one place. Built for clubs, lounges and bars.
From 14 October 2026, the maximum standard hours are 1 a.m. Sunday to Thursday and 3 a.m. Friday and Saturday for bars, and 4 a.m. and 5 a.m. for clubs. Existing venues keep their current hours until 14 October 2029, and about 150 evening cafés keep 3 a.m. and 4 a.m.
Bars, meaning cafés, eating cafés and cocktail bars, run 7 a.m. to 1 a.m. Sunday to Thursday and to 3 a.m. Friday and Saturday. Clubs, meaning discos and nightclubs, run 9 a.m. to 4 a.m. Sunday to Thursday and to 5 a.m. Friday and Saturday. Restaurants lose an hour at weekends.
Yes, with an exemption. From 14 October 2026, bars and clubs can have 12 late exemptions a year, at least 6 days apart, with neighbours told. Today a one-off exemption costs €335.50 and is applied for a day ahead. Clubs can also apply for a flexible permit for up to five years.
Apply to the City for an exploitatievergunning. You show how the start capital is funded, the use must fit the zoning, and managers must be 21 or older, of good conduct and hold a social hygiene certificate. A Bibob check is part of it, and the City has 16 weeks to decide.
€3,010.80 for a new licence without a terrace and €3,621.50 with one. You pay even if the City refuses it.
Notify the City. Sell the tables yourself, use certified door staff, check every VIP guest’s ID for age 18 and cover the whole VIP area with cameras, keeping footage for at least 9 days. Guests pay VIP bills and all bottles of alcohol through the bank, never in cash, and you need a safety plan.
Where a venue offers VIP tables, certified door staff check the guests. Any venue with a door person must also have a published door policy that is clear, checkable and not discriminatory.
18. Supplying alcohol to anyone whose age of 18 has not been established is forbidden. Servers must be 16 or over, and under-18s cannot drink alcohol while working.
Yes, as an independent foundation, the Night Mayor Foundation (N8BM), not a City office. The City works with it and with the club owners’ body, Overleg Amsterdamse Clubs, and holds a night culture consultation every last Thursday of the month.
Alcoholic drinks are 21% and non-alcoholic drinks and food are 9%. Entry to a club where artists play a minor part is 21%; a ticketed dance party built around the performance is 9%. Prices include BTW.
€14.99 an hour for age 21 and over from 1 July 2026, up from €14.71 from 1 January 2026. Workers aged 15 to 20 have lower fixed minimums, €4.50 to €11.99 an hour from July.
No Amsterdam venue’s own page gives a price we could read, so this is a general estimate from comparable European cities: roughly €15 to €30 for a club night and €400 to €1,000 for the lowest table, before the service charge. Prices include BTW.
VenueStack publishes this guide for general information. We take care to keep it accurate and list our sources and review dates, but we can’t guarantee it is complete, current or correct, and we aren’t responsible for decisions made on it. Nothing here is legal, tax or financial advice. Prices, minimums and wages are estimates from the samples described and don’t represent any particular venue. Venues, events and organisations named here aren’t affiliated with VenueStack and haven’t endorsed this guide.
Data gathered in October 2026. Spotted something out of date? Tell us.
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