When service ends today and after 9 January 2027, what a hospitality licence costs, the noise rules, what the bill and the team cost, and the nights that fill the city.
Berlin runs on club culture. visitBerlin counts about 58,000 club events a year and says southern Friedrichshain has the highest density of clubs in the city, with Kreuzberg, Neukölln, Mitte and Schöneberg each drawing a different crowd. Wilde Renate publishes regular hours of Thursday to Saturday, 11 p.m. to 9 a.m. The law still has a Sperrzeit (closing hour) of 5 a.m. to 6 a.m. until 8 January 2027, and none for bars and clubs from 9 January 2027, when only noise law limits the night. The city has just under 20,000 restaurants, cafés, bars, clubs and pubs. The year peaks at Karneval der Kulturen, Fête de la Musique, Christopher Street Day and Club Culture Day. An operator budgets for the licence or the six-week notice and for the neighbours as much as for the night.
What the federal government, the state of Berlin and the district offices (Bezirke) ask of a licensed room, from closing hours to noise. Liquor licences come from the Berlin district Ordnungsämter, via service.berlin.de.
Today the Sperrzeit runs 5 a.m. to 6 a.m. and is lifted in the nights to 1 January, 1 May and 2 May. A district can shorten or lift it for one venue in writing, for a limited time and revocably. From 9 January 2027 bars and clubs have no Sperrzeit; Berlin’s noise law still applies.
Guarding the entrance area of a hospitality disco needs a Sachkundeprüfung (expert knowledge exam) before the IHK, under § 34a of the trade code (GewO). The employer may use only reliable people with an IHK certificate of instruction.
MoreCheck each door person’s certificate before the first shift. The sources do not say whether a venue’s own employed door staff are exempt, so ask your district.
Source: Door staffBeer, wine and sparkling wine may not be given to under-16s, and other alcohol, including spirits, not to under-18s. Night bars and night clubs may not admit children and young people.
MoreA 16 or 17-year-old can have beer or wine in a bar but never a spirit, and cannot be in a club at all. Under-16s may have beer and wine only with a parent or guardian.
Source: Youth protectionUnder-16s may stay in a Gaststätte only with a parent or guardian, or from 5 a.m. to 11 p.m. for a meal or a drink. Guests aged 16 and over may not stay unaccompanied between midnight and 5 a.m. At public dance events, 16 and over may stay until midnight at most.
MoreExceptions exist for events run by an approved youth-aid body. Plan door checks around these hours for any all-ages night.
Source: Youth protection, venuesNight time is 22:00 to 06:00. Making noise that may considerably disturb another person is forbidden, and sound equipment may not run at a volume that considerably disturbs others. Fines go up to €20,000.
MoreOn Sundays and public holidays, leisure facilities also count 00:00 to 07:00 and 22:00 to 24:00 as night time.
Source: Noise lawThe other operation of a venue, outdoor hospitality included, needs a permit at night and on Sundays and holidays if its noise exceeds the guideline values or has a special disturbance potential. Apply at least four weeks ahead.
MoreEvents in tents count as outdoor events. Apply in writing or electronically.
Source: Noise lawIn designated nightlife districts (Ausgehviertel), a terrace is normally acceptable from 22:00 to 23:00 Sunday to Thursday and to 24:00 on Fridays, Saturdays and the day before a public holiday. Elsewhere the senate says outdoor seating that does not disturb may in principle open after 22:00.
MoreThe district can still limit terrace hours, location and seat numbers when it receives your noise notice, and can order a sound system to be level-limited.
Source: Noise law 2027The Lärmschutzfonds (Schallschutzfonds Clubs) pays 80 to 90 percent of noise protection costs for clubs and music venues, up to €50,000 and exceptionally €100,000, with a free acoustic report. The Clubcommission runs it for the Senate.
MoreClubs with at least two years left on the lease, a share of live music and a capacity of up to 1,500 guests have the best chance. Berlin.de still lists the fund among current programmes; fresh money for 2026 is not confirmed.
Source: Noise fundThe Sperrzeit for bars, restaurants, entertainment venues and gaming halls starts at 05:00 and ends at 06:00. It is lifted in the nights to 1 January, 1 May and 2 May.
MoreThis is the law until 8 January 2027. A district can move the start as early as 20:00, push the end to 07:00, or shorten or lift the Sperrzeit for one venue, in writing, for a limited time and revocably, with conditions.
Source: GastVUnder the new Berliner Gaststättengesetz § 10, hospitality businesses are subject to no Sperrzeit from 9 January 2027. Berlin’s noise law is unaffected. Gaming machines keep the closing time of the Spielhallengesetz.
MoreOnly noise law limits the night. Conditions set under the old law, including Sperrzeit conditions, continue.
Source: BlnGastGFrom 9 January 2027 a licence becomes an electronic notice at least six weeks before opening. Where alcohol is served, the authority checks reliability, and you file proof of an application for a Führungszeugnis and a Gewerbezentralregister extract with the notice. The noise authority needs its own notice six weeks ahead.
MoreAnyone lawfully trading on 8 January 2027 need not notify again, and licences already granted continue. Fines for breaches go up to €10,000.
Source: BlnGastGThe licence holder needs proof of the IHK Gaststättenunterrichtung (instruction) or an equivalent qualification today. The senate says the certificate will no longer be mandatory from 2027, though after breaches the authority may order a specialist IHK course.
MoreTake the course now if you apply before 9 January 2027.
Source: LicenceOn Good Friday, Volkstrauertag and Totensonntag, music of any kind in rooms serving drinks and public dance events are banned from 04:00 to 21:00.
MoreClub nights on those three days can start only at 21:00. The district may allow an exception in an urgent case.
Source: Silent daysA bar or club that serves alcohol for drinking on the spot needs a Gaststättenerlaubnis from the district Ordnungsamt until 8 January 2027. From 9 January 2027 an electronic notice six weeks before opening replaces it.
The rooms must suit the building code, cause no harmful environmental effects and meet accessibility rules. The licence names the type of operation, for example a Diskothek, and covers only the rooms named. A building permit may also be needed.
Source: LicenceAdd a Führungszeugnis (police certificate) and a Gewerbezentralregister extract, each not older than three months. In a partnership each partner needs a permit, and a GmbH needs one.
Source: LicenceFile proof of the IHK Gaststättenunterrichtung or an equivalent qualification.
Source: LicenceA lease or purchase contract, a floor plan (ideally 1:100) and, for companies, a commercial register extract.
Source: LicenceApply to the Ordnungsamt of the district where the premises are, online if you like. An unlimited licence costs €100 to €1,500 depending on the work involved, and processing averages about 3 to 5 weeks.
Source: LicenceIssued by the Berlin district Ordnungsämter, via service.berlin.de
General information, not legal advice. Laws and licence conditions change and vary by venue. Confirm with your district Ordnungsamt 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 |
| VAT on drinks 19%, included in the prices | €175.63 |
| Guest pays | €1,100.00 |
| Tip the guest chooses to add | No tax |
Prices include VAT. Drinks, including cocktails and bottles, carry the 19% standard rate.
Source: VATFood served for eating on the spot carries the 7% reduced rate, so a table with food on the bill splits between 19% and 7%.
Source: VATAdmission to concerts and comparable performances by performers is 7%. Whether a DJ club entry counts is not in the text, so the guide assumes the 19% rate. Check with a tax adviser or the Finanzamt.
Source: VATThe sources read do not say how VAT treats a mandatory service charge, so the example taxes it at the drinks rate.
Source: VATTips are tax-free for the employee when guests give them voluntarily on top of the price. A mandatory service charge is not voluntary, so it may not fit that wording.
Source: TipsRough estimates for tickets and bottle-service tables, from public listings and venues’ own pages.
€20 to €25
Typically about €20
Two venues publish entry prices on their own pages: Wilde Renate, typically about €20 including the cloakroom, and Sisyphos, €25 for a special event. Headliner and festival nights cost more.
€250 to €1,000
A typical table, about €500
No Berlin venue publishes a table minimum on its own page, so this is a general estimate for the lowest table, generalised from the Amsterdam and Barcelona estimates, before the service charge. Prices include VAT.
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. Price sources: Wilde Renate, Sisyphos.
The legal minimum wage, and the rules on tips and pay.
Minimum wage €13.90 an hour, since 1 January 2026Source: Destatis
The statutory minimum wage is €13.90 an hour gross from 1 January 2026, up from €12.82.
Source: DestatisTips that guests give voluntarily on top of the price, with no legal claim to them, are tax-free for the employee.
Source: Tips
The nights that fill a room, or empty it, month by month.
No city-wide dates
No city-wide dates
A public holiday in Berlin only.
Official siteMusic in rooms serving drinks and public dance events are banned from 04:00 to 21:00, so a club night starts at 21:00.
A public holiday. While the Sperrzeit applies, it is lifted in the nights to 1 May and 2 May.
A street festival in Kreuzberg with a parade through Friedrichshain and Mitte. The organiser gives 1.1 million visitors.
Official siteFree music on nearly 300 stages from 4 p.m. to 10 p.m. in all 12 districts. Clubs, bars and venues carry on indoors late into the night.
Official siteThe highlight of Berlin’s LGBTQI+ calendar. Up to 750,000 people parade across the city.
Official siteNo city-wide dates
Five days that open the art autumn season, with over 100 museums, galleries and project spaces.
Official siteA public holiday.
The Clubcommission’s citywide week on club culture, with an award for outstanding club culture.
Official siteLight art across the city and a tourism peak.
Official siteMusic in rooms serving drinks and public dance events are banned from 04:00 to 21:00.
The same ban on music and dance events from 04:00 to 21:00.
While the Sperrzeit applies, it is lifted in the night to 1 January.
Public holidays. Christmas parties for groups and companies fill the weeks before.
Official site
Berlin’s nightlife districts and the rooms each is known for.
Clubs and open-air venues; visitBerlin ranks southern Friedrichshain as home to the highest density of clubs in the city.
Cult and alternative, with Oranienstraße bars and Wrangelstraße partying by the Spree.
Hip and multicultural, with Weserstraße as the whole world in one neighbourhood.
Chic and urban, with Auguststraße and Torstraße for artistic celebration.
Queer and lively, with Winterfeldtplatz as a queer neighbourhood.
Elegant and iconic, the old-school side of going out.
The city and its visitors. These figures describe Berlin, 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.
Today the Sperrzeit (closing hour) is 5 a.m. to 6 a.m. for bars, restaurants and entertainment venues, and it is lifted in the nights to 1 January, 1 May and 2 May. A district can shorten or lift it for one venue. From 9 January 2027, bars and clubs have no Sperrzeit at all.
On paper, yes, until 8 January 2027: a Sperrzeit from 5 a.m. to 6 a.m. that a district can shorten or lift in writing for one venue, for a limited time. From 9 January 2027 the Berliner Gaststättengesetz sets no Sperrzeit for bars and clubs, and only noise law limits the night.
The Sperrzeit is abolished, and the licence becomes an electronic notice at least six weeks before opening, with a reliability check where alcohol is served. The IHK instruction certificate is no longer mandatory. Licences granted by then continue, and anyone lawfully trading on 8 January 2027 need not notify again.
Until 8 January 2027, apply online to the Ordnungsamt of your district for a Gaststättenerlaubnis. You need a Führungszeugnis, a Gewerbezentralregister extract, proof of the IHK instruction, a lease or purchase contract and a floor plan. Processing averages 3 to 5 weeks. After that date you file an electronic notice six weeks before opening.
€100 to €1,500 for an unlimited licence, depending on the work involved, and €50 to €500 for a time-limited one. A preliminary licence for taking over a licensed venue costs €17 to €187.50, or €17 to €62.50 if time-limited.
16 for beer, wine and sparkling wine, and 18 for spirits and other alcohol. Night bars and night clubs may not admit children and young people at all.
Guarding the entrance area of a hospitality disco needs a Sachkundeprüfung before the IHK under § 34a of the trade code, and the employer may use only reliable people with an IHK certificate of instruction.
Night time is 22:00 to 06:00, and making noise that may considerably disturb another person is forbidden. Terraces need a night permit if their noise exceeds the guideline values. From 2027, designated nightlife districts treat terraces as normally acceptable to 23:00 Sunday to Thursday and to 24:00 on Fridays, Saturdays and before holidays.
Not until 21:00. On Good Friday, Volkstrauertag and Totensonntag, music in rooms serving drinks and public dance events are banned from 04:00 to 21:00, so club nights start at 21:00.
The Lärmschutzfonds, run by the Clubcommission for the Senate, pays 80 to 90 percent of noise protection costs, up to €50,000 and exceptionally €100,000. Berlin.de lists it among current programmes, but fresh money for 2026 is not confirmed.
19% on drinks and 7% on food served on the spot. Prices include VAT. Concert-style performances are 7%, but whether DJ club entry counts is not confirmed, so the guide assumes 19%.
Wilde Renate says about €20 including the cloakroom, and Sisyphos charged €25 for a special event. No Berlin venue publishes a table minimum, so about €250 to €1,000 for the lowest table is a general estimate from Amsterdam and Barcelona.
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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