apply for a liquor license

Once you have submitted the application and all the documents are complete, the competent body will check whether you meet all the requirements for the granting of the requested liquor license.

If you meet all the requirements, you will receive the permit.

Only when you have received the permit, you may start the commercial activity. At the same time as the start of the activity, the trade must be notified to the authority responsible for trade notifications in accordance with § 14 GewO.

Please contact the local municipal administration of the independent municipality, the association of municipalities or the municipal administration of the independent and district towns where the bar is located.

Alternatively, you can contact the Single Point of Contact in Rhineland-Palatinate.The Single Point of Contact is a public office through which you can handle all administrative procedures and formalities required for the commencement and exercise of your service activity and for the recognition of a foreign professional qualification. Further information can be found on the website of the Point of Single Contact.

• Website - Single point of contact Rhineland-Palatinate

In Rhineland-Palatinate, the local trade offices are responsible.

In order for you to be granted a liquor license, you must

• prove your personal reliability

This is checked on the basis of extracts from the Federal Central Register and the Central Trade Register.

• Prove your professional suitability. This is done by submitting proof of instruction in accordance with § 4 Para. 1 Sentence 1 No. 4 GastG from the Chamber of Industry and Commerce or an exemption in accordance with No. 3.4 of the General Administrative Regulation on Proof of Instruction in conjunction with its Appendix 3 to prove your professional suitability.
• Prove that the property-related requirements are met. For example, the premises must meet the requirements of the building regulations set up to protect the health and life of guests and employees, as well as the requirements for toilets. In addition, no harmful environmental effects may emanate from the operation. Accessibility requirements are also checked.

• Copy of identity card or passport with certificate of registration, or presentation on site. Documents relating to the building in which the restaurant is located: Site plan, floor plan to scale and sectional drawing of the establishment (seating plan). If necessary, in duplicate
• Certificate in tax matters from the tax office of the place in which you have lived or operated a business in the last three years.
• Application for a certificate of good conduct for submission to an authority in accordance with § 30 Paragraph 5 of the Federal Central Register Act (Bundeszentralregistergesetz)
• Application for an extract from the Central Trade Register for submission to an authority in accordance with Section 150 (5) of the Trade, Commerce and Industry Regulation Act (Gewerbeordnung)
• Negative certificate from the insolvency court of those local courts in whose district you have had a residence or a commercial establishment in the last three years
• Extract from the debtor file via the enforcement portal of the federal states pursuant to section 882b of the German Code of Civil Procedure (ZPO)
• Proof of instruction from the Chamber of Industry and Commerce (IHK) on the basic principles of food law in accordance with § 4 Para. 1 Sentence 1 No. 4 GastG.
• For legal entities: Current excerpt from the commercial register or register of associations or a copy of the shareholders' agreement or articles of association.
• If the application is submitted by a representative: Power of attorney
• Residence permit, if applicable.

The amount of the fee depends on the administrative effort and the respective administrative fee regulations of the respective country.

Before you start operating, you must have a restaurant license. A timely application is therefore required.

If the authority has not made a decision on an application for permission to operate a trade within a period of three months after receipt of the complete documents (§ 42 Abs. 2 Satz 2 Verwaltungsverfahrensgesetz), the permission is deemed to have been granted (§ 6 a Abs. 1 GewO).

This also applies to procedures under the Catering Act, as long as there are no regulations under Land law (§6a Para.2 GewO).

You must notify the authority responsible for trade notifications according to § 14 GewO of the start of the permitted activity.

If the documents are complete, the application will be processed promptly.

• § 2 Gaststättengesetz (GastG)
• §§ 23, 4, 5 GastG
• §6a Abs.2 GewO

• opposition
• administrative claim

• Written form required: no
• Online procedure possible: yes
• Personal appearance necessary: no

You may not serve alcoholic beverages on your premises without a permit.

03.04.2025
24.03.2021