Open Sunday
Service description
Sales outlets are generally closed on Sundays and public holidays in order to guarantee peace and quiet on Sundays and public holidays and to ensure that sales staff can rest at work. A maximum of four general Sundays open for business per municipality may be authorized by ordinance per year. There is no entitlement vis-à-vis the municipality to approval for Sundays open for business. The permitted opening hours may not exceed five hours; they may not be between 6 a.m. and 11 a.m.
Special information for - City of Idar-ObersteinIn Idar-Oberstein, an event is held at the end of the year or at the beginning of the year to which all tradespeople are publicly invited so that the Sundays open for business can be coordinated for each calendar year.
What documents are required?
An application must be submitted stating who the organizer is, e.g. Werbegemeinschaft der Stadt XY, when the Sunday is to be open for business and in which district it is to take place.
What fees apply?
There are no fees.
What deadlines do I have to observe?
As a hearing procedure is required, the application should be submitted to the authorities approximately six weeks before the planned Sunday opening.
Legal basis
What else should I know?
It is necessary that the municipalities, as regulators, sufficiently weigh up the need to regulate Sundays open for business and the protection of the Sunday before deciding to allow Sundays open for business. This balancing decision must be attached to the draft ordinance as a justification when the trade unions, employers' and business associations, churches and other relevant institutions are consulted.
It should be noted that no public holidays can be released for reasons of public holiday protection. The Shop Opening Act also stipulates that stores may not be open on Easter Sunday, Whit Sunday, Remembrance Day, Sunday of the Dead, Advent Sundays in December and Sundays on which a public holiday falls.
It is possible to release the 1st Sunday of Advent in November. No "consecutive" Sundays may be released. The respective release is to be viewed on a parish-specific basis.