Prostitute Protection Act

The Prostitute Protection Act (Prostituiertenschutzgesetz - ProstSchG). It has been in force in Germany since 01 July 2017.

Anybody who is engaging or wants to engage in prostitution or sex work must register with a public authority and receive health counselling at regular intervals. 

Condoms are mandatory for sex work.

In order to operate a prostitution establishment, you need an official permit.

The operator may not advertise sex with pregnant women or sex without a condom.

It applies to you if you take money for sexual services or other gratuities that help you earn or supplement your cost of living. If you are not quite sure, please feel free to ask us for advice.

Even if you only occasionally engage in sex work, you must abide by the law. The only thing that matters is whether you receive something in return that you use to cover your cost of living. It doesn't matter where you work, be it in a brothel, an apartment, a vehicle or caravan, or on the street.

In Germany, voluntary prostitution is only allowed for people over the age of 18. This includes all sexual acts for a fee in the presence of at least one other person. Under-18s (minors) are prohibited from engaging in prostitution because they are under special protection. Sexual acts with minors in exchange for money are a criminal offence in Germany (“sexual abuse”). Persuading minors to engage in such acts is also a criminal offence. The law for the protection of minors also forbids minors to stay at amusement venues that offer sexualised entertainment, e.g. swinger clubs, sex saunas or table dance bars.

This includes sexual intercourse, erotic massages, oral sex, escort, sexual assistance or various sexual practices such as BDSM or Tantra. If you are just performing, i.e. as an actor or actress, the law does not apply to you. This means, for example, peep shows, table dancing, phone sex, Internet videos or filming of pornographic movies. However, an exception is made if other persons besides the actors and actresses are actively involved in the performances or filming.

Condom requirement means that anal, oral and vaginal sex may only be performed using a condom. This requirement applies both to you and your clients. Operators of prostitution establishments must put up a clearly visible notice pointing out the condom requirement. In addition, they may not promote unprotected sex. Sometimes attempts are made to circumvent the ban by using certain terms or abbreviations, such as “AO”, “FO” or "natur"; however, this is also prohibited. The condom requirement protects you against sexually transmitted infections (STI) and unwanted pregnancy. 

If a client tries to persuade or urge you to have sex without a condom, you can point out the legal requirement to him or her. Otherwise he or she will face a heavy fine, up to 50,000 euros. Nobody is permitted to force you to have sex without a condom, not even the operator of a brothel. It is best to work with condoms only, no matter what kind of sex you are having. Always make sure that the condoms are undamaged. Counselling centres and public health offices can give you further advice on this and can also help you to buy condoms. Just contact us, we will be happy to help.

Feel free to contact us, we are there to help you.

First of all you need to get health counselling at the relevant public health office (Gesundheitsamt).

After that you need to register as a sex worker with your local public order enforcement office (Ordnungsamt). 

You must register and get health counselling in the location where you want to work most of the time. For example, if you want to work in Cologne most of the time, the authorities in Cologne are the right address for you.

An exception applies in the administrative district of Detmold with the city of Bielefeld and the districts of Gütersloh, Herford, Höxter, Lippe, Minden-Lübbecke and Paderborn. There you can register and get health counselling only in the city of Bielefeld.