Registering a rally or an information stand

Starting question

We want to draw attention to a cause on the street — with a rally, a protest march or an information stand. What do we have to register, and where?

Up front: an open-air assembly is notified to the Versammlungsbehörde (assembly authority) of the Polizei Berlin (Berlin Police) [1]. An information stand without the character of an assembly, by contrast, is a use of public street land (Straßenland) for which the Bezirksamt (district office) grants a permit [2]. Which route fits depends on what you are planning.

Steps

1. Clarify what you are planning.

• Assembly or march (Aufzug): According to the Versammlungsbehörde, “open-air demonstrations (the Berlin Freedom of Assembly Act [Versammlungsfreiheitsgesetz Berlin] speaks of ‘assemblies and marches’) … must be notified to the Versammlungsbehörde in good time” [1].
• Information stand: According to the Bezirksamt Mitte (Mitte district office), information stands on public street land are “a special use [Sondernutzung] requiring a permit” [2].
• Handing out flyers without any structures: According to the Bezirksamt Mitte, this is “not a special use, but must be approved by the Ordnungsamt [public order office]” [2].
• Where the line lies in an individual case is decided by the authority — if in doubt, ask there beforehand.

2. Assembly: observe the deadline. § 12 Abs. 1 VersFG BE, as reproduced by the Versammlungsbehörde: anyone who wants to hold a public assembly in the open air “must notify the competent authority of this at the latest 48 hours before the invitation to the assembly” [1]. What counts, therefore, is the time of the invitation, not the day of the assembly. Under § 12 Abs. 6 and 7, special rules apply to urgent assemblies (Eilversammlungen) and spontaneous assemblies (Spontanversammlungen) [1].

3. Assembly: compile the details. Under § 12 Abs. 2 VersFG BE, the notification must “state the planned course of the assembly by place, time and topic, and for marches also the intended route”, together with the name, address and contact details of the person giving notice and of the person leading the assembly [1]. Anyone deploying stewards (Ordnerinnen und Ordner) states their expected number (Abs. 4); significant changes are reported without delay (Abs. 5) [1].

4. Assembly: submit the notification. According to § 12 Abs. 1, the notification can be made “in writing, electronically or on record [zur Niederschrift]” [1]. For this, the Versammlungsbehörde names the Internetwache (online police station) of the Polizei Berlin and a form for post or fax (form “as of: 03/2026”) [1]. It also provides an information sheet “Hinweise für die Durchführung von öffentlichen Versammlungen und Aufzügen unter freiem Himmel” (notes on holding public assemblies and marches in the open air) [1].

5. Assembly: check special locations. In the befriedete Bezirke (protected zones) of the Bundestag and the Bundesrat, according to the Versammlungsbehörde, approval from the Bundesministerium des Innern (Federal Ministry of the Interior) is additionally required; special rules under § 15 VersFG BE apply around the Abgeordnetenhaus (Berlin House of Representatives) [1].

6. Information stand: apply to the district. In the district of Mitte, the Straßen- und Grünflächenamt (roads and green spaces office; Fachbereich Straßenverwaltung, street administration department) accepts the application [2]; in other districts, check who is responsible on the page of the relevant Bezirksamt. The Bezirksamt Mitte requires an informal application stating the name and address of the institution, a contact person on site, the purpose, the period (day and time), the precisely described location (with a site plan if necessary) and the size of the stand [2]. According to the same source, administrative fees are charged, which are set together with the permit [2].

7. Information stand: read the district's conditions. The Bezirksamt Mitte lists, among other things: a maximum of 3 m × 1 m, pavilions only after case-by-case review, no beach flags; “Collecting donations, concluding contracts and recruiting members in the context of an information stand is not permitted” [2]. These conditions apply to Mitte; other districts may have their own rules — read the page of your own Straßen- und Grünflächenamt there.

Who is responsible

Legal bases as named by the sources: Versammlungsfreiheitsgesetz Berlin (VersFG BE), in particular § 12 and § 15 [1]; for information stands, § 46 StVO in conjunction with §§ 11, 13 Berliner Straßengesetz (Berlin roads act) [2].

Next step

Planning an assembly? Read the page of the Versammlungsbehörde of the Polizei Berlin with the information sheet and notification form: https://www.berlin.de/polizei/service/versammlungsbehoerde/ [1]

If you are planning an information stand, contact the Straßen- und Grünflächenamt of your district (step 6).

Sources

The sources are in German; quotations in the text are our translations.