Prostitution Laws

Prostitution laws in GermanyDeutschland

Regulation (legal & licensed)Full profile · last reviewed 30 October 2026

Germany treats prostitution as a legal, regulated activity. The Prostitution Act (2002) made agreements for sexual services legally enforceable and allowed employment with social insurance. The Prostitutes Protection Act (ProstSchG, in force 1 July 2017) added compulsory registration and health counselling for sex workers, a permit system for brothels and agencies, a condom duty and a ban on certain advertising. Street work is restricted locally through Land ordinances. The government's evaluation (2025) found the law's aims partly achieved; an expert commission is due to present legislative proposals at the end of November 2026, while senior CDU politicians call for a Nordic-model ban on buying sex. A separate bill (2026) would rewrite the criminal offences on exploitation and trafficking.

Legal model

Regulation (legal & licensed). Selling sex and running venues are legal under a licensing or registration regime.

Selling and buying sex are legal, contracts for sexual services are enforceable since the Prostitution Act 2002, and brothels, escort agencies and other 'prostitution businesses' operate under a federal permit regime (ProstSchG 2017). Sex workers must register in person. Criminal law targets exploitation, pimping, trafficking and buying from trafficking victims. A sex-purchase ban is being debated but no bill exists (October 2026).[1][2][3][4][5]

Regional differences

  • Länder and municipalities (restricted zones): Under Art. 297 EGStGB each Land government may ban prostitution by ordinance in whole municipalities of up to 50,000 inhabitants, in parts of municipalities of over 20,000 inhabitants, and on public streets and places (and places visible from them) regardless of size, optionally by time of day. The result is a patchwork of 'Sperrbezirke'. Munich, for example, has 27 restricted zones and bans street soliciting outside a few designated zones and hours. Länder may also limit the territorial validity of the registration certificate (§ 5(3) ProstSchG).[2][6][7]

At a glance

QuestionStatusIn short
Selling sexual servicesLicensed
Breach: administrative offence
Selling sexual services is legal for adults (18+). Before starting, a sex worker must register in person with the competent authority and attend a health counselling session; working without registration is an administrative offence (fine up to EUR 1,000). Agreements for paid sexual services create an enforceable claim to the agreed fee.[1][2][8]
Buying sexual servicesLegalBuying sexual services from an adult is legal. Clients must ensure a condom is used (fine up to EUR 50,000). It is a crime to pay for sex with a victim of trafficking or forced prostitution while exploiting their predicament, including where the client recklessly fails to recognise it, and to pay for sex with anyone under 18.[5][8][9][10][11]
Brothels and managed venuesLicensed
Breach: administrative offence
Running a brothel, escort agency, prostitution vehicle or sex event requires a permit (§ 12 ProstSchG) with a business concept, reliability checks and minimum standards for rooms. Operating without a permit can be fined up to EUR 10,000. Keeping sex workers in personal or economic dependence in such a business is a crime (§ 180a StGB). About 2,260 businesses held permits at the end of 2025.[2][3][8][12][13][14]
Sex workers sharing premisesRestricted
Breach: administrative offence
A sex worker working alone in her own flat needs only personal registration. Once someone rents rooms out specifically for prostitution, steers their use and profits from others' work, the flat is a 'prostitution venue' needing a permit. North Rhine-Westphalia's guidance says equal co-tenants who work independently and only share rent are not a business, but a partnership or one worker running the flat is.[2][15]
Third parties profiting (procuring / pimping)Restricted
Breach: criminal offence
Profiting from another person's prostitution is lawful in a permitted business. Criminal law covers exploitative or controlling pimping (6 months to 5 years), commercially arranging encounters in a way that impairs the worker's independence (up to 3 years), exploitation in a business, and trafficking and forced prostitution (generally up to 10 years, up to 15 in aggravated cases of forced prostitution).[3][4][5][11][16][17][18]
Advertising sexual servicesRestricted
Breach: administrative offence
Advertising sexual services is legal in principle. § 32(3) ProstSchG bans ads that refer to sex without a condom or with pregnant women, even in veiled form, or that by their presentation, content or medium concretely endanger the public, especially youth protection. Breaches can be fined up to EUR 10,000 and the material confiscated. Grossly offensive ads are also an offence under § 119 OWiG.[8][9][12][19][20][21]
Online platforms and ad sitesRestricted
Breach: administrative offence
No statute targets ad platforms specifically. On the statute's wording, a site that makes a non-compliant ad publicly accessible could be fined up to EUR 10,000, subject to the DSA hosting rules; no such fine has been reported. NRW guidance treats sites that broker sex workers to clients and profit indirectly, e.g. from ads, as agencies needing a permit. The 2025 evaluation recommended considering platform regulation; the expert commission has made them a focus.[2][4][8][9][11][13][15][22][23][24]
Street-based sex work and solicitingVariesStreet prostitution is legal where no local ban applies. Land governments may ban prostitution in whole towns of up to 50,000 inhabitants, in parts of towns over 20,000 and on public streets regardless of size, also by time of day (Art. 297 EGStGB). A breach is an administrative offence (§ 120 OWiG); persistent breach is a crime punishable by up to 6 months or a fine (§ 184f StGB), which a 2026 bill would abolish.[2][6][7][11][19][20][25][26][27]
Registration, licensing and health checksLicensed
Breach: administrative offence
Sex workers must register in person before starting work and receive a registration certificate (Anmeldebescheinigung), optionally also an alias certificate, to carry while working. It is valid two years (one year under 21) and nationwide unless a Land rules otherwise. Health counselling, not a medical examination, is required before registration and then yearly (every six months under 21). Registration data are passed to the tax office.[2][8][13]
Tax and social securityLegalIncome from prostitution is taxable: the Federal Fiscal Court held in 2013 that self-employed sex workers earn business income, so income tax, VAT (subject to the small-business threshold) and trade tax can apply. Several Länder use the 'Düsseldorf procedure', in which business operators collect a flat daily advance payment from each worker and pass it to the tax office. Employment with social insurance is possible under the Prostitution Act.[1][2][13][28][29]
Migrant sex workersRestricted
Breach: administrative offence
EU citizens can register and work on the same terms as Germans. Non-EU nationals without free-movement rights must prove at registration that their residence status allows employment or self-employment; otherwise they cannot register lawfully. Most registered sex workers are foreign nationals: at the end of 2025, 82% were non-German, led by Romanians (35%), Bulgarians (11%) and Spaniards (9%).[2][13][14]

The law in detail

Selling sexual services

Legal under licence / registration§§ 1–2 ProstG · §§ 3, 5, 10 ProstSchG · § 33(1) no. 1, (3) ProstSchG

Selling sexual services is legal for adults (18+). Before starting, a sex worker must register in person with the competent authority and attend a health counselling session; working without registration is an administrative offence (fine up to EUR 1,000). Agreements for paid sexual services create an enforceable claim to the agreed fee.[1][2][8]

  • Legal status of the contract: § 1 ProstG makes an agreement for sexual acts against a previously agreed fee a legally effective claim; the claim cannot be assigned (§ 2 ProstG).
  • Registration: § 3 ProstSchG requires registration before starting work, whether self-employed or employed; the certificate (Anmeldebescheinigung) must be refused for under-18s and in cases of indications of coercion or exploitation (§ 5(2)). See the registration topic.
  • Condom duty: § 32(1) ProstSchG obliges both sex workers and clients to ensure condoms are used during intercourse, but only the client's breach is sanctioned (§ 33(1) no. 3).
  • Restricted zones: selling in a zone banned by a Land ordinance is an administrative offence (§ 120 OWiG) and, if persistent, a crime (§ 184f StGB). See street.

Checked 30 October 2026

Buying sexual services

Legal§ 32(1), § 33(1) no. 3 ProstSchG · § 232a(6) StGB · § 182(2) StGB

Buying sexual services from an adult is legal. Clients must ensure a condom is used (fine up to EUR 50,000). It is a crime to pay for sex with a victim of trafficking or forced prostitution while exploiting their predicament, including where the client recklessly fails to recognise it, and to pay for sex with anyone under 18.[5][8][9][10][11]

  • Condom duty: § 32(1) ProstSchG; a client who fails to ensure a condom is used commits an administrative offence (§ 33(1) no. 3), the highest fine bracket in the Act (EUR 50,000, § 33(3)).
  • Clients of trafficking victims: § 232a(6) StGB punishes paying for sexual acts with a victim of trafficking or forced prostitution while exploiting their personal or economic predicament or helplessness linked to being in a foreign country (3 months to 5 years). If the client at least recklessly (leichtfertig) fails to recognise these circumstances, the penalty is up to 3 years or a fine. A client who voluntarily reports the trafficking or forced-prostitution offence committed against that person, before it is discovered, is exempt.
  • Minors: an adult who pays for sexual acts with a person under 18 commits an offence under § 182(2) StGB (up to 5 years or a fine); the 2026 bill would replace it with § 181a StGB-E, dropping the offender age limit and adding a reckless variant.
  • Pending: the 2026 trafficking bill would move the client offence for victims of forced prostitution and sexual exploitation into a new § 181 StGB, drop the exemption for clients who report the offence, and cover clients of trafficking victims under a new general offence that requires knowledge (§ 232a StGB-E). A Nordic-model purchase ban is being debated but no bill exists (see pending).

Checked 30 October 2026

Brothels and managed venues

Legal under licence / registration§§ 2, 12–18, 24–28 ProstSchG · § 33(2) no. 1, (3) ProstSchG · § 180a StGB

Running a brothel, escort agency, prostitution vehicle or sex event requires a permit (§ 12 ProstSchG) with a business concept, reliability checks and minimum standards for rooms. Operating without a permit can be fined up to EUR 10,000. Keeping sex workers in personal or economic dependence in such a business is a crime (§ 180a StGB). About 2,260 businesses held permits at the end of 2025.[2][3][8][12][13][14]

  • Scope: a Prostitutionsgewerbe is any commercial offer of services connected with the sexual services of at least one other person, or of premises for them: a prostitution venue, vehicle, event or agency (§ 2(3)–(7) ProstSchG).
  • Permit: § 12; mandatory refusal if the applicant is under 18 or unreliable (§§ 14–15); a permit must also be refused where there are indications that the type of business is incompatible with sexual self-determination or encourages exploitation, where minimum standards are not met, or where the concept or location conflicts with the public interest or a restricted-zone ordinance (§ 14(2)). According to the Bundestag's research service, the explanatory memorandum treats so-called '(rape) gang-bang' events and flat-rate brothels as typically not permittable.
  • Operator duties: minimum room standards (§ 18), health and safety (§ 24), no under-18s, coerced persons or unregistered workers (§ 25), no instructions on whether or how sexual services are provided and no grossly disproportionate charges (§ 26, also § 3 ProstG), checking registration certificates (§ 27), records (§ 28).
  • Sanctions: operating without a permit, letting barred persons work, or breaching orders are fines up to EUR 10,000 (§ 33(2), (3)). Commercially running a business in which sex workers are kept in personal or economic dependence is punishable by up to 3 years or a fine (§ 180a(1) StGB).
  • Building law: the evaluation found that ProstSchG and planning law are not well aligned; zoning rules can exclude venues regardless of a permit.

Checked 30 October 2026

Sex workers sharing premises

Legal with restrictions§ 2(3)–(4) ProstSchG · § 12 ProstSchG

A sex worker working alone in her own flat needs only personal registration. Once someone rents rooms out specifically for prostitution, steers their use and profits from others' work, the flat is a 'prostitution venue' needing a permit. North Rhine-Westphalia's guidance says equal co-tenants who work independently and only share rent are not a business, but a partnership or one worker running the flat is.[2][15]

The federal Act defines a prostitution business by reference to the sexual services of at least one other person (§ 2(3) ProstSchG), so sole working is outside the permit regime. Where the line falls for groups is left to Land enforcement guidance. The NRW circular of 25 March 2020 (RL ProstSchG-Gewerbe, no. 2.4.3.1) treats a flat as a prostitution venue where a landlord or main tenant deliberately provides it for prostitution, controls its use and draws an economic benefit; co-tenants with equal rights who work independently and only share the rent are not a business, but a civil-law partnership (GbR) of sex workers is, as is a flat where one worker organises the operation for the others. Other Länder may apply their own guidance.

Confidence: medium. Based on the federal definition plus one Land's administrative guideline (NRW, 2020); practice in other Länder was not checked.

Checked 30 October 2026

Third parties profiting (procuring / pimping)

Legal with restrictions§ 180a StGB · § 181a StGB · §§ 232, 232a, 233a StGB · § 38(2) StGB

Profiting from another person's prostitution is lawful in a permitted business. Criminal law covers exploitative or controlling pimping (6 months to 5 years), commercially arranging encounters in a way that impairs the worker's independence (up to 3 years), exploitation in a business, and trafficking and forced prostitution (generally up to 10 years, up to 15 in aggravated cases of forced prostitution).[3][4][5][11][16][17][18]

  • § 181a StGB (Zuhälterei): (1) exploiting a person in prostitution, or for gain supervising her work, setting place, time, extent or conditions, or keeping her from leaving it, where the offender maintains a relationship beyond a single occasion: 6 months to 5 years; (2) commercially promoting another's prostitution by arranging sexual contacts and thereby impairing her personal or economic independence, with such a relationship: up to 3 years or a fine.
  • § 180a StGB: commercially running a business where sex workers are kept in dependence; providing housing for prostitution to under-18s, or to adults combined with pressuring or exploiting them.
  • § 232 StGB (trafficking) and § 232a StGB (forced prostitution): recruiting, transporting or inducing a person into prostitution by exploiting a predicament or helplessness abroad, or any person under 21 regardless of means; § 233a covers exploitation through deprivation of liberty.
  • Pending reform (BT-Drs. 21/6584): the government bill would merge §§ 180a and 181a into a new § 180 StGB-E 'Exploitation in prostitution' (keeping dependence, taking a substantial part of earnings, grossly disproportionate charges, dictating services), drop the relationship requirement and drop the 'promoting' variant of § 181a(2) without a direct successor, move forced prostitution to § 179 StGB-E, create a separate offence for under-18s (§ 180a StGB-E) and repeal § 233a StGB.

Checked 30 October 2026

Advertising sexual services

Legal with restrictions§ 32(3) ProstSchG · § 33(2) no. 14, (3) ProstSchG · § 33a ProstSchG · § 119 OWiG

Advertising sexual services is legal in principle. § 32(3) ProstSchG bans ads that refer to sex without a condom or with pregnant women, even in veiled form, or that by their presentation, content or medium concretely endanger the public, especially youth protection. Breaches can be fined up to EUR 10,000 and the material confiscated. Grossly offensive ads are also an offence under § 119 OWiG.[8][9][12][19][20][21]

  • History: until 30 June 2017, § 120(1) no. 2 OWiG prohibited advertising opportunities for paid sexual acts in general. In 2006 the Federal Court of Justice (BGH, I ZR 241/03, Kontaktanzeigen) read it narrowly after the Prostitution Act: an ad was only unlawful if it concretely endangered the public, particularly minors. The ProstSchG deleted the provision and replaced it with the targeted ban in § 32(3).
  • Current ban (§ 32(3) ProstSchG): applies to anyone who, by distributing content (§ 11(3) StGB), offers, announces or promotes an opportunity for sexual services (1) with a reference to intercourse without a condom, (2) in a way likely to concretely impair public interests, especially youth protection, or (3) with a reference to intercourse with pregnant women. Making content publicly accessible counts as distribution (sentence 2).
  • Sanctions: § 33(2) no. 14 ProstSchG (intent or negligence), fine up to EUR 10,000; objects may be confiscated (§ 33a).
  • General rule: § 119(1) no. 2 OWiG fines grossly offensive public offers of opportunities for sexual acts (paid or not), up to EUR 10,000.

Checked 30 October 2026

Online platforms and ad sites

Legal with restrictions§ 32(3) sentence 2 ProstSchG · § 33(2) no. 14 ProstSchG · § 2(3) no. 4, (7) ProstSchG · § 12 DDG · Regulation (EU) 2022/2065 (DSA)

No statute targets ad platforms specifically. On the statute's wording, a site that makes a non-compliant ad publicly accessible could be fined up to EUR 10,000, subject to the DSA hosting rules; no such fine has been reported. NRW guidance treats sites that broker sex workers to clients and profit indirectly, e.g. from ads, as agencies needing a permit. The 2025 evaluation recommended considering platform regulation; the expert commission has made them a focus.[2][4][8][9][11][13][15][22][23][24]

  • Advertising offence: § 32(3) sentence 2 ProstSchG equates making content publicly accessible with distributing it, and § 33(2) no. 14 expressly covers sentence 2. On its wording, a platform operator who makes a banned ad (e.g. offering sex without a condom) publicly accessible can commit the administrative offence; no reported fine against a platform was found.
  • Hosting liability: the EU Digital Services Act applies directly; in Germany it is enforced under the Digitale-Dienste-Gesetz, with the Bundesnetzagentur as competent authority and the youth-media bodies of the Länder for JMStV measures (§ 12 DDG). Hosting providers are in principle liable only once they know of illegal content and fail to act expeditiously (Art. 6 DSA).
  • Permit as an agency: a Prostitutionsvermittlung (arranging another person's sexual services outside the operator's own venue, § 2(7) ProstSchG) needs a permit. North Rhine-Westphalia's 2020 enforcement circular says internet platforms run to broker sex workers to clients, especially escort services, are permit-requiring agencies where the operator draws even an indirect economic benefit, for example from advertising, while also stating that brokering requires active mediation by the operator. Whether a pure classified-ad board is an agency is therefore unsettled.
  • Criminal procuring: § 181a(2) StGB (commercially arranging encounters) requires impairing the worker's independence and a continuing relationship with her, so it does not readily reach a neutral ad site.
  • Policy direction: the KFN evaluation (2025) recommended considering regulation of 'prostitution platforms' because initiation is moving online. The Prostituiertenschutz-Kommission names digital initiation and platform regulation as a focus and includes a platform-regulation expert; its legislative proposals are due at the end of November 2026. The 2026 trafficking bill's explanatory memorandum cites inducing a victim to produce sexual videos for platforms such as OnlyFans as covered by the new § 179 StGB-E.

Confidence: medium. How the advertising ban and the agency permit apply to ad platforms has not, as far as found, been settled by a court; the agency reading rests on one Land's administrative guideline (NRW, 2020).

Checked 30 October 2026

Street-based sex work and soliciting

Varies by regionArt. 297 EGStGB · § 120 OWiG · § 17(1) OWiG · § 184f StGB · § 184g StGB

Street prostitution is legal where no local ban applies. Land governments may ban prostitution in whole towns of up to 50,000 inhabitants, in parts of towns over 20,000 and on public streets regardless of size, also by time of day (Art. 297 EGStGB). A breach is an administrative offence (§ 120 OWiG); persistent breach is a crime punishable by up to 6 months or a fine (§ 184f StGB), which a 2026 bill would abolish.[2][6][7][11][19][20][25][26][27]

  • Ordinances (Sperrgebietsverordnungen): issued by Land governments or delegated authorities for the protection of young people or public decency (Art. 297(1) EGStGB). Confining sex workers' residence to particular streets ('Kasernierung') is prohibited (Art. 297(3)).
  • Example: the Upper Bavaria government's ordinance for Munich (4 December 2003) sets 27 restricted zones and bans soliciting on public streets, at stations, on public transport and in parks across the city, except in listed solicitation zones, some only between 20:00 or 22:00 and 06:00.
  • Sanctions: § 120 OWiG sets no amount, so the general ceiling of EUR 1,000 applies (§ 17(1) OWiG). § 184f StGB requires persistent breach; the 2026 government bill (BT-Drs. 21/6584) would repeal it, leaving breaches of restricted zones an administrative offence under § 120 OWiG only. § 184g StGB separately punishes prostitution near schools or in buildings where minors live in a way that morally endangers them (up to 1 year or a fine).
  • Nuisance: § 119(1) no. 1 OWiG (offering opportunities for sexual acts in public in a way likely to harass others, fine up to EUR 1,000) and orders under § 11(3) ProstSchG can also be used.

Checked 30 October 2026

Registration, licensing and health checks

Legal under licence / registration§§ 3–7, 10, 11 ProstSchG · § 34(8) ProstSchG · § 33(1) no. 1 ProstSchG

Sex workers must register in person before starting work and receive a registration certificate (Anmeldebescheinigung), optionally also an alias certificate, to carry while working. It is valid two years (one year under 21) and nationwide unless a Land rules otherwise. Health counselling, not a medical examination, is required before registration and then yearly (every six months under 21). Registration data are passed to the tax office.[2][8][13]

  • Procedure (§§ 3–7 ProstSchG): two photos, name, date and place of birth, nationality, residence and planned places of work; ID document; proof of health counselling within the previous three months; an information and counselling interview on rights, health, social insurance, support services and tax. Changes must be reported within 14 days.
  • Refusal (§ 5(2)): under 18; within six weeks before giving birth; under 21 with indications that third parties are pushing the person into prostitution; indications of coercion or exploitation.
  • Validity (§ 5(4)–(7)): 2 years from age 21, 1 year below; alias certificate on request; certificate must be carried while working.
  • Health counselling (§ 10): by the public health service; at least every 12 months (every 6 months under 21); confidential, with an opportunity to disclose coercion.
  • Data: the authority must notify the competent tax office of each registration with name, date and place of birth and address (§ 34(8)).
  • Sanctions: failing to register, fine up to EUR 1,000 (§ 33(1) no. 1).
  • Evaluation findings (KFN 2025): only part of the population of sex workers registers, mainly for fear of disclosure and concerns about data security; some are excluded for immigration-law reasons; authorities rarely identify trafficking victims during registration.

Checked 30 October 2026

Tax and social security

Legal§ 15 EStG (per BFH GrS 1/12) · § 34(8) ProstSchG · § 3 ProstG

Income from prostitution is taxable: the Federal Fiscal Court held in 2013 that self-employed sex workers earn business income, so income tax, VAT (subject to the small-business threshold) and trade tax can apply. Several Länder use the 'Düsseldorf procedure', in which business operators collect a flat daily advance payment from each worker and pass it to the tax office. Employment with social insurance is possible under the Prostitution Act.[1][2][13][28][29]

  • Characterisation: BFH Grand Senate, decision of 20 February 2013, GrS 1/12: self-employed sex workers earn income from a trade or business (Gewerbebetrieb), overruling the 1964 view.
  • Düsseldorfer Verfahren: a non-statutory advance-payment arrangement. According to the NRW information sheet, it applies only to self-employed sex workers working through a prostitution business (brothel, appointment flat or escort service) whose operator has an agreement with the tax office; the operator collects a fixed daily rate per working day regardless of earnings, remits it monthly and issues a certificate so the payments are credited against the worker's actual income tax and VAT; the worker must still file returns. It is used in some Länder, including NRW; amounts and participation vary by Land.
  • Registration link: the ProstSchG requires registration authorities to inform the tax office (§ 34(8)). The KFN evaluation criticised that tax-collection interests shaped parts of the Act.
  • Social insurance: § 3(2) ProstG provides that a limited right of instruction does not prevent an employment relationship under social-insurance law.
  • Local taxes: some municipalities levy an entertainment tax (Vergnügungssteuer) on prostitution.

Confidence: medium. The Düsseldorf procedure has no statutory basis and no official list of participating Länder or current daily rates was found; the NRW information sheet consulted predates 2025 changes to small-business VAT thresholds, so no thresholds are given here.

Checked 30 October 2026

Migrant sex workers

Legal with restrictions§ 4(2) ProstSchG

EU citizens can register and work on the same terms as Germans. Non-EU nationals without free-movement rights must prove at registration that their residence status allows employment or self-employment; otherwise they cannot register lawfully. Most registered sex workers are foreign nationals: at the end of 2025, 82% were non-German, led by Romanians (35%), Bulgarians (11%) and Spaniards (9%).[2][13][14]

§ 4(2) ProstSchG requires non-free-movement foreign nationals to show that they are entitled to take up employment or self-employment. The KFN evaluation found that some people who sell sex are excluded from registration, and from the support offered through it, for immigration-law reasons, contrary to the Act's aims.

Checked 30 October 2026

Key legislation

LawWhat it does hereIn force
Gesetz zur Regelung der Rechtsverhältnisse der Prostituierten (Prostitutionsgesetz – ProstG)
Act Regulating the Legal Situation of Prostitutes (Prostitution Act)
§ 1 · § 2 · § 3
Made agreements for paid sexual services legally enforceable, excluded third-party instructions on whether and how services are provided, and opened social-insurance employment to sex workers.[1]1 January 2002
Gesetz zum Schutz von in der Prostitution tätigen Personen (Prostituiertenschutzgesetz – ProstSchG)
Act on the Protection of Persons Working in Prostitution (Prostitutes Protection Act)
§§ 3–11 · §§ 12–28 · § 32 · § 33 · § 34(8) · § 38
Core regulatory law: registration and health counselling for sex workers, permits and duties for prostitution businesses, condom duty, advertising ban, fines, statistics and the evaluation clause.[2]1 July 2017
§ 180a StGB – Ausbeutung von Prostituierten
Criminal Code, § 180a: exploitation of prostitutes
§ 180a StGB
Criminalises running a business in which sex workers are kept in personal or economic dependence, and providing housing for prostitution to under-18s or combined with pressure or exploitation; the 2026 government bill would replace it.[3]
§ 181a StGB – Zuhälterei
Criminal Code, § 181a: pimping
§ 181a StGB
Criminalises exploitative and controlling pimping (§ 181a), which the 2026 government bill would fold, together with § 180a, into a new 'exploitation in prostitution' offence (§ 180 StGB-E).[4]
§ 232a StGB – Zwangsprostitution
Criminal Code: trafficking, forced prostitution and clients of victims
§ 232 StGB · § 232a StGB · § 233a StGB
Trafficking (§ 232), forced prostitution (§ 232a(1)–(5)) and the offence for clients of trafficking or forced-prostitution victims, including reckless clients (§ 232a(6)).[5]
Art. 297 EGStGB – Verbot der Prostitution
Introductory Act to the Criminal Code, Art. 297 (prohibition of prostitution)
Art. 297 EGStGB
Empowers Land governments to issue restricted-zone ordinances banning prostitution in places or at times, the basis for local street-work bans enforced through § 120 OWiG and § 184f StGB.[6]
§ 119 OWiG – Grob anstößige und belästigende Handlungen
Administrative Offences Act, § 119 (grossly offensive and harassing acts)
§ 119 OWiG · § 120 OWiG
Fines grossly offensive public offers of opportunities for sexual acts; together with § 120 OWiG (restricted zones) the remaining OWiG rules on prostitution after the 2017 repeal of the general advertising ban.[19]

Pending and under review

Under review · updated 30 October 2026

Expert commission on improving the protection of sex workers (Prostituiertenschutz-Kommission)

Set up by Family Minister Karin Prien under the 2025 coalition agreement and first convened on 24 November 2025, chaired by Tillmann Bartsch, who led the KFN evaluation. It is to propose legislative and non-legislative options for the federal, Land and municipal levels, building on the evaluation, and will also consider other models including the Nordic model. Its stated focuses include digital initiation of prostitution and platform regulation, minors and young adults, and hearing affected people.[24][30]

Next, November 2026: Legislative proposals due at the end of November 2026; non-legislative proposals and final report due end of May 2027.

In parliament · updated 23 September 2026

Bill to strengthen criminal prosecution of trafficking and sexual exploitation and transpose Directive (EU) 2024/1712 (BT-Drs. 21/6584)

Government bill introduced on 22 June 2026 (first reading 26 June, expert hearing 23 September 2026). It rewrites §§ 180–182 and 232–233a StGB: forced prostitution moves to § 179, §§ 180a/181a are replaced by a new 'exploitation in prostitution' offence (§ 180), the client offence moves to § 181, and a new § 232a criminalises knowingly using the services of trafficking victims in any sector. It also repeals § 184f StGB (persistent breach of a restricted zone) and § 233a StGB. The EU transposition deadline of 15 July 2026 has passed. The bill states it does not pre-empt the expert commission.[11][31]

Next: Report of the Legal Affairs Committee and second/third reading in the Bundestag; no date published as of 30 October 2026.

Proposed · updated 6 November 2025

Proposals for a Nordic-model ban on buying sex

In November 2025 Bundestag President Julia Klöckner called Germany the 'Puff Europas' and demanded a ban on buying sex; Health Minister Nina Warken (CDU) backed a criminal ban for clients, saying Germany must no longer be 'the brothel of Europe'. The CDU/CSU group had tabled a motion for a purchase ban in February 2024 (BT-Drs. 20/10384) while in opposition. No government bill exists; the coalition agreement instead provides for the expert commission, which is also examining the Nordic model.[24][32][33]

In numbers

32,474
Validly registered sex workers (2025)[14][35]

Registrations under the ProstSchG at 31 December 2025 (2024: about 32,300; 2019: 40,400). Registered workers only; unregistered workers are not counted and there is no official estimate of the total population. Gender is not recorded.

about 2,260
Prostitution businesses with a permit (2025)[14]

At 31 December 2025; 93% venues such as brothels, 5% agencies, 2% vehicles and events. Unlicensed businesses are not counted.

82%
Share of registered sex workers without German citizenship (2025)[14]

Romanian 35%, Bulgarian 11%, Spanish 9%, German 18%; registered workers only.

391 (574 victims)
Completed police investigations for trafficking for sexual exploitation (2025)[36]

BKA national situation report: completed investigations, up 7.4% on 2024 and a ten-year high. Largely detected through police checks, so the figures reflect enforcement activity and understate the true extent.

Timeline

  1. 1 January 2002Prostitution Act enters into force: agreements for paid sexual services become legally enforceable.[1]
  2. 13 July 2006Federal Court of Justice (I ZR 241/03) rules that newspaper contact ads by sex workers are not generally unlawful; the advertising ban requires a concrete danger, especially to minors.[21]
  3. 20 February 2013Federal Fiscal Court Grand Senate (GrS 1/12) holds that self-employed sex workers earn business income, making them liable to trade tax.[28]
  4. 1 July 2017Prostitutes Protection Act enters into force (registration, health counselling, permits, condom duty, targeted advertising ban); the general advertising ban in § 120(1) no. 2 OWiG is deleted.[2][12]
  5. 20 February 2024CDU/CSU parliamentary group, then in opposition, tables a motion to criminalise buying sex (BT-Drs. 20/10384).[33]
  6. 24 June 2025Government submits the KFN evaluation of the Prostitutes Protection Act to the Bundestag, with 64 recommendations.[24][34]
  7. 6 November 2025Health Minister Nina Warken backs Bundestag President Julia Klöckner's call for a ban on buying sex.[32]
  8. 24 November 2025Expert commission on the protection of sex workers holds its first meeting.[24][30]
  9. 22 June 2026Government trafficking and sexual-exploitation bill (BT-Drs. 21/6584) introduced in the Bundestag; first reading on 26 June.[11][31]
  10. 21 August 2026Destatis reports about 32,500 registered sex workers at the end of 2025 (+0.7%).[14]
  11. 23 September 2026Bundestag Legal Affairs Committee holds an expert hearing on the trafficking bill.[31]

Sources

  1. Gesetz zur Regelung der Rechtsverhältnisse der Prostituierten (Prostitutionsgesetz – ProstG) (Prostitution Act). Bundesministerium der Justiz / gesetze-im-internet.de, 20 December 2001. legislation · accessed 30 October 2026
  2. Gesetz zum Schutz von in der Prostitution tätigen Personen (Prostituiertenschutzgesetz – ProstSchG) (Prostitutes Protection Act). Bundesministerium der Justiz / gesetze-im-internet.de, 21 October 2016. legislation · accessed 30 October 2026
  3. § 180a StGB – Ausbeutung von Prostituierten (Section 180a Criminal Code – exploitation of prostitutes). Bundesministerium der Justiz / gesetze-im-internet.de. legislation · accessed 30 October 2026
  4. § 181a StGB – Zuhälterei (Section 181a Criminal Code – pimping). Bundesministerium der Justiz / gesetze-im-internet.de. legislation · accessed 30 October 2026
  5. § 232a StGB – Zwangsprostitution (Section 232a Criminal Code – forced prostitution). Bundesministerium der Justiz / gesetze-im-internet.de. legislation · accessed 30 October 2026
  6. Art. 297 EGStGB – Verbot der Prostitution (Art. 297 Introductory Act to the Criminal Code – prohibition of prostitution). Bundesministerium der Justiz / gesetze-im-internet.de. legislation · accessed 30 October 2026
  7. Rechtsverordnung der Regierung von Oberbayern über das Verbot der Prostitution zum Schutze des öffentlichen Anstandes und der Jugend in München (Upper Bavaria government ordinance banning prostitution in parts of Munich (restricted-zone ordinance)). Landeshauptstadt München – Stadtrecht, 4 December 2003. legislation · accessed 30 October 2026
  8. § 33 ProstSchG – Bußgeldvorschriften (Section 33 Prostitutes Protection Act – administrative fines). Bundesministerium der Justiz / gesetze-im-internet.de. legislation · accessed 30 October 2026
  9. § 32 ProstSchG – Kondompflicht; Werbeverbot (Section 32 Prostitutes Protection Act – condom duty; advertising ban). Bundesministerium der Justiz / gesetze-im-internet.de. legislation · accessed 30 October 2026
  10. § 182 StGB – Sexueller Missbrauch von Jugendlichen (Section 182 Criminal Code – sexual abuse of juveniles). Bundesministerium der Justiz / gesetze-im-internet.de. legislation · accessed 30 October 2026
  11. Gesetzentwurf der Bundesregierung: Entwurf eines Gesetzes zur Stärkung der strafrechtlichen Verfolgung des Menschenhandels und der sexuellen Ausbeutung sowie zur Umsetzung der Richtlinie (EU) 2024/1712 (Drucksache 21/6584) (Government bill to strengthen criminal prosecution of trafficking and sexual exploitation and transpose Directive (EU) 2024/1712). Deutscher Bundestag, 22 June 2026. parliament · accessed 30 October 2026
  12. Kurzinformation: Rechtsfragen zur Prostitution (WD 7 - 3000 - 031/20) (Bundestag Research Services briefing: legal questions on prostitution). Deutscher Bundestag – Wissenschaftliche Dienste, 10 March 2020. parliament · accessed 30 October 2026
  13. Zentrale Ergebnisse der Evaluation des Gesetzes zur Regulierung des Prostitutionsgewerbes sowie zum Schutz von in der Prostitution tätigen Personen (Prostituiertenschutzgesetz – ProstSchG) (Key findings of the evaluation of the Prostitutes Protection Act (KFN summary)). Kriminologisches Forschungsinstitut Niedersachsen / BMBFSFJ, 2025. government · accessed 30 October 2026
  14. Rund 32 500 angemeldete Prostituierte zum Jahresende 2025 (Pressemitteilung Nr. 301) (Around 32,500 registered prostitutes at the end of 2025 (press release no. 301)). Statistisches Bundesamt (Destatis), 21 August 2026. statistics · accessed 30 October 2026
  15. Richtlinie zum Vollzug des Prostituiertenschutzgesetzes gegenüber dem Prostitutionsgewerbe (RL ProstSchG-Gewerbe), Runderlass vom 25. März 2020 (North Rhine-Westphalia circular on enforcing the Prostitutes Protection Act against prostitution businesses). Ministerium für Wirtschaft, Innovation, Digitalisierung und Energie NRW (copy hosted by Kreis Kleve), 25 March 2020. government · accessed 30 October 2026
  16. § 232 StGB – Menschenhandel (Section 232 Criminal Code – trafficking in human beings). Bundesministerium der Justiz / gesetze-im-internet.de. legislation · accessed 30 October 2026
  17. § 233a StGB – Ausbeutung unter Ausnutzung einer Freiheitsberaubung (Section 233a Criminal Code – exploitation involving deprivation of liberty). Bundesministerium der Justiz / gesetze-im-internet.de. legislation · accessed 30 October 2026
  18. § 38 StGB – Dauer der Freiheitsstrafe (Section 38 Criminal Code – duration of imprisonment). Bundesministerium der Justiz / gesetze-im-internet.de. legislation · accessed 30 October 2026
  19. § 119 OWiG – Grob anstößige und belästigende Handlungen (Section 119 Administrative Offences Act – grossly offensive and harassing acts). Bundesministerium der Justiz / gesetze-im-internet.de. legislation · accessed 30 October 2026
  20. § 120 OWiG – Verbotene Ausübung der Prostitution (Section 120 Administrative Offences Act – prohibited prostitution). Bundesministerium der Justiz / gesetze-im-internet.de. legislation · accessed 30 October 2026
  21. Bundesgerichtshof: Kontaktanzeigen Prostituierter in Zeitungen wettbewerbsrechtlich zulässig (Federal Court of Justice: sex workers' contact ads in newspapers permissible under competition law (BGH I ZR 241/03)). Wettbewerbszentrale, 14 July 2006. news · accessed 30 October 2026
  22. § 12 Digitale-Dienste-Gesetz (DDG) – Zuständige Behörden (Section 12 Digital Services Act (German implementing act) – competent authorities). Bundesministerium der Justiz / gesetze-im-internet.de. legislation · accessed 30 October 2026
  23. Verordnung (EU) 2022/2065 des Europäischen Parlaments und des Rates vom 19. Oktober 2022 über einen Binnenmarkt für digitale Dienste (Gesetz über digitale Dienste) (Regulation (EU) 2022/2065 on a Single Market for Digital Services (Digital Services Act)). Amtsblatt der Europäischen Union / EUR-Lex, 27 October 2022. legislation · accessed 30 October 2026
  24. Evaluation und Prostituiertenschutz-Kommission (Evaluation and the expert commission on the protection of prostitutes). Bundesministerium für Bildung, Familie, Senioren, Frauen und Jugend. government · accessed 30 October 2026
  25. § 17 OWiG – Höhe der Geldbuße (Section 17 Administrative Offences Act – amount of fine). Bundesministerium der Justiz / gesetze-im-internet.de. legislation · accessed 30 October 2026
  26. § 184f StGB – Ausübung der verbotenen Prostitution (Section 184f Criminal Code – prohibited prostitution). Bundesministerium der Justiz / gesetze-im-internet.de. legislation · accessed 30 October 2026
  27. § 184g StGB – Jugendgefährdende Prostitution (Section 184g Criminal Code – prostitution endangering young people). Bundesministerium der Justiz / gesetze-im-internet.de. legislation · accessed 30 October 2026
  28. BFH, Beschluss des Großen Senats vom 20.02.2013 – GrS 1/12 (Federal Fiscal Court, Grand Senate decision of 20 February 2013 – GrS 1/12). Bundesfinanzhof, 20 February 2013. case law · accessed 30 October 2026
  29. Besteuerung der Prostitution – Informationen für Prostituierte (Taxation of prostitution – information for sex workers (North Rhine-Westphalia)). Ministerium für Kinder, Jugend, Familie, Gleichstellung, Flucht und Integration NRW. government · accessed 30 October 2026
  30. Expertenkommission zum Schutz von Prostituierten eingesetzt (Expert commission on the protection of prostitutes set up). ZDFheute, 24 November 2025. news · accessed 30 October 2026
  31. Anhörung zur Verfolgung von Menschenhandel und sexueller Ausbeutung (Hearing on the prosecution of trafficking and sexual exploitation). Deutscher Bundestag, 23 September 2026. parliament · accessed 30 October 2026
  32. Prostitution: Warken und Klöckner fordern Sexkaufverbot (Prostitution: Warken and Klöckner call for a ban on buying sex). ZDFheute, 6 November 2025. news · accessed 30 October 2026
  33. Antrag der Fraktion der CDU/CSU: Menschenunwürdige Zustände in der Prostitution beenden – Sexkauf bestrafen (Drucksache 20/10384) (CDU/CSU group motion: end inhumane conditions in prostitution – penalise buying sex). Deutscher Bundestag, 20 February 2024. parliament · accessed 30 October 2026
  34. Evaluation des Gesetzes zur Regulierung des Prostitutionsgewerbes sowie zum Schutz von in der Prostitution tätigen Personen (Prostituiertenschutzgesetz – ProstSchG) (Evaluation of the Prostitutes Protection Act (KFN final report and government statement)). Bundesministerium für Bildung, Familie, Senioren, Frauen und Jugend, 24 June 2025. government · accessed 30 October 2026
  35. Prostituiertenschutz (Prostitute protection statistics). Statistisches Bundesamt (Destatis). statistics · accessed 30 October 2026
  36. Fallzahlen im Bereich der sexuellen Ausbeutung und der Arbeitsausbeutung erreichen 2025 neuen Höchststand (Case numbers for sexual and labour exploitation reach a new high in 2025 (Bundeslagebild Menschenhandel und Ausbeutung 2025)). Bundeskriminalamt, 30 July 2026. statistics · accessed 30 October 2026