Erotic Night Club in Witten, Germany

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. Source: Prostitution Laws (prostitutionlaws.org), https://prostitutionlaws.org/countries/germany/, reviewed 2026-11-04, CC BY 4.0.