Licence to organise a circus or funfair

Do you want to organise a circus or funfair in the Netherlands? In most municipalities you will need 1 or more licences to do so. This also applies to having a funfair stand. The licence may be one of the following:

• event licence /performance licence (evenementenvergunning/speelvergunning).
• funfair licence (kermisvergunning).
• circus licence (circusvergunnning).

You apply to the municipality for these licences. Sometimes a notification to the municipality is enough. For example, for a 1-day event. Also, in some cases you must report an activity (in Dutch) that falls under the Decree on fire-safe use and basic emergency assistance for other places. Check on the municipality's website what the rules are. These can be found, for example, in the festivities regulations and the General Municipal By-law (APV).

Environment and planning permit

Municipalities may also set out rules for circus or funfair events in their environment plan. If so, you may need an environment and planning permit (omgevingsvergunning). You need an environment and planning permit if your circus or funfair:

• does not fit within the rules of the environment plan
• is in or near national waters
• is in or near a protected nature reserve

The municipality will let you know what other permits you need. And whether you need to make a notification for fire-safety. You can also check this with the online Omgevingsloket permit check (in Dutch). The Omgevingsloket shows which rules apply in your municipality, province, or water authority. And you can apply directly for a permit or make a notification.

Please note: some municipalities issue only a limited number of permits for circus performances per year.