The requirements for car hire licences in Berlin have recently become significantly stricter. This makes our latest success before the Berlin Administrative Court all the more welcome: in urgent proceedings brought by us, we were able to secure licences for a total of 17 hire cars on behalf of our client. This case demonstrates that it can be worthwhile to scrutinise negative decisions made by the LABO.
Anyone currently applying for a licence to operate an occasional hire car service in Berlin is facing a tough time. The State Office for Citizens’ and Public Order Affairs (LABO) scrutinises new applications rigorously, particularly with regard to the financial viability of the companies. The Senate Administration is supporting this approach with a clear political and administrative stance against illegal practices in the hire car industry.
A recent case we have handled demonstrates that a negative decision by the LABO need not be the final word: in summary proceedings before the Berlin Administrative Court, we were able to secure licences for a total of 17 hire cars on behalf of our client.
Berlin has been tightening enforcement for years
The Senate Administration itself refers to ‘combating illegal structures in the car-hire industry’. As early as 2024, all hire cars registered with the major booking platforms were subjected to an inventory check. According to the LABO, 1,661 vehicles were found to be non-compliant.
In April 2025, the Senate Administration presented an even more stark picture: In 2024 alone, 74 licences held by private hire companies, covering a total of 1,427 vehicles, were revoked, and 143 applications from new private hire companies, covering a total of 1,917 vehicles, were rejected. At the same time, the Administration highlighted numerous summary proceedings before the Administrative Court and the Higher Administrative Court which had been successful for the LABO.
The Senate Administration stated that the stricter measures were intended to make it possible to “consistently remove unscrupulous operators from the market”.
A comparison of the figures shows just how drastically the Berlin car-hire market has changed in a short space of time: whilst, according to the state’s figures, 4,498 hire cars were still licensed in December 2023, by March 2026 this figure had fallen to just 1,656.
The courts are also imposing strict requirements
Added to this is what has now become a stringent body of case law regarding the licensing requirements.
Particular focus is placed on financial capacity under Section 13(1) of the Passenger Transport Act (PBefG) in conjunction with Section 2 of the Passenger Transport Licensing Regulation (PBZugV). As recently as May 2026, the Higher Administrative Court of Berlin-Brandenburg clarified that it is not necessarily sufficient merely to demonstrate the minimum amount of equity capital required by law.
Rather, the licensing authority is entitled to assess whether the company has sufficient resources to be able to commence and conduct operations properly, even in the event of an initial lack of profitability. Proof of assets may also be examined for plausibility, reliability and sustainability.
For applicants, this means that a certificate of equity capital which appears sufficient at first glance may now merely mark the start of the assessment process.
17 Licences granted despite a negative decision by the LABO
In the proceedings we are now conducting, the LABO had not granted the licences applied for. For our client, this therefore raised more than just an administrative law issue. Without a licence, the planned business operations could not be commenced using the intended vehicles.
Waiting for the conclusion of regular proceedings on the merits was therefore not a realistic option.
We therefore sought urgent judicial relief at short notice before the Berlin Administrative Court.
The key factor here was not to frame the dispute in abstract terms regarding the business model of a platform-mediated car-hire company. Rather, the focus was on the specific financial planning for the commencement of operations, the available financial resources, the actual costs incurred and the question of what requirements the law actually imposes on a new car-hire business.
Particularly when assessing financial capacity, there is a risk that requirements will be derived from an abstract economic analysis which are not actually stipulated either in the Passenger Transport Act (PBefG) or in the Passenger Transport Regulation (PBZugV). This makes it all the more important to scrutinise the authorities’ calculations in detail and to clearly distinguish between actual costs, capital requirements and the planned operational structure.
With success: in summary proceedings, we were able to secure the sought-after licences for occasional passenger transport services involving a total of 17 hire cars for our client.
A rejection should be scrutinised closely
The Berlin Senate and the LABO have significantly increased regulatory scrutiny of the taxi and hire car industry in recent years. There is no question that the unlawful carriage of passengers is being consistently prosecuted.
However, the stricter administrative practices must not result in companies that meet the legal licensing requirements being excluded from the market due to additional or excessive demands.
In particular, financial capacity, requirements regarding the place of business, issues of reliability and the specific organisation of business operations have now regularly become the subject of extensive disputes with the LABO.
Our current case demonstrates that, even under the current stringent requirements, hire car licences can be secured in Berlin.
Anyone who has received a negative decision or is already facing far-reaching additional demands from the LABO during the licensing process should therefore check at an early stage which requirements are actually provided for by law – and which are not. In time-sensitive cases, urgent legal protection before the administrative court can also play a decisive role.