Busking in Ghent: permit, rules and card tips

Do you need a permit to busk in Ghent?

The rules in Ghent

• Amplifiers. Banned: no electronic amplification.
• Collecting money. Actively collecting money is banned, but a collection box is allowed; selling your own CDs is allowed, other ambulant trade is not.
• 10:00-21:00 only
• Max 1 hour in the same spot; 10 m from terraces and 50 m from other street artists
• Not at fairs or inside a permitted event area (including the Winterfeesten)
• No fire or pyrotechnics

Taking card tips on a Ghent pitch

Plenty of people stop to listen and then find they have no coins on them. A QR code on a sign beside your case lets them tip in euros by card, Apple Pay or Google Pay from their own phone. Visitors can pay with a card from home, and nobody needs an app. Check the rule on collecting money above first: it applies to a tip sign too.

• Print it large. A phone reads a code from about ten times its width, so a 10 cm code works from a metre and an A3 sign from about three.
• Stand it upright at knee to waist height, with your name and one line saying what it is for.
• Playing as a group? One code can split every tip between the members automatically.

The full set-up is in cashless busking: card and phone tips.

Before you play

Read the general advice in busking etiquette and how to choose a busking pitch, and see how Ghent compares with other cities on the world busking map.

Sources

Checked in October 2026. Rules and fees change, and enforcement varies from street to street, so confirm with Stad Gent, Dienst Feesten en Ambulante Handel (iod@stad.gent) before you play. This page is general information, not legal advice.

• stad.gent

Common questions