Busking in Vienna: permit, rules and card tips

Do you need a permit to busk in Vienna?

The rules in Vienna

• Amplifiers. Banned: no amplifier systems. Drums and loud or high-pitched woodwinds are not allowed outdoors, and brass and saxophones only with mutes.
• Collecting money. The ordinance says no payment may be demanded for a performance; the city page does not mention donations.
• Annex I/a spots need a permit valid for one month, booked online (1st to 27th of the month before)
• Annex II spots need no permit
• Performers must be 16 or older
• No animals, open fire, pyrotechnics or weapons

Taking card tips on a Vienna 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 Vienna 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 Stadt Wien, MA 36 (event@ma36.wien.gv.at) before you play. This page is general information, not legal advice.

• wien.gv.at

Common questions