The legal basis for this is Section 4(1) No. 4 of the Restaurant Act.

The purpose of the instruction is to protect guests from health hazards that may arise from violations of food law regulations in the restaurant industry, as well as protection against deception and fraud.

The so-called restaurant instructions are conducted by the German Chamber of Commerce and Industry. Graduates of certain vocational training occupations are exempt from the instructions. You can obtain information from your local IHK: www.ihk.de/ihk-finder.

The instruction is not required in the following federal states:

• Brandenburg
• Bremen
• Hessen
• Lower Saxony
• Saarland
• Saxony
• Saxony-Anhalt
• Thuringia

In these federal states, their own restaurant laws no longer require restaurant instructions. In the remaining federal states, the instruction is based on the "old" federal Restaurant Act.