Licence to organise a circus or funfair

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

• Event licence (evenementenvergunning/speelvergunning).
• Funfair licence (kermisvergunning).
• Circus licence (circusvergunnning).
• All-in-one permit for physical aspects regarding fire safety (omgevingsvergunning voor brandveilig gebruik).

Please contact your municipality for more information.

Ban on use of wild animals in circuses

As of 15 September 2015 in the Netherlands you no longer may use wild mammals in your circus or at any other event. There is also a ban on transport of wild animals for these purposes. Transit of wild animals for foreign companies, performances in zoos or marine mammal parks and a limited number of small mammals or other animals are exempt from this ban.