Ladenschlussgesetz

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In the Federal Republic of Germany, the Ladenschlussgesetz (abbreviated: LadSchlG) was the federal law regulating at which times stores were required to be closed. The Ladenschlussgesetz in its current form was first enacted on July 10, 1958 following pressure from Germany's trade unions; in its last revision (of June 1, 2003), points of sale ("Verkaufsstellen") must be closed at any of the following times:

On Sundays and public holidays;
On working days (Monday through Saturday) before 06:00 and after 20:00;
On December 24 before 06:00 and after 14:00 if that date falls on a working day

The law provides differing regulations for pharmacies, petrol stations, shops at train stations etc.

In 2006, the regulatory responsibility for this area was devolved to the states, nearly all of which are planing to liberalize the law. As of November 2006, Berlin,North Rhine-Westphalia and Hesse have passed legislation that allows opening times in a 6x24 scheme, i.e. Monday to Saturday, with certain exceptions for Sundays. Most other states are planning to pass similar legislation, whilst Bavaria and the Saarland have expressed no intent to do so. The state government Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania has expressed its intent to pass a legislation allowing 24/7 opening.