Music and dance events are public, not private events that are organised either regularly, or for a particular occasion or at a point of time, with a selected album launch presentation or live show as a main activity; there is no numbered seating and no entry tickets are necessary.
The legislation sets out specific provisions (substantive legal requirements and permit obligations) for those music and dance events as a service provision activity only, which are held in places of mass occupancy or in a facility with a room designed for mass occupancy, or outdoors, where the number of attendees is expected to exceed 1000 people at a given point in time (outdoor event), as defined in the government decree on national spatial planning and building.
The classification of the organisation of music and dance events within the Standard Classification of Economic Activities (TEÁOR’08) depends on whether the music and other entertainment elements provided qualifies as an independent artist performance:
The organisation of a music and dance event with no direct artist performance (such as a discotheque) belongs to section 93.2 Other entertainment and recreation activities, in sub-category 93.29: Activities related to entertainment and recreation not elsewhere classified.
The organisation of a music and dance event with direct artist performance (such as concerts) belongs to section 90.0: Creative, arts and entertainment activities, in sub-catgory 90.02 Support activities for performing arts
The legislation has provided a rather limited scope of specific regulations concerning the organisation of music and dance events. However, these requirements are complemented by requirements focusing primarily on the buildings or facilities accommodating events with mass occupancy from the aspects of, for example, hygiene, protection of health, quality of drinking water, public health in connection with municipal solid and liquid waste, epidemiology, designated smoking areas, fire prevention, general and specific construction, noise protection, public safety and personal and property safety.
Generally, the organiser of the event has to create and continuously ensure the conditions for the safe execution of the event; a safety plan must be available.
The organiser of the event must continuously check whether weather conditions might put the event at risk; furthermore, he or she is responsible for meeting the provisions set out in the safety plan and the relevant fire prevention regulations. If the safety of the event is at risk due to unfavourable weather conditions, he or she must discontinue the event, if necessary.
The operator and the organiser are responsible for providing information to guests concerning the frequency of the event, the dates, the starting and finishing times, the placement of the safety plan and the fire alarm plan at the venue of the music and dance event in a manner that is visible and accessible to the guests, as well as for publishing this information in an electronic form on their internet homepage.
The organiser of the music and dance event is responsible for the onsite availability of personnel trained in first aid.
The music and dance event must be made safe by a team of security guards consisting of a sufficient number of personnel, depending on the characteristics and the capacity of the venue.
If in the approved safety plan the number of security guards reaches 10, at least one person must have qualifications as a security organiser, and at least three members of the team must have qualifications as event security guards. (The organiser of the event, as well as the members of the security team with the relevant qualifications must have on his or her person the certificate proving the qualifications or a copy of this during the music and dance event, and must be able to present it in the event of a check by the authorities.)
In order to protect minors, the event organiser,
in case of prior announcement, is entitled to limit the entry of minors to the music and dance event in such a way that entry to the venue of the music and dance event is only allowed upon showing an ID proving their age,
or, in order to prevent the serving of alcohol to minors, or to make alcohol consumption by minors controllable, their entry can be allowed only if they receive an entrance ticket (card, arm band) bearing a distinctive mark.
Procedures in connection with commencing and providing the service
The clerk of the settlement with the venue where the music and dance event takes place, or in the case of Budapest, the district clerk shall have jurisdiction.
Music and dance events can only be held with an event organisation permit.
It must be stressed that, as opposed to other permitting procedures for service provision, the event organisation permit is not entirely a “one-stop-shop” procedure; therefore the awarding of an event organisation permit does not exempt the applicant from applying for other permits, such as permits required for the trade in certain products. However, the application for the permit can be submitted together with the permit application or notification concerning the operational permit, in line with the regulation on the conditions on trade activities.
Similarly, in the case of applications for the event organisation permit that is submitted at the same time as the notification on the trade activity requiring notification, the – legally required – official checks concerning the conditions on the permit and the reported trade activity must be performed in parallel, prior to issuing the permit.
The application for the permit must be submitted by the operator of the venue accommodating the music and dance event or in the case of an outdoor event, by the event organiser. The operator of the venue is the owner of the facility, except, if based on a legal act or a contract, the facility is operated by a natural person or company, corporate or unincorporated, or an independent entrepreneur.
The application for a permit for accommodation operation can be submitted either in person (in writing or verbally) or by post to the clerk (at the mayor’s office) of the settlement where the accommodation facility is located. Due to technical reasons, electronic administration is not possible at the moment. The following data must be attached to the permit application:
- Data on the basis of which the building or land accommodating the music and dance event can be identified, as well as data concerning the size and capacity of the venue,
- Name, headquarters, corporate registration number of the applicant, and registration number of the independent entrepreneur,
- Name of the music and dance event,
- Identification of the services connected to the music and dance event,
- Statement concerning the frequency and start and finish date of the music and dance event,
- Safety plan,
- Fire prevention rules, if required by law, see:
- Construction and technical documentation in duplicate, necessary for the participation of the construction authority, see: and
- Evidence of the fee or duty to be paid for the procedure and for the involvement of the specialised construction authority
Administrative bodies are involved in the permit procedure concerning the organisation of music and dance events. The service provider does not need to contact these authorities; the clerk performing the permit procedure will contact them. However, the client is obliged to pay the fees for the involvement of the specialised authorities together with the fee paid for the permit procedure; the proof of payment must be provided upon the submission of the application.
In the course of the permit procedure, the clerk arranges a joint site visit with the administrative bodies. The administrative bodies participating in the site visit may write a statement on their position. The clerk notifies the National Ambulance Emergency Service about the site visit. In the course of the procedure, the clerk shall receive the clients and the land registry data sheet on the building or land accommodating the music and dance event, which proves the ownership of the venue by contacting the authorities responsible for real estate or by using the electronic real estate inventory system. The clerk must assess the application within 30 days. This deadline may be extended by the clerk once, for an additional 30 days. The administrative bodies have 15 days available to deliver their position statements, which is not included in the aforementioned deadline. If the application and the event itself meet the legal requirements the clerk may issue the event organisation permit.
A general flat rate fee of HUF 2,200 must be paid to the clerk for the procedure. Furthermore, for each administrative body involved in the procedure a general flat rate fee of HUF 2,200 must be paid. The fee must be paid by placing a fee stamp onto the application.
By issuing a permit, the clerk will register the music and dance event and will provide a certification to the applicant. The clerk’s registry is public; it will be published on the homepage of the local municipality.
The beneficiary of the event organisation permit is obliged to immediately report any changes to the data in the application to the clerk. Based on the notification, the clerk will register the changes in the data and will issue a certification for the permit in line with the modified data.
The event organiser must immediately notify the clerk about the cancellation of the activity, and must return the certification at the same time. Based on the notification, the clerk will – ex officio- withdraw the permit and will delete the music and dance event from the register. There is only a notification obligation; no fee or duty must be paid.
Service provision activities in the framework of cross border service provision
In connection with the service provision activity there is no sectoral regulation for those who provide services legally in an EU or EEA member state that would oblige them to initiate a separate notification or permit procedure concerning the provision of a cross-border service event taking place in Hungary when they are not established in Hungary, either on an occasional or temporary basis.
Cross-border service provision
If you wish to launch this service in the form of cross-border service provision, please click here to read the general conditions of cross-border service provision in Hungary.
Regulations on the service activity and the procedures
- Gov. decree 23/2011. on making music and dance events safer,
- Act 76/2009 on the general rules of launching and maintaining service provision activities,
- Act 140/2004 on the general rules of official public administrative procedures and services.
Please find a non-exhaustive list of legal acts recommended for study prior to or during the activity or to initiating the relevant permitting procedure: