Design approval for playground equipment
Gaming devices with the possibility of winning may only be set up if their design has been approved by the Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt. The manufacturer of the gaming machine must apply for this type approval from the Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt. The design approval is limited to 1 year.
Who should I contact?
Requirements
The requirements for the approval of gaming devices are regulated in §§ 12, 13 and 14 of the Gaming Ordinance (SpielV). Section 14 of the Gaming Ordinance applies to amusement machines, according to which some of the requirements also apply to the licensing of gaming machines.
Which documents are required?
The application must be submitted in writing with the applicant's signature to the Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt.
The following documents must be attached to the application:
- Description of the playground equipment
- Construction plan of the playground equipment
- Operating instructions
- Technical description of the components of the playground equipment
- a sample device, this should be complete and functional and suitable for series production
- Written declaration by the manufacturer that the play equipment to be tested fulfils the requirements specified in § 12 Paragraph 2 SpielV.
Supplementary technical descriptions may be submitted in electronic form.
Additional documents must be submitted at the request of the Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt. A detailed list and description of the documents can be found in Annex 2 of the Technical Guideline issued by the Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt.
What are the fees?
The fees for admission depend on the processing time:
- Hourly rate: EUR 47.00 - 67.00
Other fees:
- for the issue of a registration document including the registration mark as well as for the exchange: EUR 15.00
- In addition, expenses (e.g. for copies) and expenses incurred due to supplementary work requested must be reimbursed.
Process flow
If the construction type of the play equipment is approved, the applicant receives an approval certificate. For each replica device of the approved design, the applicant receives an approval certificate The approval certificate contains the designation of the play equipment, the name and place of residence of the approval holder, the beginning and end of the installation period and information on regulations that must be observed when operating the play equipment.
The Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt publishes the approval of a type of construction as well as changes, revocation or withdrawal of approvals on its website.
The approval is to be withdrawn or revoked if:
- reasons for failure subsequently become known, or
- the applicant modifies the characteristics of approved gaming devices as specified in the approval certificate.
Processing duration
The processing time from the submission of the application to the notification depends on:
- the quality of the documents submitted and of the type design,
- the need for modification identified during the examination, and
the number of applications to be processed
The Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt has published a Technical Guideline on its website. Part 3 of this guideline contains detailed information on the exact procedure, a detailed description of the required documents (Annex 2) and a sample application (Annex 1).
