--- title: Is a QR-only menu allowed in Germany? | NFCeez url: https://nfceez.de/en/blog/is-a-qr-only-menu-allowed-in-germany/ language: en description: Can a restaurant in Germany offer only a QR code menu? The price rules don't mention QR codes but require prices at the table and entrance. What to do. --- # Is a QR-code-only menu allowed in Germany? The law doesn't mention QR codes. What's certain: a price list hangs by the entrance, and at the table you need something that works for everyone. [Menus](https://nfceez.de/en/blog/topic/menus/) 2 min read Updated 2 November 2026 NFCeez editorial team The short answer A QR-only menu is legally uncertain in Germany. Section 13 of the Price Indication Ordinance requires prices to be displayed legibly, laid out on tables or handed over before ordering, and doesn't mention QR codes. A price list of the main dishes and drinks must also hang by the entrance. Keep printed menus on hand. As of November 2026. ## What exactly does the law require? The rule is in [Section 13 of the German Price Indication Ordinance (PAngV)](https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/pangv_2022/__13.html). It applies to anyone offering food or drink and gives three ways to present the price list. Route under Section 13(2) What it looks like Displayed legibly A board or menu on the wall that can be read from the seat or at the counter. Laid out on the tables A printed menu sits at each place. Handed over before ordering Staff give each guest the menu, and also at billing if asked. A QR code isn't on that list. We found no ruling or official statement on QR-only menus. So the text doesn't ban one, and it doesn't allow one either. Relying on the code alone leaves you carrying that risk. The local chamber of commerce (IHK) can tell you how your authority sees it. ## What has to hang by the entrance? A price list of the main dishes and drinks, right next to the entrance. Section 13(2) requires this on top. If the restaurant is part of a larger business, the entrance to the food area is enough. Under paragraph 5, all prices must include service charges and any other surcharges. A QR code by the door isn't a safe substitute. Put up a short printed list of your main dishes and drinks. If you only sell coffee and cake, a few lines will do. ## Why can allergens be digital when prices maybe can't? Because allergens have a rule of their own. [Section 4 of the German food information ordinance (LMIDV)](https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/lmidv/__4.html) expressly allows electronic information, if it's directly and easily accessible and a notice in the outlet or on the food says how to find it. Prices have no such sentence. For more, see our articles on [allergens on the menu](https://nfceez.de/en/blog/allergens-on-the-menu/) and on [what must be on a menu in Germany](https://nfceez.de/en/blog/what-must-be-on-a-menu-in-germany/). ## What should you do in practice? - Put up the short price list at the entrance. - Offer the digital menu at the table, by QR code or NFC sticker. - Keep printed menus ready for anyone who doesn't want the digital one, and have your team offer them without being asked. It costs a few printouts a month and takes the risk away. And guests who don't want to scan aren't left sitting there wondering what to do. ## How do you keep the paper and digital menus the same? Most easily with a fixed order: digital first, then paper. In the [NFCeez menu](https://nfceez.de/en/features/digital-menu/) you change a price in the app and publish, and the next guest at the table sees it. When a dish runs out, you mark it as unavailable. Allergens sit on each dish, and guests open the menu with no app from an NFC sticker or QR code. The limit: NFCeez doesn't make your printed menu or the list by the entrance. You still print those yourself and check them after every price change. ## What do you do today? Your next step: walk to your door today, see what's hanging there, and print ten menus for the counter. [ How NFCeez does this Change it digitally first, then update the paper. You change a price in the app, and the next guest at the table sees it. The printed menu for the counter and the entrance is still yours to keep up to date. See how it works ](https://nfceez.de/en/features/digital-menu/) Sources - [§ 13 PAngV, Gaststätten und Beherbergungsbetriebe](https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/pangv_2022/__13.html) - [§ 4 LMIDV, Art und Weise der Kennzeichnung](https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/lmidv/__4.html) ## QR-only menu questions A price list of the main dishes and drinks must be displayed next to the entrance. It doesn't have to be the full menu. Section 13 covers anyone offering food or drink. It names no size limit. They can, but printed and digital prices should match, or you'll end up arguing at the till. Reprint the paper menu when something changes. Yes, if it's easy to read. Legible display is one of the three routes in Section 13(2). ## Keep reading. [All articles](https://nfceez.de/en/blog/) [ ### How do you make a QR code menu that guests will actually use? The code takes five minutes. What matters is the page behind it, the printing, and whether the printed menu has to stay. - ](https://nfceez.de/en/blog/qr-code-menu/) [ ### What must be on a restaurant menu in Germany? Every required item for hospitality businesses in Germany in one place: prices, additives, drinks and the VAT rates since 2026. - ](https://nfceez.de/en/blog/what-must-be-on-a-menu-in-germany/) [ ### How do you label allergens on a menu in Germany? Which 14 allergens count, which routes the law allows, and how to finish your list in one afternoon. German law, with the EU list behind it. - ](https://nfceez.de/en/blog/allergens-on-the-menu/)