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Street lighting; reporting of defective street lamps

To maintain public safety and order in urban areas, municipalities must illuminate public roads to the best of their ability (...) if this is urgently required and others are not obliged to do so under other legal provisions.

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Procedure details

As lighting obligations of others only exist in individual cases, street lighting is generally provided by the municipalities. In this case, the municipal obligation applies to all public roads within the built-up area, including the through roads of federal highways.

Lighting in the traffic area should enable road users, especially pedestrians, to easily and promptly recognize the course and boundaries of roads, paths, squares and access points, as well as danger spots and obstacles.

However, it is not possible to establish a general rule for the extent and duration of street lighting. The extent of the lighting obligation depends on local requirements and other local conditions, in particular the importance of the respective road for traffic, but also on the size of the municipality and its financial capacity. The location of the respective road in the municipal area also plays a role. Against this background, switching off street lighting at night on an hourly basis may also be considered in individual cases. Municipalities must then mark streetlights within built-up areas that are not on all night with a red ring.

The local authorities would be grateful for any reports of defective street lights.

Status: 22.01.2026
Editorially responsible for prodecure description: Bayerisches Staatsministerium für Wohnen, Bau und Verkehr
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