State government adopts relief package

The North Rhine-Westphalia state government has introduced a legislative package with measures to reduce bureaucracy. It promises "substantial relief" for businesses in North Rhine-Westphalia. Trade associations welcome the initiative.

Following the convening of a relief cabinet at the federal level in November 2025 to adopt the modernization agenda, a relief cabinet has now also met for the first time in North Rhine-Westphalia. In it, the State government A legislative package with various measures to reduce bureaucracy was passed.

The aim is to free businesses from unnecessary bureaucratic obligations, enable citizens to communicate more quickly with government agencies, and give municipalities more autonomy. "Overall, the state of North Rhine-Westphalia is thus systematically reducing bureaucracy and making decisive progress with the Federal Modernization Agenda," the state government stated.

To relieve the burden on businesses, all state-level reporting and documentation requirements that are detrimental to businesses are to be abolished from 2027 onwards. The principle of reversal of the burden of proof will apply: "What is deemed absolutely necessary by the relevant authorities must be thoroughly justified and positively established by legal decree by the deadline." If this does not occur, the respective regulation will be repealed without replacement.

New freedom for businesses

Exceptions are only permitted if absolutely necessary. The government aims to create new freedom for entrepreneurial activity and thus strengthen the competitiveness of North Rhine-Westphalia as a business location.

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Funding procedures are to be simplified. The state government intends to forgo the comprehensive review of every single proof of expenditure. In the future, fully automated decisions, simplified documentation, and lump sums will be used more extensively than before. "This will allow low-risk cases to be processed automatically within seconds," the government promises.  

Municipalities should be given the option, upon application, to be exempted from state regulations if these are deemed obstructive. This would allow municipalities to independently reduce bureaucracy and improve administrative efficiency at the local level. If these local solutions prove successful, they can be incorporated into state law. Regulations concerning public safety are excluded from this.

The requirement for written form should be eliminated.

For citizens in North Rhine-Westphalia, the state is simplifying communication with public authorities. Email is intended to replace letters and printed forms when dealing with government agencies. The state government will abolish the existing written form requirements at the turn of the year. Should written form still be necessary, this must be justified and stipulated by legal regulation before then.

The draft legislation is expected to go before the summer recess. The laws are scheduled to come into effect on January 1st of next year. "With our package of measures to reduce bureaucracy, we are giving the green light in our state and demonstrating once again that politics can make a difference," explained Minister-President Hendrik Wüst (CDU). 

"We are using new instruments based on an unprecedented shift in mentality: courage for a holistic approach instead of piecemeal changes, trust and freedom instead of control. It is not those who want to reduce bureaucracy who have to justify themselves, but the state that does not want to change anything."

"A good sign for small and medium-sized businesses"

Minister of Economic Affairs Mona Neubaur (Greens) adds: "We are abolishing unnecessary reporting requirements, making digital communication the norm, and giving municipalities more freedom for innovation. This will free up time for everyone involved – for training, growth, and new ideas. This is a real paradigm shift for a modern and future-proof North Rhine-Westphalia."

Crafts organizations welcome the relief package as an important signal for a modern administration and greater state trust in businesses. "However, the measures will only be effective if they are fully implemented. It is crucial that the promised relief actually materializes in practice," says Andreas Ehlert, President of Crafts.NRW.

"With the relief initiative presented yesterday, North Rhine-Westphalia is demonstrating its intention to set the pace in the federal modernization agenda. This is a positive sign for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). The reversal of the burden of proof regarding reporting and documentation obligations can be the starting point for a genuine system change," added Berthold Schröder, President of the West German Chamber of Crafts.

Demands of the trades have been taken up.

The state government's proposal is a step in the right direction and addresses long-standing demands of the skilled trades, according to Rüdiger Otto, President of the NRW Crafts Entrepreneurs' Association"It is also positive that municipalities can become experimental spaces for reducing bureaucracy by being exempt from state regulations. This can lead to decentralized solutions from which the skilled trades can benefit."

Board decisionThe board of Handwerk.NRW recently passed a resolution on issues of state modernization and reform. In it, the North Rhine-Westphalian skilled trades sector advocates for consolidating expertise in digitalization and state modernization within a single ministry, as well as for more experimental clauses and real-world testing grounds in legislation implementation. Read the resolution here:Reducing bureaucracy is not enough: State modernization and state reform in North Rhine-Westphalia".

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