Exhibition stand building in Germany: process, deadlines and documents
A guide for exhibitors at German trade fairs. Every rule below comes from a venue's technical guidelines, an organiser's exhibitor pages or AUMA, linked in each section. Rules differ by venue and by fair; the documents for your fair are binding.
In short
Stand building at a German trade fair follows two sets of documents: the venue's technical guidelines (Technische Richtlinien) and the exhibitor manual of your fair, which sets the build-up dates and order deadlines.
Messe Düsseldorf, Koelnmesse, Messe Frankfurt, Messe München, Deutsche Messe in Hannover and NürnbergMesse write their guidelines in the same chapter structure, but the rules themselves differ. Several of them give the reason: building law is a matter for each federal state in Germany.
So check the document of your venue and your fair rather than relying on a general rule. The sections below show where the six venues differ.
Who builds your stand
- Your own stand builder. AUMA's guide for exhibitors describes three ways to choose one: a pitch, a tender in which you send an existing concept to up to three companies, or a workshop. AUMA guide (PDF)
- The venue's stand-building service. Messe Düsseldorf, Koelnmesse, Messe Frankfurt (Fairconstruction) and Messe München's subsidiary meplan offer stand construction, and NürnbergMesse lists stand-building service partners. These are offers, not obligations: Messe Düsseldorf's guidelines, for example, say stands may be built with your own material.
Some work is reserved for the venue, whoever builds your stand. At all six venues, utility connections such as electricity and ceiling suspensions (rigging) are carried out by the venue or its contracted companies, and the use of cranes and forklifts is reserved for the venue's contracted forwarders or logistics service.
Timeline and deadlines
AUMA's planning chart divides a trade fair participation into five phases: decision, planning, organisation, execution and follow-up. Choosing, briefing and commissioning the stand builder belongs to the organisation phase, together with ordering stand services from the organiser by its deadlines. AUMA places the decision phase 12 to 9 months before the fair. AUMA planning chart (PDF)
Deadlines for stand plans that need approval
| Venue | Deadline |
|---|---|
| Messe Düsseldorf | At the latest six weeks before build-up begins |
| Koelnmesse | Approval request at the latest six weeks before build-up begins, through the Delegatis platform |
| Messe Frankfurt | At the latest six weeks before build-up begins, as PDF |
| Messe München | By the date given in the exhibitor service order documents; for two-storey stands six weeks before build-up begins |
| Deutsche Messe (Hannover) | Four weeks before construction starts; building permit documents two weeks before |
| NürnbergMesse | Processing time of up to 42 days for the approval |
Examples from current exhibitor pages
- Heimtextil 2027 at Messe Frankfurt: stand plans that need approval by 23 November 2026, service orders without express surcharge by 18 December 2026, build-up 7 to 10 January 2027. Heimtextil information for stand builders
- imm cologne 2027 at Koelnmesse: service shop order deadlines 16 November 2026, 14 December 2026 and 9 January 2027 (later orders cost more), build-up from 11 January 2027. imm cologne order deadlines
These dates apply only to these two fairs. For your fair, use its exhibitor manual; our trade fair pages link the organiser's official exhibitor services where we have checked them.
Which stands need approval
At all six venues, a two-storey stand needs the venue's consent, and special constructions need approval. Whether a simple single-storey stand in a hall needs drawings depends on the venue:
| Venue | Drawings for a single-storey stand |
|---|---|
| Messe Düsseldorf | Not required |
| Koelnmesse | Not required |
| Messe Frankfurt | Not required up to 100 m² floor area and 4.00 m height, if it is not a special construction |
| Messe München | Not required up to 100 m² and 3 m height |
| Deutsche Messe (Hannover) | Usually not required below 100 m²; from 100 m², stand plans are required |
| NürnbergMesse | Not required; stands larger than 400 m² need approval |
Fire protection of materials
All six require at least flame-retardant materials of class B1 under DIN 4102, or the EN 13501-1 class the venue names: C-s2,d0 at Koelnmesse, Messe München, Deutsche Messe and NürnbergMesse; c-s3,d0 at Messe Düsseldorf; C s2 d2 at Messe Frankfurt, and C s2 d0 for materials above people's heads. Since 2026, Messe Düsseldorf no longer allows artificial plants. NürnbergMesse asks for samples of the materials on site for a fire test.
Stand height
Maximum heights depend on the venue, the hall or the fair: Messe Düsseldorf publishes them in a table attached to its guidelines, Messe Frankfurt on its website, Deutsche Messe in section 4.3 of its guidelines; Koelnmesse, Messe München and NürnbergMesse in the registration documents of each fair.
Build-up and dismantling
At all six venues, build-up and dismantling times are set per fair and published in the fair's documents.
Passes differ. Messe Düsseldorf states that no build-up or dismantling passes are needed. For imm cologne at Koelnmesse, workers need a personalised build-up and dismantling pass, with codes from the client. NürnbergMesse requires separate passes during build-up and asks exhibitors to give the person in charge of their stand a certificate. For BAU at Messe München, no special passes are needed. We did not find a pass rule for Messe Frankfurt or Deutsche Messe.
Work safety: the guidelines of Messe Düsseldorf, Messe Frankfurt, Messe München, Deutsche Messe and NürnbergMesse require coordination under the German Occupational Safety and Health Act (ArbSchG) and DGUV regulation 1, carried out by the stand construction manager. Koelnmesse's guidelines (July 2024) refer in general terms to labour and trade law.
What to prepare
- Hall and stand number, stand size and stand type: from your stand confirmation.
- Build-up and dismantling dates of your fair: from its exhibitor manual.
- Stand plans, if your stand needs approval at your venue (see the tables above).
- Proof that decoration and building materials meet the fire class of your venue.
- Orders for electricity, water, rigging and other technical services, placed by the fair's order deadlines.
- The person in charge of build-up on site, who coordinates work safety where the venue requires it.
For a request on EuroExpo Desk, the stand building page lists what helps a provider quote.
Finding a stand builder yourself or through a platform
| Yourself | Through a matchmaking platform such as EuroExpo Desk | |
|---|---|---|
| Contract | Directly with the stand builder | Also directly with the stand builder; the platform is not a party to the contract (about us) |
| Finding providers | You contact and compare companies yourself | You submit one request; we review it in person and introduce approved providers |
| Platform fee | None | None during the current free testing phase (fees) |
| Venue rules | Apply in full | Apply in full |
Submit a stand building request
Official sources
- Messe Düsseldorf: technical guidelines 2026 and 2027 (valid from 1 January 2026 and 1 January 2027), questions and answers
- Koelnmesse: technical guidelines (PDF) (July 2024), imm cologne build-up and dismantling
- Messe Frankfurt: technical guidelines 2026 (PDF) (as of September 2025)
- Messe München: technical guidelines (PDF) (March 2026), two-storey stands (PDF) (June 2026), BAU logistics and traffic
- Deutsche Messe: technical regulations 2026 (PDF)
- NürnbergMesse: technical guidelines 2026 (PDF)
- AUMA: tips for exhibiting, chapter 6