Before submitting a basic application (Basisantrag) to Clubcommission Berlin e.V., please be sure to review the official funding guidelines for the “Schallschutz Clubs”/"Club Soundproofing" program. This page provides a simplified overview and key milestones for the Soundproofing Fund application and implementation process. Many questions are also answered on the FAQ page. 

Official materials for program review must be submitted in German. Please contact us with questions or concerns. If you have further questions, please contact us via email. If needed, a phone consultation can also be scheduled.

The basic application (available only in German) is the first stage of the application process and is the formal basis for next steps. The application contains the essential information about the applicant, their formal eligibility, and the existing conflict situation. The following documents are required for a complete basic application:

• Basic application (DE)
• De-Minimis declaration (DE)
• Project Documents Checklist (available in German and English)
• ID card or passport (Personalausweis)
• GEMA-Nachweiß or/and proof of events (24 live events or 48 DJ events or a combination per year in the 24 months from the date of basic application)
• Gewerbeanmeldung (Business registration)
• Handelsregister / Transparenzregister Auszug (Commercial register / transparency register excerpt)
• Rental contract or similar proof of space use

After eligibility has been confirmed, Clubcommission Berlin e.V. will commission the preparation of a soundproofing report.

After receiving the Basisantrag (basic application) and confirming eligibility requirements, Clubcommission Berlin will contact you to arrange for the preparation of a soundproofing report (Schallschutzgutachtens), otherwise called a Prüfbericht, or test report. Otherwise, a notice of ineligibility will be issued.

The Clubcommission Berlin e.V. commissions the preparation of soundproofing reports. Acoustics experts conduct an appraisal of the premises to produce an “as-is” analysis and a list of measures that would effectively improve sound insulation. The applicant does not bear any costs for the expert assessment.
Based on the report’s recommendations, you as the applicant decide which measures you would like to implement with the soundproofing fund’s support. A qualified and binding cost estimate of the measure is then created by the applicant. 

This soundproofing analysis is thus a required, fundamental prerequisite for funding approval. The expert opinion will in all cases remain available for the applicant’s future use.

In order to plan the measures properly and to enable the preparation of a financing plan, it is sometimes necessary to incur expenses (further sound tests, measurements and forecasts, as well as architects, engineers etc.) before the project is approved. In these cases, it is possible to submit an application for a provisional start of the project at your own risk.

On the basis of the soundproofing report, the applicant makes the final decision to submit the main application with concrete planned measures. It consists of the main application form, which includes description of the planned measures and their financial scope; offers or quotations (if possible) and Vergabevermerk(e); all necessary clarifications; and all existing expert opinions and projections. We request that the main application be submitted no later than two months after reception of the soundproofing report.
On the page Downloads and Documents you will find the documents necessary for the main application. Please note these must be submitted in German.

In submitting the main application, the applicant also declares their legally binding commitment to contribute 10-20% of the total cost of the project (percentage determined by the funding amount). The club’s own contribution amount is included in the application consideration (and if necessary, prioritization) process for funding. Applicants are expected to carry out supporting measures for the application themselves and to describe and identify these in the final report on the measure.

In order to plan the measures properly and to enable the preparation of a financing plan, it is sometimes necessary to incur expenses (further sound tests, measurements and forecasts, as well as architects, engineers etc.) before the project is approved. In these cases, it is possible to submit an application for a provisional start of the project at your own risk.

All applications are evaluated by an independent expert jury and prioritized in terms of their urgency and the amount of funding provided. Incomplete or incorrectly-formulated main applications will be rejected, and less urgent cases may be deferred in favor of those with acute pressure to act. If the jury receives more formally correct, complete and reasonable applications than can be realized with the available funding, such applications may also be rejected.

The jury will meet several times during the funding period. Please contact the program managers for exact dates. In principle, there is no entitlement to funding. The Senate Department for Economics, Energy and Public Enterprises, as funder and appeals body, has the fundamental right to revoke decisions of the jury if it sees justified reasons for doing so. In the event of a dispute, it is the legal actor.

The jury’s final decision will be sent to the applicant club. After this decision, the applicant club must obtain (at least) three market offers for all services and products included in the planned action. If no three providers can be identified, or if the measure includes services individually tailored to the location that can only be provided by one provider, award notices (Vergabevermerke) are required for this purpose.

The applicant shall set up a separate project account for the implementation of the approved measure. It shall use this account completely and exclusively for all financial transactions in connection with the grant.

As a rule, grant funds are paid out in instalments after the applicant provides proof of their own contribution. Grant funds may only be requested if they are needed for payments due in the following two months. Payment of additional instalments will be made only with proof that the previous instalment has been spent in full.

The applicant is responsible for ensuring that all work under the measure is completed in a professional and timely manner.

For the completion of the project and the final grant, the applicant must submit the evaluation form (Evaluationsbogen), final report (Abschlussbericht) with photo documentation, and proof of use of prior funds. After completion of the measure, the work carried out, including the applicant’s own contributions, will be financially settled with the funding body. Unused funding must be returned.

In addition, after completion of the project, the proof of use (Verwendungsnachweisformular) must be submitted by mail to Clubcommission Berlin e.V. with the following documents:

• Project documentation
• List of receipts in table format
• Overview of net payments
• Original invoices (for grant payments)
• Accounting document & copy of invoices from applicant’s own contribution