Puconci Municipality Adopts New Rules on Food Outlet Operating Hours

The Municipal Council of the Municipality of Puconci adopted a new Pravilnik o obratovalnem času prehrambnih obratov na območju Občine Puconci (Regulation on the Operating Hours of Food Outlets in the Municipality of Puconci) at its 33rd regular session on 10 September 2026. The regulation, published in Uradni list Republike Slovenije, issue 1425/2026 of 14 September 2026 (official reference 2026-01-2085), governs both regular and extended operating hours for all food outlets in the municipality and takes effect on 1 November 2026.

The regulation is based on the third, fourth and fifth paragraphs of Article 11 of the Zakon o gostinstvu (ZGos-1) (Uradni list RS, No. 77/25), the national Pravilnik o obratovalnem času prehrambnih obratov (Uradni list RS, No. 5/26) and Article 17 of the Statut Občine Puconci (Uradni list RS, No. 91/2015, 128/2021). It was signed by the Mayor of Puconci, Uroš Kamenšek.

Regular and extended operating hours

Food outlets operate in regular hours set by the operator within the framework allowed by ZGos-1, without any special municipal consent or decision. Any operation beyond regular hours is treated as extended operating time and requires written consent from the competent body, the Municipal Administration of the Municipality of Puconci.

The extended operating window depends on the location of the outlet:

• In residential areas: from Sunday to Thursday until 1.00 a.m. the following day; on Fridays, Saturdays and the day before a public holiday until 2.00 a.m.
• Outside residential areas: from Sunday to Thursday until 2.00 a.m.; on Fridays, Saturdays and the day before a public holiday until 3.00 a.m.
• On special occasions — events, celebrations, parties, weddings, gatherings and other organised events — extended hours may run until 5.00 a.m. the following day.

Consent may be granted for a single day, several days or a defined period, and the approved extended hours must be publicly displayed in a visible place at the outlet.

Consent procedure and criteria

Operators must file their application at the seat of the competent body at least five days before the planned start of extended operation, or before the start of the new calendar year for the following year. The application must identify the outlet, the operator, the requested days or period and the proposed time window.

When deciding, the administration weighs a list of criteria, including the type and characteristics of the outlet, its location relative to residential buildings, operation on outdoor surfaces, ancillary services, the impact on the neighbourhood and quality of life of local residents, the needs of economic and tourism development, and the operator’s prior compliance with issued consents and any final rulings on violations.

Outdoor areas, revocation and transition

On gardens and terraces linked to food outlets, live and/or mechanical music may not be played after 10.00 p.m. unless the outlet holds a permit for temporary noise load. A shorter extended window may be set for outdoor surfaces than for the indoor premises of the same outlet.

The municipality may revoke a consent to protect public order and peace and the living environment if competent bodies have established, by final decisions, at least two violations of public order or of the law resulting from extended-hours operation. The operator must be given the chance to comment before revocation, and an appeal does not suspend enforcement.

The new regulation repeals the previous Merila za določanje podaljšanega obratovalnega časa gostinskih obratov in kmetij (No. 30602-16/2002 of 4 December 2003), and all consents issued before the regulation takes effect lapse on 1 November 2026.

For the hospitality sector and nightlife in Puconci, the regulation brings a clear and uniform framework for extended hours, balancing the needs of tourism and local events with the protection of residents’ quality of life. Operators planning extended service must secure municipal consent in advance, and those who repeatedly breach public-order rules risk losing it.

Source: Uradni list Republike Slovenije, issue 1425/2026 of 14 September 2026, Section I (official reference: 2026-01-2085).