Soil sealing in Germany is progressing steadily. As a result, important soil functions such as water permeability and soil fertility are being lost. These soil functions can be (partially) restored by unsealing. To support the implementation of existing unsealing potentials, the Federal Environment Agency has funded a research project. The analysis of the legal requirements for unsealing carried out in the project has shown that the topic affects various regulatory areas and instruments of environmental and planning law, but that the relevant regulations and instruments are only applied to a limited extent in practice. This article presents the most important results including suggestions for the further development of the legal framework.