A method for operating a hydraulic braking system of a motor vehicle includes generating a force for displacing a brake piston of a wheel brake of the brake system via a pressure generator and an electromechanical actuator to actuate the wheel brake. The pressure generator and the actuator are controlled to collectively generate a total clamping force at the wheel brake in order to enable a parking brake function. During the enabling procedure, an operating current of the actuator is monitored to determine a functional capability of the braking system, and the pressure generator is controlled such that the hydraulic pressure is modulated for a predeterminable period of time to unload or to load the actuator. The operating current of the actuator during this time period in order to determine the functional capability of the braking system.