In Germany your life on paper starts with one ten-minute appointment. Until you've registered your address, you can't get a tax ID, and banks, employers and health insurers will keep asking for a document you don't have yet.
The office is called Bürgeramt in many cities and Bürgerbüro, Bürgerservice or Einwohnermeldeamt in others. The Anmeldung itself is simple. A clerk types, you check, you sign. What trips people up is arriving without the right paper, and one question about religion that costs money if you answer it carelessly.
What to Bring
| Document | What to know |
|---|---|
Personalausweis oder Reisepass | for every person you're registering, children included |
Wohnungsgeberbestätigung | the landlord's signed confirmation that you've moved in. A tenancy agreement doesn't replace it |
Anmeldeformular | the registration form. Many offices fill it in on screen with you, others want it printed and signed |
Heiratsurkunde, Geburtsurkunden | marriage and birth certificates if you're registering a family for the first time, with certified translations |
Visum oder Aufenthaltstitel | if you have one |
Quick notes:
- You have two weeks from the day you move in. In big cities the next free appointment is often later than that. Book it anyway and keep the confirmation, which shows you tried in time.
- The registration is free.
- One adult can register the whole family, as long as everyone moves into the same flat and you bring their documents. Some offices also ask for a signed Vollmacht from the other adult.
Getting the Appointment
I need an appointment for the registration.
Ich brauche einen Termin für die Anmeldung.
Do you still have an appointment free this week?
Haben Sie diese Woche noch einen Termin frei?
I'm new in Germany.
Ich bin neu in Deutschland.
I have an appointment at ten o'clock.
Ich habe einen Termin um zehn Uhr.
Where do I have to wait?
Wo muss ich warten?
Do you speak English?
Sprechen Sie Englisch?
Practice these words
Ich brauche einen Termin für die Anmeldung.
Quick note: most towns release appointments online, often early in the morning. If nothing shows up, check again the next day at opening time, or try a branch office in another part of town. Any Bürgeramt in your city can do it.
At the Counter
I'd like to register my address.
Ich möchte meinen Wohnsitz anmelden.
I moved in on the first of October.
Ich bin am ersten Oktober eingezogen.
This is my first flat in Germany.
Das ist meine erste Wohnung in Deutschland.
Here is the landlord's confirmation.
Hier ist die Wohnungsgeberbestätigung.
I'd like to register my family too.
Ich möchte auch meine Familie anmelden.
We are married.
Wir sind verheiratet.
Could you repeat that, please?
Können Sie das bitte wiederholen?
Where do I have to sign?
Wo muss ich unterschreiben?
Does that cost anything?
Kostet das etwas?
Practice these words
Ich möchte meinen Wohnsitz anmelden.
Quick note: the everyday way to say it is shorter: Ich möchte mich anmelden. Everyone at the Bürgeramt knows what you mean.
What They'll Ask You
Your ID, please.
Ihren Ausweis, bitte.
Since when have you lived there?
Seit wann wohnen Sie dort?
Is that your only flat?
Ist das Ihre einzige Wohnung?
Are you married?
Sind Sie verheiratet?
Do you have children?
Haben Sie Kinder?
Do you belong to a church?
Gehören Sie einer Kirche an?
Please check your details.
Bitte prüfen Sie Ihre Daten.
Please sign here.
Bitte unterschreiben Sie hier.
Practice these words
Ihren Ausweis, bitte.
Quick notes:
- The question about church is a tax question. If you're registered as a member of a church that collects it, for example the Catholic or Protestant church, Kirchensteuer is taken from your salary: 8 or 9 percent of your income tax, depending on the state. Answer truthfully. If you don't belong to a church that collects the tax, the answer is Nein or keine.
- Ist das Ihre einzige Wohnung? is about a main and a second home. If you only live in one place, it's your Hauptwohnung and the answer is Ja.
- Bitte prüfen Sie Ihre Daten matters more than it sounds. The spelling of your name on this screen is the one that goes to the tax office, your insurer and your bank. Compare it with your passport letter by letter.
Words on the Form
surname
der Familienname
first name
der Vorname
name at birth
der Geburtsname
date of birth
das Geburtsdatum
place of birth
der Geburtsort
nationality
die Staatsangehörigkeit
marital status
der Familienstand
single
ledig
married
verheiratet
divorced
geschieden
widowed
verwitwet
address
die Anschrift
main residence
die Hauptwohnung
secondary residence
die Nebenwohnung
move-in date
das Einzugsdatum
religious affiliation
die Religionszugehörigkeit
Practice these words
der Familienname
Quick note: ledig means never married. It's the box for single people. Single is used in conversation and never on a form. Check also Bureaucracy words lessons for more examples.
Moving Again, and Leaving
Ummelden. When you move to a new address inside Germany, you register again at the new place, within two weeks and with a new Wohnungsgeberbestätigung. You don't have to tell the old town. The offices do that between themselves.
Abmelden. When you leave Germany for good, you deregister. It's the paper that ends your broadcasting fee, and insurers and banks ask for it when you close contracts. You can do it from a week before you move out.
Change the letterbox too. Registration doesn't put your name on the door. Do that the same day, or the letters described below won't reach you.
What You Get, and What Arrives Later
| What | When | What to do with it |
|---|---|---|
Meldebestätigung | handed to you at the counter | keep it safe; make a scan |
Steuer-ID | by letter, usually within a few weeks of a first registration, sometimes longer | give the number to your employer. It stays the same for life |
letter about the Rundfunkbeitrag | within a few weeks | answer it. The broadcasting fee is charged per flat, so one person pays for the household |
If the tax ID doesn't come, you can ask the Federal Central Tax Office to send it again through its website. In urgent cases many local Finanzämter will tell you the number in person when you show your passport.