Fristfrei

Anmeldung in Germany: a step-by-step guide

Rules and documents vary by city: check your local Bürgeramt. This guide covers the federal rules that apply across Germany. Pick your city below to see your own Bürgeramt and booking link, or see the guide for your state. Your registration office's own website is the final word.

Your local offices

City not listed? Find your Bürgeramt with the federal service search and your Ausländerbehörde with BAMF-NAvI, or see the guide for your state.

Quick steps

  1. Ask your landlord for the signed Wohnungsgeberbestätigung. Blank request letter template.
  2. Get the registration form (Anmeldeformular) from your city's registration office page.
  3. Book an appointment, or use walk-in hours if your office has them, so you can register within two weeks of moving in.
  4. Attend with your passport (and eAT if you have one), the form and the landlord confirmation; you receive your Meldebestätigung.

1. Who must register, and by when

  • Anyone who moves into a home in Germany must register with the registration office within two weeks of moving in. [BMG §17]
  • Children under 16 are registered by the person whose home they move into. [BMG §17]
  • Short stays: no registration if you are already registered in Germany and stay no more than six months, or live abroad and stay no more than three months. [BMG §27; Hamburg: moving from abroad]
  • Missing the deadline is an administrative offence: a fine of up to €1,000 for not registering or registering late or incorrectly. [BMG §54]

2. Documents to bring

3. Landlord confirmation (Wohnungsgeberbestätigung)

  • Your landlord must confirm your move-in to you in writing within the two-week deadline. The law also allows an electronic confirmation, but only directly to the registration office; the landlord then gives you a reference code to use when you register (BMG §19(1) and (4)). [BMG §19]
  • It must include: the landlord's name and address (and the owner's name if different), the move-in date, the flat's address and the names of the people moving in. [BMG §19]
  • A self-written confirmation is fine if it contains all these details. [Munich: register]
  • Offering an address for a registration when nobody actually lives there is prohibited and can be fined up to €50,000. [BMG §19; BMG §54; Hamburg: Wohnungsgeberbestätigung form]

4. Book an appointment or register online

  • The federal online service needs the online ID function of a German ID card (Personalausweis) or an EU eID card, a government user account such as BundID, and your 6-digit PIN. If you rent, you upload the landlord confirmation. [wohnsitzanmeldung.gov.de]
  • Without a German ID card or EU eID card (for example with only a passport and an eAT) you can't use the online service, so you register in person. [wohnsitzanmeldung.gov.de]
  • Each city runs its own booking system: some offices need an appointment, some have walk-in hours, and online registration isn't offered everywhere. Moves from abroad are usually in person. Your city's office and booking link are shown at the top of this page. [Munich: register; Hamburg: moving from abroad]

5. What happens at the office

  • Staff check your form, ID and landlord confirmation, enter you in the register and give you the Meldebestätigung. [BMG §24]
  • Whether registering costs anything depends on your city: some charge nothing, others charge a fee for in-person registration. Ask when you book. [Munich: register; Hamburg: moving from abroad]

6. Meldebestätigung and Meldebescheinigung

  • The Meldebestätigung is free by law and shows your name, date of birth, move-in date, registration date, address and type of residence. [BMG §24]

7. Your Steuer-ID arrives by post

  • On your first registration in Germany your data goes to the BZSt, which assigns your 11-digit tax ID and sends it by letter to your registered address; by post only, never by phone or email. [BZSt: tax ID overview; BZSt online portal: re-send tax ID]
  • The BZSt gives no fixed timeframe: it assigns your IdNr "as soon as the registration office has transmitted the required data" ("sobald die Meldebehörde dem BZSt die benötigten Daten übermittelt hat"), so expect the letter some weeks after you register. [BZSt: tax ID FAQ]
  • Your surname must be on your mailbox for the letter to be delivered ("Für eine erfolgreiche Zustellung muss der Nachname am Briefkasten angebracht sein"). [BZSt: tax ID FAQ]
  • Lost it or it didn't arrive: request it again through the BZSt online form or by letter. [BZSt: tax ID overview; BZSt online portal: re-send tax ID]
  • If you've registered but still have no IdNr after three months, you can send the BZSt a copy of your ID and your Meldebestätigung; the BZSt then checks with the registration office. [BZSt: tax ID FAQ; BZSt online portal: re-send tax ID]
  • The letter only goes to your registered address; anywhere else needs your written authorisation by letter with a copy of your ID. [BZSt: tax ID overview]

8. Deregistration (Abmeldung)

  • Deregister only if you move abroad or give up a home without moving to a new one in Germany: within two weeks after moving out, at the earliest one week before. [BMG §17]
  • Moving within Germany: registering at the new address is enough; you don't deregister at the old one. [Munich: register; Hamburg: from another state]

9. Common problems

Sources

All accessed 4 Nov 2026; no page shows a last-updated date.

↑ Back to top