The Anmeldung

Registering your address with the local authorities (the “Anmeldung”) is an important first step when moving to Germany. This page explains how the process works, and what to look out for.

Who needs to register?

Everyone who lives in Germany (including Germans) must register their current address with the local authorities, and inform them of their new address (through the same registration procedure) every time they move. This is known as the Anmeldung. They must do this within two weeks of moving into a new apartment/house/etc (see §17 of the Bundesmeldegesetz (BMG)). This applies to all residents, irrespective of the length of their stay in Germany, why they are in Germany (students, interns etc are all included), or their nationality.

Short-term visitors and tourists do not count as “residents”, and therefore don’t have to register. While in most cases it’s obvious whether you’re a resident or a visitor, the official definition of “visitor” (see §27 BMG) is:

  • You normally live abroad, and are staying in Germany for less than three months.
  • You live in Germany (and are registered there), and will temporarily live elsewhere within Germany for less than six months.

Note that some cities can impose shorter deadlines - e.g. in Berlin, you have to register if you’re staying in the city for longer than two months. Also note that the law refers to the length of your stay in Germany, not the length of your stay at any particular address.

Should you originally plan for a short stay, but that stay gets unexpectedly longer (exceeding one of the limits above), then you need to register within two weeks of exceeding the applicable limit. This does not mean that you always have three (or six) months to register - the clerk can ask you for evidence that you originally planned for a shorter stay should you register later than two weeks after moving in.

Hotels and temporary accommodation

Finding a (semi-)permanent place to live can be a challenge in many German cities, so many people stay in temporary accommodation while they are flat-hunting.

People can stay in hotels (and other forms of commercial accommodation, e.g. youth hostels) for up to three/six months (depending on whether they are moving from abroad or within Germany, as above) before needing to register (see §29 BMG).

AirBnB and sublets

Staying in an AirBnB (while looking for more permanent accommodation) can occasionally cause issues. AirBnBs do not count as commercial accommodation, so you’d have to register within two weeks of moving in (assuming you intend for your stay in Germany to be longer then three/six months, as above). However, many AirBnB hosts are wary of issuing (or they refuse altogether) the necessary paperwork for the registration (see below), as they might be cheating on their taxes and/or renting out their apartments on AirBnB without permission from their landlord, and are afraid that by issuing paperwork they would be found out. There is no good solution to this dilemma, except to ask your AirBnB host beforehand if they will allow you to register there, and otherwise try and keep your stay in an AirBnB to a minimum.

In some cases, people subletting (Untervermietung) their room are also reluctant to cooperate with the registration paperwork, usually for similar reasons as above. However, the same rules apply - you must register within two weeks of moving in.

When registering at temporary accommodation, it may be worth giving your address as

Your Name
c/o Your Host's Name
Street Address

One of the reasons for registering is so that the authorities know where to reach you with official mail, which means your name usually needs to be on a letterbox at the address you registered at. If this isn’t possible (or practical, e.g. for an AirBnB), then register your address as above to make sure mail can reach you.

Obviously, people visiting Germany for less than three months can stay in AirBnBs or sublets without registering (as described above).

How to register

In order to register you need:

  • Official ID (e.g. your passport)
  • The registration form that you filled out (see below)
  • Confirmation that you moved in from the person who allows you to stay there (Wohnungsgeberbestätigung, see below)

Depending on your circumstances you may need to show some additional paperwork (e.g. marriage or birth certificate).

You do not need, for example:

  • A residence permit or visa
  • Proof of income
  • Proof of health insurance

You contact your local Bürgeramt / Anwohnermeldeamt and ask for an appointment, or show up during opening hours if they do not have an appointment system. A clerk checks your paperwork and will give you a piece of paper proving that you registered (the Meldebestätigung). This document is very important, as you’ll need it for many other administrative steps in Germany (e.g. opening a bank account, getting a tax ID, obtaining health insurance, etc).

Everyone who registers must appear in person (so if a couple moves to Germany together, then they both need to come); it’s not possible to register purely online or remotely.

You can find the exact procedure for your city (including templates for all the forms listed) on the website of the city administration - search for “Anmeldung " in your search engine of choice. For example, here are the (English-language) procedures for:

Registration form and religion

Filling out the registration form is fairly self-explanatory; you basically enter your personal details and current address.

However, there is a field for “religion” which may need a little more explanation. Germany has a church tax - the state collects this tax from the members of certain religious groups, and then distributes that money back to those religious groups. Church tax is 8-9% of your income tax (not of your income). Therefore, if you are a member of a religious group which participates in the church tax system, then you have to note that on your registration form, so that the state knows where your church tax money should go.

While the rules for who is a “member” vary by religion, they usually involve some kind of sacrament (e.g. for Christians, it’s being baptised) - whether you “feel” like a member of the church, believe in a supernatural power, or actively attend church etc is irrelevant. If you were baptised (or the equivalent, for other religions), then you’re a member, you have to tick the appropriate box, and pay church tax.

If you’re formally a member of a church which participates in the church tax system (here is the full list), but do not feel like a part of the church (perhaps you were baptised as a baby but had no further involvement of the church since then), and wish to leave it, then you can formally do so through an administrative procedure called the Kirchenaustritt. It’s a fairly simple procedure whereby you renounce your membership of the church, and from that point on, you are no longer a member and no longer pay the church tax. Note that not being a member prevents you from receiving certain sacraments in the church (e.g. you cannot marry or be buried in a church), and some religions (e.g. Catholics) take leaving the church somewhat seriously (it’s considered a form of apostasy and heresy), so you may get a somewhat miffed letter from your priest.

Do not silently tick the “no religion” box if you’re formally a member of a religion (but no longer feel like a part of it) - go through the formal procedure described above. Some churches - particularly the Roman Catholic church - has been known to compare baptism records in other countries with church tax records in Germany, and will go after people who are formally church members but who aren’t paying church taxes to try and get their due church taxes (including retroactively).

If you’re a member of a church or other religious group which does not participate in the German church tax system (e.g. Anglicans, Muslims, Hindus etc) then you need to tick the “other/none” box.

Wohnungsgeberbestätigung

Since 2015, the person providing you with a place to stay must give you a written confirmation that you moved in, the so-called Wohnungsgeberbestätigung. You need this document in order to register (templates can be found on your city’s website, as described above). According to §19 BMG, they must provide this document to you - refusing to do so is illegal.

If you’re renting a house or apartment, then your landlord fills out and signs the Wohnungsgeberbestätigung. For other cases, it may not always be the landlord’s responsibility - it’s the responsibility of the person who is giving you a place to stay. For example:

  • If you’re living in a shared apartment (“WG”), then whoever you have a contract with (the landlord, or perhaps one of the other tenants) fills out and signs the form.
  • If you’re living in a sublet, then the person providing you with the sublet (e.g. the main tenant) fills and signs out the form, not the landlord/owner of the entire apartment.
  • If you’re living in an apartment rented via AirBnB, then the AirBnB host (irrespective of whether they are the owner of the apartment or a tenant) fills out and signs the form.
  • If your friend is letting you stay on their couch for free, then your friend fills out and signs the form. The fact that no money changes hands is irrelevant.
  • If your partner is already living somewhere, and you move in with them, then either your partner fills out and signs the form (as they are letting you stay with them), or their landlord does (if you amend the rental contract to become a tenant there yourself).
  • If you buy a home and move in then you fill out and sign the form for yourself. This appears to be a little paradoxical at first, but is absolutely correct.

What if they do not give me a Wohnungsgeberbestätigung?

Even though it’s clearly illegal to do so, some people rent out apartments or (particularly) rooms without providing a Wohnungsgeberbestätigung to their tenant. Sometimes this is advertised in the listing itself (usually something like “ohne Anmeldung” or “keine Anmeldung möglich”), and sometimes the tenant only discovers this after they’ve moved in, and their landlord refuses to sign the Wohnungsgeberbestätigung.

Usually, this happens when people (sub)rent out rooms/apartments either illegally or without permission from their landlord, or if they’re cheating on their taxes by not reporting their rental income to the tax authorities. Hence, they are wary of filling out any kind of documentation for fear of being found out.

Ideally, you shouldn’t move to an apartment/room where the landlord doesn’t let you register. Not only does not having an Anmeldung make life difficult for you, but it could be a sign that the room is being sublet to you without the owner knowing, and in case the owner finds out, they could evict their tenant (and you alongside them) with little notice.

However, in practice, and given the extremely tight housing market, you may not have much of a choice (at least temporarily). While you could, of course, move in and then denounce your landlord to the authorities (as per §19(2) BMG), the landlord will then likely do everything legally in their power to make your stay as miserable as possible. The upside would be that the authorities would then likely allow you to register at that address, even without the Wohnungsgeberbestätigung.

Consequences of registering improperly

Not registering your address within two weeks when you first arrive (and every time you move) is a misdemeanour (see §54 BMG), and can result in a fine of up to 1000 €. In practice, this fine is rarely levied except in cases of gross abuse or fraud. Missing the deadline by a week or two is generally not a problem, although for longer delays you may be asked to explain yourself, and be given a mild telling off.

Additionally, in some cities (notably Berlin), the public administration is so overworked that it’s nearly impossible to get an appointment to complete the registration within the allotted two weeks. In these cases, it’s merely necessary to have scheduled an appointment within two weeks of moving in (even if the appointment itself could be weeks later).

The consequences for people fraudulently filling out a Wohnungsgeberbestätigung (or failing to fill one out for your tenant) are far more severe - up to five-figure fines. Therefore, should you ever find yourself in such a position, make sure you only ever provide a Wohnungsgeberbestätigung for a person who is actually living with you, and resist any pleas from acquaintances to let them “pretend” to live with you. The local authorities have been known to conduct spot checks, do cross-checks, and follow up on any official mail (which is always sent to the address a person is registered under) which is returned as “undeliverable, returned to sender”.

Moving within Germany

When you move to another address within Germany, then you must repeat the registration procedure as above (as always, within two weeks of moving). This is colloquially known as Ummeldung, although official documents always refer to the Anmeldung. You don’t need to de-register your old address - that’s automatically taken care of when you register at another address, even if the new address is at the other end of the country from the old one.

To ensure any official mail doesn’t get lost in the transition period (and this is a good idea regardless), you may wish to set up mail forwarding (Nachsendeauftrag) with the German postal service, so that any mail sent to your old address is automatically forwarded to your new address. A lot of official documentation in Germany is sent by snail mail, so it’s vital that mail always reaches you, even if it’s sent to a (slightly) out-of-date address.

De-registering and leaving Germany

When you leave Germany (semi-)permanently, you do need to formally de-register. This is called the Abmeldung, and works similarly to the Anmeldung - you collect the necessary paperwork, fill out a form, visit the Bürgeramt / Anwohnermeldeamt, and get a piece of paper in return (the Abmeldebestätigung). This piece of paper is just as important as its counterpart, as you’ll need it to close your social insurance accounts, or as justification for terminating certain contracts (e.g. mobile phone plans) early.

You must complete the Abmeldung within two weeks of leaving Germany, and you can do it (at the earliest) one week before your planned departure date. Unlike with the Anmeldung, the Abmeldung can usually be done remotely by sending a letter (make sure to include a forwarding address so the paperwork can reach you). E-mails and phone calls are not sufficient, however.

In the rush of leaving Germany it can be easy to overlook the Abmeldung, but it’s not optional. Many people who forgot it later report problems with their social insurance payments, Rundfunkbeitrag, and other running contracts (as, without an Abmeldungsbestätigung, many organisations assume you’re still living in Germany, and react accordingly).

Guides on other sites/blogs

As usual, make sure to cross-check any information with the official sources - there are a lot of half-truths and outdated information floating around out there.