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Anmeldung starter pack

Akte DE · 01 Arriving · stop 1/7 →

This one is a lynx. Miss a date, or do it in the wrong order, and it costs you real money. Easy once someone shows you how — and this is the kind Papertame was built for.

Anmeldung starter pack

Registering your address is the first official thing you do in Germany, and almost everything else waits behind it: your tax number, a bank account, your residence permit. That makes it sound enormous. It is one appointment and three pieces of paper, and this page walks you through the whole of it in order. Every fact here links to the German office that says it.

Deadline

You have two weeks from the day you move in.The official wording You must register within two weeks (14 days) of moving into your dwelling. The deadline runs from your move-in date. Source ↗

Late, wrong or never can cost you up to 1,000 euros.The official wording Registering late, incorrectly, or not at all is an administrative offence (Ordnungswidrigkeit) under the registration law, and can be fined up to 1,000 euros. Source ↗

This is the two-week rule, counted from the date you give. Your browser does the maths, and the date never leaves it.

The whole thing, in five steps

Stamp each step as you finish it. Your progress stays on this device.

Nº 0/5 tamed
  1. 1Ask your landlord for the Wohnungsgeberbestätigung. It is a signed note saying you moved in. You cannot register without it. The law says your landlord has to give it to you.Use the ready-made email →
  2. 2Collect three things: your passport or ID card, the registration form, and that signed note.
  3. 3Book your appointment. In big cities the wait for a free slot is the slow part, not the paperwork. So book as early as you can.Find your office and book →
  4. 4Go there in person on the day. Hand over the form and your documents.
  5. 5Keep the paper they give you. It is called the Meldebescheinigung. Banks and employers will ask to see it.

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Where do you actually go?

Pick your city and you get the office you actually go to, plus the official link that books your appointment. You also get the one local rule that decides how quickly you are seen.

Can you skip the office entirely?

Germany does have a national website for registering, but there is a catch worth knowing before you get your hopes up. You need a BundID account, plus a German ID card with the online function switched on and its PIN. Without all three of those, the office is your route.

wohnsitzanmeldung.gov.de ↗

What to bring

Bring three things: your ID, the form, your landlord's note.The official wording Bring a valid identity document (ID card or passport), the completed registration form, and the Wohnungsgeberbestätigung (tenancy confirmation) completed by your landlord. Source ↗

The landlord's note (Wohnungsgeberbestätigung)

Your landlord signs a note saying you moved in.The official wording The Wohnungsgeberbestätigung is a signed confirmation from your landlord (Wohnungsgeber) that you have moved in. By law it must state the name and address of the landlord and owner, the move-in date, the dwelling's address, and the names of those registering. Your landlord must provide it within the registration deadline. Source ↗

Ask your landlord for it, with the email already written in German → →

LynxAnmeldung
Free to readField guide

Telling the town hall where you now live. Everyone in Germany has to do it, and almost everything else waits for the paper you get back.

One piece of paperwork, recorded: what it is, where you deal with it, and what catches people out. Every answer comes from an official source, with the date we checked it. What each guide covers is listed on it — they are not all the same length.

When and how it turns up

The week you move in. The Anmeldung is the mandatory registration of your home address with the local Residents' Registration Office (Meldebehörde). Everyone living in Germany is required to register. Source ↗

Where you deal with it

In person, in most cities. Registration is an in-person act in most places: you go to the Residents' Registration Office, usually by appointment. A federal online service exists and a growing number of municipalities are connected to it, but availability is city by city — check your own city's page before assuming either. Source ↗

Does it speak English?

No — German, spoken and written. Expect German. The federal online registration service is offered in German only (with a Leichte Sprache version, still German), and the counter conversation is in German too. Some cities publish an English translation of the form as a reading aid, but the form you sign is the German one — so know what each field asks before you go, rather than deciding at the desk. Source ↗

What to bring

By appointment, not a walk-in. In person means by appointment. Berlin's official service page requires a Termin for registering at a Bürgeramt, and offers the online route instead only to people who hold a BundID account with the eID function of their ID card activated. Booking systems are municipal, so check your own city — but plan for a booked slot rather than a walk-in. Source ↗

Yours to do in person. The duty is personally yours. The registration law puts the act on the person moving in and names only two hand-overs: a child under 16 is registered by whoever's dwelling they move into, and an adult with a court-appointed carer who determines residence is registered by that carer. It says nothing about anyone else acting for you — so whether your city accepts a written authorisation (Vollmacht) is a municipal question. Ask before you send someone in your place. Source ↗

How long it takes

You leave with the proof. After registering you receive an official registration confirmation (Meldebescheinigung / Anmeldebestätigung). You will need it for later steps such as opening a bank account or applying for a residence permit. Source ↗

What it costs

Nothing at the counter. Registering itself is free. Berlin's official service page lists the fee as 'keine' — none. Fees are set municipally, so confirm on your own city's page; what can actually cost you is the fine for registering late, not anything at the counter. Source ↗

What it opens up next

A tax ID, by post. Everyone in the German tax system is assigned a tax identification number (Steuer-Identifikationsnummer / IdNr) by the Federal Central Tax Office. For data-protection reasons it is sent to you only by post. It is tied to your wage-tax deduction, so you need it for employment. Source ↗

A broadcasting-fee letter. After you register, the registration office notifies the broadcasting-contribution service, which then writes to you about the household broadcasting fee (Rundfunkbeitrag). The rule is one dwelling, one fee — 18.36 euros per month for a private household, regardless of how many people live there or how many devices they use. Source ↗

What catches people out

Up to 1,000 € if you are late. Registering late, incorrectly, or not at all is an administrative offence (Ordnungswidrigkeit) under the registration law, and can be fined up to 1,000 euros. Source ↗

What it needs from you0 / 3

This one is open to everyone, so you can see what a field guide is before you pay for the rest. It is the longest of them — the other 12 are the same shape, for the steps further down your plan.

Sources checked 2026-07-08

What the Anmeldung is

Everyone who lives in Germany has to register their address.The official wording The Anmeldung is the mandatory registration of your home address with the local Residents' Registration Office (Meldebehörde). Everyone living in Germany is required to register. Source ↗

You go to your own town's registration office.The official wording You register at your local Residents' Registration Office (Meldebehörde, often called Bürgeramt or Einwohnermeldeamt). You can usually find the registration form and the office address on the website of the town or city you are moving to. Source ↗

Only if this is you

Three situations with their own rules. If none of them is you, skip this part. Nothing here changes the five steps above.

Not in your real home yet?

A sofa, a sublet, a hostel, a hotel. Almost everyone arrives in one of these and spends week one quietly worrying about it. The law has its own rules for short stays, and they are less alarming than people expect. Find the line below that matches where you are sleeping.

Still living abroad? Your clock starts after three months here.The official wording If you ordinarily still live abroad and move into a dwelling in Germany (for example a short sublet), the registration duty arises only once your stay exceeds three months — from that point you have two weeks to register. If you have moved to Germany to live here, the normal two-week deadline applies from moving in. Source ↗

Already registered somewhere in Germany? Under six months does not count.The official wording If you are already registered for a dwelling in Germany and move into another dwelling for a stay of no more than six months (for example temporary accommodation in a new city), no registration duty arises for it; once the stay exceeds six months, you must register within two weeks. Source ↗

In a hotel or hostel? You sign their form on arrival.The official wording Hotels, hostels and similar accommodation (Beherbergungsstätten) have their own rule: foreign guests sign the accommodation's registration form (Meldeschein) on arrival. If you are not registered for a dwelling in Germany, you must register with the Meldebehörde within two weeks once your stay there exceeds three months. Source ↗

Children and family

You register your own children. Nobody under 16 goes alone.The official wording Children under 16 are registered by the person into whose dwelling they move — as a parent you register your children yourself. A newborn only needs a registration if the child moves into a dwelling other than the parents'. For adults with an appointed custodian covering residence matters, the custodian handles the registration. Source ↗

Three German words you will hear

Three words: moving in, moving across, moving out.The official wording There are three registration acts: Anmeldung (registering when you move into a dwelling, within two weeks), Ummeldung (registering your new address after moving within Germany), and Abmeldung (de-registering within two weeks when you move out and do not take another dwelling in Germany, for example when leaving the country). Source ↗

Every field on the form, in English

Each field, and what it is asking for. What to write in it is yours to decide, and the desk will help if a question is unclear.

Familienname / Geburtsname
Surname / name at birth
Vornamen
First name(s)
Geburtsdatum, Geburtsort
Date and place of birth
Staatsangehörigkeit
Nationality / citizenship
Familienstand
Marital status (single, married, etc.)
Religionszugehörigkeit
Religious affiliation — asked because it can affect church tax
Einzugsdatum
Move-in date
Bisherige Wohnung
Your previous address
Alleinige Wohnung / Hauptwohnung / Nebenwohnung
Whether this is your only, main, or secondary residence

Booking your appointment by phone

Five sentences to book a slot by phone. Read them out. The last two ask them to slow down, or to speak English.

  • Guten Tag, ich möchte einen Termin zur Anmeldung vereinbaren.Hello, I'd like to book an appointment to register my address.
  • Ich bin neu zugezogen und muss mich anmelden.I've just moved here and need to register.
  • Wann haben Sie einen freien Termin?When do you have a free appointment?
  • Können Sie das bitte langsam wiederholen?Could you repeat that slowly, please?
  • Sprechen Sie Englisch?Do you speak English?

After you register

You leave with the paper, and you will need it.The official wording After registering you receive an official registration confirmation (Meldebescheinigung / Anmeldebestätigung). You will need it for later steps such as opening a bank account or applying for a residence permit. Source ↗

You need it to open a bank account, and you have a right to a basic one →

What arrives in the post next

Registering sets off two letters, and neither one is a problem. Here is what they are, so you recognise them when they land on the mat.

Your tax number comes by post, and only by post.The official wording Everyone in the German tax system is assigned a tax identification number (Steuer-Identifikationsnummer / IdNr) by the Federal Central Tax Office. For data-protection reasons it is sent to you only by post. It is tied to your wage-tax deduction, so you need it for employment. Source ↗

A TV-fee letter follows. One home pays one fee.The official wording After you register, the registration office notifies the broadcasting-contribution service, which then writes to you about the household broadcasting fee (Rundfunkbeitrag). The rule is one dwelling, one fee — 18.36 euros per month for a private household, regardless of how many people live there or how many devices they use. Source ↗

What that letter is, the Beitragsnummer, and the one-fee rule →

Every letter that follows the Anmeldung, identified →

When this page is not enough

This page cannot help with everything. It cannot help if you have no address yet, or if the place you are living refuses to sign for you. A dispute, or a question about your right to stay, needs a person rather than a page. Ask your local Meldebehörde, or a migration advice service.

An automated assistant that organizes your information and applies publicly documented rules. Sources for each rule are cited.

This is not legal, tax, immigration, or financial advice, and not an official recognition, filing, or application. For decisions with legal or financial consequences, consult a qualified professional.

Rules last verified: 2026-07-08.

Sources

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