Registering is a legal obligation in Germany. The law requires you to do that within 2 weeks of taking on an apartment or house in Germany. The official recording of your whereabouts goes hand-in-hand with the issuance of your tax id, tax class, your confirmation of your church membership, and the notification of public TV and radio. This happens automatically without you even noticing. As a result, you will not be forgotten when it comes to tax payment or the fee for TV.
A copy of your “Meldebescheinigung” -the paper issued within the registration appointment will also be needed for a couple of contracts, but most importantly for opening a bank account and contracting health insurance. Your children will also be assigned a tax ID and that is then necessary to provide when applying for children allowance.
The most important facts:
- Registering in person
- at any of the customer service centers (Kundenzentrum)
- 2 weeks after moving into your apartment
- documents: passport & move-in confirmation by the landlord & completed form
- Fee 12 EUR per person
Where to register
In Hamburg, you need to show up in person at one of the customer service centers ("Kundenzentrum"). There are numerous such centers all over Hamburg:
- Alstertal, Wentzelplatz 7, 22391 Hamburg
- Altona, Ottenser Marktplatz 10, 22765 Hamburg
- Barmbek-Uhlenhorst, Poppenhusenstraße 6, 22305 Hamburg
- Bergedorf, Weidenbaumsweg 21, 21029 Hamburg
- Billstedt, Öjendorfer Weg 9, 22111 Hamburg
- Blankenese, Sülldorfer Kirchenweg 2a, 22587 Hamburg
- Bramfeld, Herthastraße 20, 22179 Hamburg
- Eimsbüttel, Grindelberg 62-66, 20144 Hamburg
- Finkenwerder, Butendeichsweg 2, 21129 Hamburg
- Hamburg-Mitte, Steinstraße 1, 20095 Hamburg
- Hamburg-Nord, Lenhartzstraße 28, 20249 Hamburg
- Harburg, Harburger Rathausforum 3, 21073 Hamburg
- Langenhorn, Langenhorner Markt 7, 22415 Hamburg
- Lokstedt, Garstedter Weg 11, 22453 Hamburg
- Rahlstedt, Rahlstedter Straße 151-157, 22143 Hamburg
- St. Pauli, Simon-von-Utrecht-Straße 4a, 20359 Hamburg
- Süderelbe, Neugrabener Markt 5, 21149 Hamburg
- Walddörfer, Eulenkrugstraße 55, 22359 Hamburg
- Wandsbek, Schloßstraße 60, 22041 Hamburg
- Wilhelmsburg, Mengestraße 19, 21107 Hamburg
When to register - Online Appointment Reservation
As mentioned above, officially, you have two weeks to register after you have moved into your apartment. You can make an appointment online for the registration or re-registration of the residence. The image to the right shows the entry screen. Choose the number of people you want to register, then click "Weiter" (means "submit"). The next page will display a list of all customer service centers. You will need to click on each of them to find the earliest possible appointment - or you choose the center closest to your new home or workplace and reserve a suitable date and time. But beware, that your employer needs your tax id, which usually takes another 10 days after your registration.
The booking of an appointment is sufficient to meet the deadline.
You will receive an email confirming your appointment. Bring this with you as it proves the reservation date. Otherwise, you will risk a penalty.
All of the customer service centers are easy to reach via public transport. Please be aware that you CANNOT go to one of the customer service centers without an appointment. You will be rejected.
Registering a family
Further documents must be submitted by:
- Married / Partnered couples:
- marriage certificate (original)
- Divorcees:
- divorce decree (original)
- Widowed persons:
- death certificate (original)
- Holders of an electronic residence permit (eAT):
- the residence permit
Officers at the customer services centers usually don't speak sufficient English. Moreover, they are advised to use German language only, since they are notifying you of legal topics and the risk to translate wrongly is considerable. hence, it is a general approach by authorities to speak German only. This does also affect your documents. The success is much more likely if you come by with translated documents - albeit, English language is usually accepted. Since you need to provide originals, the translation must have been made by a certified translator.
Information about the registration in Hamburg can be found in the section registration.
