Anmeldung – How to Register Your Address in Germany, Step by Step

Address registration (Anmeldung) is your first official step after arriving in Germany, and everything else depends on it: your tax number, social insurance, bank account, residence permit, and even your mobile phone contract. The law requires you to register within 14 days of moving in. In practice, appointments in larger cities tend to be hard to come by, so book one as soon as possible — even before you move. Delays caused by a lack of available appointments won't result in a fine, but you won't have the confirmation document that everyone asks for.

Where to Register

Go to your local citizens' office — known as the Bürgeramt, Bürgerbüro, Einwohnermeldeamt, or Kundenzentrum, depending on the city. Appointments are booked online through the city's official website. In Berlin, Munich, and Hamburg, check all branch locations, not just the nearest one. Some cities allow walk-in registrations in the morning hours, and in smaller towns you can often just walk in without an appointment.

What to Bring

• Your passport (and visa or residence permit, if applicable);
• Wohnungsgeberbestätigung — a written confirmation from your landlord stating that you have moved in, including the move-in date and address. A rental contract alone is not sufficient. If you are living in hospital-provided accommodation, the hospital issues this document. If you are staying with a friend, the primary tenant signs it;
• A completed registration form (Anmeldeformular), available on your city's website;
• For families: passports for all family members, an internationally recognised marriage certificate, and birth certificates for any children (with a translation or on a multilingual standard form).

Registration is free of charge. You will receive your Meldebescheinigung — the official confirmation of registration — on the spot. Ask for two copies. This document is the key to everything that follows.

What Arrives by Post After Registration

• Steuerliche Identifikationsnummer (Steuer-ID) — an 11-digit tax identification number, sent by the Federal Central Tax Office within two to four weeks. Your employer needs it to process your salary. Until it arrives, you will be taxed under the highest bracket (tax class VI), but the difference will be reimbursed once you provide the number.
• Sozialversicherungsnummer — your social insurance number, issued by the pension insurance authority (Deutsche Rentenversicherung) after your employer submits your first registration. Keep this letter safe; the number is valid for life.
• Health insurance card — from the health fund (Krankenkasse) you have chosen, usually within two weeks. In the meantime, the fund will provide a temporary confirmation letter.
• A letter from Rundfunkbeitrag — the public broadcasting fee is automatically triggered based on your Anmeldung data. You can read more about this in our article Mandatory and Expected Payments in Germany.
• Church tax letters: if you listed a religious denomination on your registration form (Catholic or Evangelical), you will be charged church tax (Kirchensteuer) of 8 to 9 percent of your income tax. The Orthodox Church is not part of this system. Leave the field blank or write "ohne" (without).

Your Name on the Letterbox

In Germany, mail is only delivered to letterboxes bearing the recipient's name. On your very first day, put your name on the letterbox and the doorbell — otherwise your Steuer-ID, health insurance card, and letters from the immigration authority will be returned to sender.

Change of Address and Deregistration

Every time you move, you must re-register (Ummeldung) at your new address within 14 days. Deregistration from your previous address happens automatically. When leaving Germany altogether, you must formally deregister (Abmeldung) — without it, your public broadcasting fee and insurance obligations continue to accrue.

You do not need to officially deregister from your home address in Serbia or Bosnia and Herzegovina before leaving, but do check what this means for your health insurance coverage back home.

The Anmeldung, opening a bank account, and choosing a health fund are the first steps we guide every candidate through — typically during their first week. Find out what our post-relocation support looks like, and for everything else in that first month, read our article on the first 30 days in Germany.