German citizens must carry a passport with them and show it on request when leaving or re-entering the Federal Republic of Germany. However, the holder of a valid German passport also fulfills his or her statutory identification requirements within Germany. In this respect, the passport replaces the identity card, although, unlike the latter, it does not contain the holder's address. The identity card, on the other hand, is only sufficient for domestic travel, but generally not for entry into other countries - exceptions exist in particular for travel within the European Union (EU).

Unfortunately this specification of service has not yet been completely translated.