Bundesportal | Residence; registration

More Information

Publisher

Bavaria

Last update or date of publication

March 27, 2026

If you move into an apartment, you are obliged to register with the relevant registration authority (municipality, town or administrative community) within two weeks of moving in. This also applies if you move within your municipality or town.

Spouses, life partners and family members with the same previous and future residences should use a joint registration form; it is sufficient for one of the persons required to register to do so.

Persons under the age of 16 must be registered by the person whose home the persons under the age of 16 are moving into. If a minor has several residences in Germany, the main residence is the residence primarily used by the person(s) with custody.

Newborns born in Germany only need to be registered if they are taken into a home other than that of their parents or mother.

If a carer or guardian has been appointed for an adult person who can determine their place of residence, they are responsible for registration.

If you do not register within two weeks of moving in, you are acting in breach of the regulations. In this case, you can be fined up to 1,000 euros.

Information on submitting the landlord's confirmation of residence, applying for an information block or transmission block and applying for a change of address and place of residence on the ID card, passport and eID card can be found in the service descriptions under "Related topics".

In particular, the following documents are required:
(ID: 17426)

Personal visit
- Completed and signed registration form (registration form is available from the registration office)
- Identity card and/or passport or passport replacement document of all persons to be registered
- eID card for EU citizens, if applicable
- Confirmation from the landlord (for further information, see "Related topics" - "Landlord confirmation; template")
  OR, in the case of electronic confirmation from the landlord to the registration authority, the corresponding allocation feature
- For the joint registration of other persons at the personal visit: if necessary, an (informal) power of attorney
A power of attorney is not required for the joint registration of spouses, civil partners under the Civil Partnership Act and/or family members with the same move-in data (move-in date as well as previous and current residences).

Electronic registration
- ID card or eID card with activated online ID and the corresponding personal PIN
- Suitable smartphone with NFC interface or a card reader
- Free federal government ID card app for the smartphone or PC
- Confirmation from the landlord (for further information, see "Related topics" - "Landlord confirmation; template")

Label

Preconditions

Actual occupation of the new apartment (this apartment is used permanently or at least with a certain regularity, primarily for living or sleeping).

none

Basis for legal action

§ 15 Passgesetz (PassG) Pflichten des Inhabers

§ 17 Bundesmeldegesetz (BMG) Anmeldung, Abmeldung

§ 19 Bundesmeldegesetz (BMG) Mitwirkung des Wohnungsgebers

§ 19 Verordnung über Personalausweise, eID-Karten für Unionsbürger und Angehörige des Europäischen Wirtschaftsraums und den elektronischen Identitätsnachweis (Personalausweisverordnung - PAuswV) Änderung der Anschrift

§ 20 Gesetz über eine Karte für Unionsbürger und Angehörige des Europäischen Wirtschaftsraums mit Funktion zum elektronischen Identitätsnachweis (eID-Karte-Gesetz - eIDKG) Pflichten des Karteninhabers

§ 23 Bundesmeldegesetz (BMG) Erfüllung der allgemeinen Meldepflicht

§ 27 Gesetz über Personalausweise und den elektronischen Identitätsnachweis (Personalausweisgesetz - PAuswG) Pflichten des Ausweisinhabers

§ 36c Verordnung über Personalausweise, eID-Karten für Unionsbürger und Angehörige des Europäischen Wirtschaftsraums und den elektronischen Identitätsnachweis (Personalausweisverordnung - PAuswV) Nicht auf die eID-Karte entsprechend anwendbare Vorschriften

§ 54 Bundesmeldegesetz (BMG) Bußgeldvorschriften

Procedure

You must register with the relevant registration authority (municipality, town or administrative community). You can register in person at the registration office or electronically via the Internet:

1. personal registration

To register in person, you must fill in and sign a registration form and present it to the registration authority together with your identity card, recognized and valid passport or passport replacement document and confirmation from your landlord or the corresponding assignment feature on site. If the registration register is kept automatically, you do not need to complete the registration form if you confirm the accuracy and completeness of the data collected by the registration authority by signing a printout. You can also be represented by a person when registering by submitting the necessary documents (registration documents and power of attorney).

2. electronic registration

Electronic registration is only possible via the online service for electronic residence registration if the authority responsible for your place of residence is already connected to this online service, which will gradually be made available throughout Germany. If the authority responsible for you is connected and you have selected your new place of residence as the location, the link will be displayed under "Online procedure".

To use the electronic registration, first identify yourself in the online service via a BayernID or BundID account using an ID card or, as a (non-German) EU citizen, using an eID card.
You will then be shown the data stored about you at the previous registration authority. Spouses, partners and children who are registered at the same address will also be displayed. You can select whether they should also move with you and register accordingly.
The next step is to add the new address, the move-in and move-out dates and the details of the landlord (and owner, if applicable) of your new home and upload the landlord confirmation. You now have the option of checking the transfer blocks you have entered or setting up new transfer blocks (see "Related topics"). Finally, check your details again and send the electronic registration form to the new registration authority.
(In a small number of cases, a confirmation code will be sent by post to the new address as a random check to verify the address. If this is the case, log in to the online service again and enter the confirmation code to complete the registration).
As a rule, a forgery-proof digital registration confirmation with an electronic and visual seal (similar to a QR code) will be available for you in the online service a few days later.
After completing the electronic registration process, you still need to update your ID card and (if available) passport or eID card with the new address or place of residence. This also applies to the ID cards and (if available) passports or eID cards of the family members registered during the electronic registration process.
After you have re-identified yourself with your ID card or eID card, the online service can save the new address on the chip of your ID card or eID card using the six-digit Card Access Number (CAN) printed on the front of the ID card or eID card to the right of the expiry date. You will also receive an address sticker/residence sticker by post, which you should affix to your ID card and passport in accordance with the instructions sent to you. If the process is interrupted for legal or technical reasons during electronic registration or the subsequent updating of the ID documents, or if the registration authority cancels the electronic registration during the verification process, you will receive a notification of this. Please contact your new municipality in person to complete the registration process and update your documents (ID card, passport or eID card).

Note: Electronic registration is currently possible for German nationals and EU citizens with an eID card; the registration of third-country nationals with an electronic residence permit is still being planned.

Deadlines

Registration must take place within two weeks of moving in.

Processing time

Personal registration: immediately

Electronic registration: up to one week. The data on the chip can be changed immediately after receipt of the registration confirmation. Sending the address or residence sticker usually takes about a week.