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

As an employee, you are legally obliged to register as a jobseeker with the Employment Agency at least 3 months before the end of your employment relationship. If you have learned of the end of your employment relationship less than 3 months beforehand, you must register as a jobseeker within 3 days.

The same applies if you are undergoing external training and are subsequently threatened with unemployment.

After you have registered as a jobseeker, the Employment Agency will support you in your search for a suitable job.

In general, you should register as a jobseeker with the Employment Agency as early as possible if

• you have been dismissed,
• your fixed-term employment contract expires,
• you have concluded a termination agreement with your employer by mutual agreement,
• you are looking for work again after a long illness,
• school, vocational training or studies are coming to an end and you do not yet have a contractually fixed job or training place in prospect,
• you want to return to work after having raised children for a longer period of time, or
• you are looking for work for other reasons.

• Identification document (identity card or passport and certificate of registration) when registering in person at the Federal Employment Agency.
• Registration before the online jobseeker registration on the website of the Federal Employment Agency

Forms: none
Online procedure possible: yes (to meet deadline)
Written form required: no
Personal appearance required: yes

Related Links

• Online-Portal der Bundesagentur für Arbeit zur Arbeitsuchend-Meldung

Bundesagentur für Arbeit (BA)

Bundesagentur für Arbeit (BA), Dienststellenfinder

Bundesagentur für Arbeit (BA), Arbeitnehmer-Hotline

Preconditions

• You are currently in a training or employment relationship that is about to end.
• You can also pursue employment subject to compulsory insurance for at least 15 hours per week thereafter.

Hints

The online display of the job-seeker notification is not in itself a legally effective job-seeker notification. It only serves to meet the deadline. The personal job-seeker notification must be made up for at the latest on the first day of unemployment.

Related Links

• § 38 Absatz 1 Sozialgesetzbuch Drittes Buch (SGB III)

Related Links

• Informationen zur Arbeitsuchend-Meldung auf der Internetseite der Agentur für Arbeit

You can register as a jobseeker with the Employment Agency online, in writing, by telephone or in person. If you do not register as a jobseeker in person at the Employment Agency, you must do so at a later date, at the latest on the first day of unemployment.

In writing:

• Send an informal letter or fax to your local Employment Agency office or to the general address of the Employment Agency within the deadline.
• Tell them your name and address, the date when your employment ends and that you want to register as a jobseeker.
• The Employment Agency will then contact you about a counselling appointment.

By phone:

• Call the service hotline within the deadline and tell them you want to register as a jobseeker.
• The Employment Agency will then arrange a counselling appointment with you.

Online:

• Log on to the portal of the Employment Agency.
• Select there that you want to register as a job seeker.
• Fill in the specified fields.
• The Employment Agency will then contact you about a counselling appointment.

In person:

• Within the deadline, go to the Employment Agency office responsible for you and register as a jobseeker there.
• If possible, you will be given a counselling interview as soon as possible. If this is not possible, you will receive a counselling appointment.