Registering your address in Berlin (Anmeldung)

Before you start

• You have actually moved into the flat or room you are registering.
• A signed landlord confirmation (*Wohnungsgeberbestätigung*) from your landlord, property manager or main tenant.
• An appointment at any Berlin Bürgeramt, or, if you are a German or EU citizen already registered elsewhere in Germany, the online service with your eID.

Documents you need

• Completed registration form (Anmeldung bei der Meldebehörde)

  Fill it in German and sign it yourself. Each form has room for two people, so larger families bring additional copies.

  required

• Landlord confirmation (Wohnungsgeberbestätigung)

  Signed by your landlord, their property manager or, in a sublet or shared flat, the main tenant. A rental contract does not replace it.

  required

• Valid passport for everyone you register

  Originals only; copies are not accepted as proof of identity. Children need their own passport.

  required

• National ID card (EU, EEA and Swiss citizens)

  Can be used instead of a passport.

  optional

• Residence permit card (eAT) or visa, if you have one

  Bring it together with your passport. The Bürgeramt updates the address stored on the eAT at the appointment.

  optional

• Marriage certificate

  Berlin may ask for civil-status documents at your first registration in the city. Bring originals you have; documents not in German may need a translation.

  optional

• Children's birth certificates

  Helpful for recording family links when you register children.

  optional

• Written power of attorney (Vollmacht)

  Only if someone else attends for you. Give them the form you have signed yourself plus your identity document.

  optional

• Consent of the other parent

  If parents with joint custody live together and only one attends, an informal written consent from the absent parent. Separated parents use Berlin's official consent form and bring the other parent's ID.

  optional

Step by step

1. 1

   Step 1: Check that you need to register, and when

   You must register within 14 days of moving in if the Berlin address is your only home (alleinige Wohnung) or your main home (Hauptwohnung, the one you use most). This applies whatever your nationality and residence status; the federal rules say the registration office must accept the registration even where a residence permit is still missing.

   The main exceptions:

   • You normally live abroad, are not registered anywhere in Germany, and stay in Berlin for no more than three months.
   • You are already registered elsewhere in Germany and stay in Berlin for no more than six months.
   • Short visits: a guest staying with friends or family for a short time, without paying, is generally not moving in. The federal guidelines treat a stay expected to last less than two weeks as a visit in most cases.

   If a stay that was meant to be short goes beyond these limits, you have to register within two weeks of passing them. Children under 16 are registered by the adult they move in with.

2. 2

   Step 2: Get the landlord confirmation

   Your landlord (or whoever gives you the right to live there) must confirm in writing, with a signature, that you have moved in. This is the Wohnungsgeberbestätigung, sometimes called Einzugsbestätigung. It must state the name and address of the landlord, the owner's name if the landlord is not the owner, the move-in date, the address of the flat and the names of everyone moving in, including children.

   The landlord has to give it to you within two weeks of your move-in. In a sublet or a shared flat (WG), the main tenant issues it. If you own the flat, you sign it yourself.

   Ask for it before or on the day you get your keys. Berlin publishes a template you can hand to your landlord. If your landlord refuses or does not respond in time, you are required to tell the registration office straight away; see the guide on the landlord confirmation for what happens then.

3. 3

   Step 3: Fill in the registration form

   Download the form Anmeldung bei der Meldebehörde from the Berlin form directory. It is in German. It asks for:

   • the new address and move-in date (Tag des Einzugs), and whether it is your only, main or secondary home;
   • your previous address in Germany, or, if you are arriving from abroad, the country you came from (Bei Zuzug aus dem Ausland Staat);
   • whether you are keeping another home in Germany. If yes, you also fill in the supplementary sheet (Beiblatt zur Anmeldung/Hauptwohnungserklärung) and decide which home is your main one;
   • for each person: names (underline the first name you use day to day), birth name, sex, date and place of birth, religious community (Religionsgesellschaft), nationalities, marital status and details of the identity document.

   The religion field has tax consequences. If you belong to a church that levies church tax, your employer will deduct it. In Berlin this applies to the Protestant, Roman Catholic and Old Catholic churches, and the rate is 9% of your income tax (2026). Answer accurately; if you are unsure whether your membership counts, the church-tax office at your Finanzamt can clarify.

   Fill the form in on screen, print it and sign it.

4. 4

   Step 4: Book an appointment, or register online if you can

   In person (most newcomers). Book through the Berlin appointment portal, starting from the registration service page, or by calling the citizens' hotline 115. Use Termin berlinweit suchen to see every office at once, and look at the Vorzugstermine entries, which are slots the Bürgerämter keep for registration and ID documents and which are open to everyone. Booking is always free.

   In Berlin, the confirmation of a booked appointment counts as proof that you met the 14-day deadline, even if the appointment itself falls later. Keep the confirmation email (or the reference number you get from 115).

   Online. Berlin's online registration is only available if all of these apply:

   • you are 18 or older and a German or EU citizen;
   • you are moving within Germany, so you are already registered at a German address;
   • you have a BundID account, a German ID card (Personalausweis) or EU eID card (Unionsbürgerkarte) with the online ID function activated, your six-digit PIN, and a card reader or a suitable smartphone with the AusweisApp.

   It does not work with an electronic residence permit (eAT). If you rent, you upload the landlord confirmation. The office checks it, emails you, and you download a tamper-proof digital confirmation from your BundID account. A spouse or registered partner and minor children who were registered with you at the old address can be registered in the same online application.

5. 5

   Step 5: Go to the appointment

   Bring the signed form, the landlord confirmation and the original identity documents for every person you are registering, plus any marriage or birth certificates you have. At a first registration in Berlin, the office may ask for civil-status documents to record your marital status and family links; non-German certificates may need a translation. If you cannot prove these details yet, you are usually registered with your basic data and can update the record later.

   One adult can register the whole family on one form when everyone moves in on the same date from the same previous address. If someone else goes for you, they need your signed form, a written power of attorney and your identity document.

   The appointment is conducted in German. Staff often manage some English, but this is not guaranteed, so bring a German speaker if you can.

   After checking your documents, the clerk hands you the registration confirmation (Meldebestätigung) immediately. If you have a German ID card, an EU eID card or an eAT, the address on the card is updated at the counter. Check that names and dates on the confirmation are spelled correctly before you leave.

6. 6

   Step 6: Keep your confirmation and know how to get more

   The Meldebestätigung is issued once, free of charge, at the time you register. Keep the original safe and make a scan; you will be asked for proof of address by the immigration office, banks, employers and others.

   If you need proof later, request a registration certificate (Meldebescheinigung). In 2026 Berlin charges €10 per person in person or by post (€5 for each additional family member on the same certificate), and nothing if you apply online. The online route works with a German ID card, an EU eID card or an eAT with the online ID function activated, so it is also open to non-EU residents.

7. 7

   Step 7: What happens next

   • Tax ID by post. The registration office passes your data to the Federal Central Tax Office (BZSt), which posts your tax identification number to your registered address. It often arrives within a few weeks. Put your surname on the mailbox, otherwise the letter may not be delivered. If nothing has arrived after three months, contact the BZSt (see the tax ID guide).
   • Broadcasting fee letter. Registration offices pass data on new residents to the broadcasting fee service (Beitragsservice). If you are not yet linked to a contribution account, you will receive a letter. Answer it; if you do not, you are usually registered automatically from your move-in date.
   • Church tax status flows from your registration into the data your employer uses for payroll.
   • Residence permit. If you are a non-EU national, register before your appointment at the Berlin immigration office (LEA).
   • When you move again within Germany, simply register at the new address within 14 days. You do not need to deregister the old one; the new office informs the old one. You only deregister (Abmeldung) when you move abroad or give up a second home.

Temporary accommodation and registration

Registering as a family

If you cannot get an appointment within 14 days

Fines and why the deadline still matters

Your data and your right to object

Watch out

Common mistakes

• Bringing only the rental contract. The Bürgeramt needs the separate, signed landlord confirmation; a rental contract does not replace it.
• Bringing photocopies of passports. Identity documents must be shown in the original, for every person you register.
• Trying to register before the move-in date. Registration is tied to actually living at the address.
• Forgetting the other parent's consent when registering a child alone.
• Not putting your surname on the mailbox, so the tax ID letter and other official post cannot be delivered.
• Filling in the religion field without realising that membership of a church that levies church tax leads to a 9% church tax on top of income tax in Berlin (2026).

Tips

• You can register at any Bürgeramt in Berlin, so search citywide rather than only in your own district.
• Fill in the form on screen before your appointment and print it. It is faster than writing it out at the office.
• Keep the booking confirmation email or 115 reference number until you have your registration confirmation.
• Scan your Meldebestätigung as soon as you get it. Later copies cost €10 in person (2026) but are free online with an activated eID.
• If you have an eAT or EU eID card, set up the online ID function early. It unlocks free online registration certificates and many other Berlin online services.

Frequently asked questions

Editorial answers written by our team, based on the sources below.

Official links

In your plan

• Register your address at the Bürgeramt (Anmeldung)Add to plan
• Book your Bürgeramt appointment for registering your addressAdd to plan
• Get your landlord's move-in confirmationAdd to plan
• Book a first place to stay where you can registerAdd to plan
• Apply for the Kita voucherAdd to plan
• Receive your tax ID and pass it onAdd to plan
• Check what free movement means for you as an EU citizenAdd to plan
• Put your name on your mailbox and doorAdd to plan

Sources

Written and checked by HomiStart editorial against the official sources below. Next scheduled check: 2 Feb 2027.