Register an apartment

Prerequisites

• You have moved into a new apartment in Germany.

For electronic residence registration:

• You have moved within Hamburg.
• You are of legal age.
• You are not married and you are not in a registered civil partnership.
• You move into your new apartment without any minor children.
• You have a valid identity card or a valid eID card with an activated online ID function and a personal identification number (PIN).
• You have an NFC-enabled smartphone or a USB card reader.
• You have installed AusweisApp2 on your smartphone.

Documents required

• Completed registration form (except in the case of an automated registration form).
• At least one proof of identity:
  • identity card
  • Provisional identity card
  • Replacement ID card
  • Recognized and valid passport
  • Recognized and valid passport replacement paper
• When moving into a rental property: landlord confirmation or corresponding assignment feature.
• When moving into residential property: notarized purchase contract or extract from the land register.
• For supervised persons: written power of attorney or supervisor ID
• If represented by another person: written power of attorney and identification documents of the person to be registered
• When moving from abroad: last residential address in Germany (confirmation of registration, date of moving in and out)
• For spouses, life partners and family members with the same immigration data: immigration date and previous and current residences.
• The competent authority may request the submission of further documents that serve to prove the information (for example: marriage certificate, birth certificate).

Please note

• If you are visiting Hamburg for more than 6 months from within Germany or 3 months from abroad, you must also register.
• Registration of minors (up to the age of 16) without both legal guardians must always be clarified in advance by telephone with Hamburg Service. If a minor resident who has previously lived with both parents in a main residence is re-registered by one parent in a new main residence, the consent of the other parent, a written agreement by the parents on the child’s center of life or a family court decision on the transfer of the sole right to determine residence. The same applies if the sole or main residence of the underage resident is to be re-registered from the residence of one parent to the residence of the other parent.
• From the age of 16 you can register without the consent of the legal guardians.
• Holders of an electronic residence permit (eAT) must also change the address on the residence permit.
• If you own a car, the address on the registration certificate part I (formerly the vehicle registration document) must be changed at the Landesbetrieb Verkehr (see link).
• A dog must also be registered (see link).
• In the case of newborns, the data of the newborn child is automatically transmitted - when the birth is certified - from the registry office to the population register. A separate registration of newborns in the population register is not required.
• It is not necessary to deregister in the previous municipality.

Deadlines

You must register your new place of residence within 2 weeks of moving into the new apartment.

Procedure

• You appear in person at the registration authority responsible for you or you are represented by a person with power of attorney.
• You fill out the registration form and sign it (except in the case of an automated registration form).
• You submit all the required documents.
• Finally, you will receive an official confirmation of registration from the registration office.

For electronic residence registration:

• You call up the online service.
• You log in to the online service with your user account.
• You enter all the required data online and submit the form online.
• You will receive a code in the mail at your new address.
• You confirm moving into your new apartment by entering the code in the online service.
• You will then receive your electronic registration confirmation.

Processing time

The processing time is usually 12 minutes.


Online: The processing time is about 5 minutes

Fees

• 12 EUR per
  
  
  
  • person of legal age or
  
  
  • Person under the age of 18 auditioning alone.
  
  


• EUR 12 per family (parents including underage children with the same arrival dates).


• EUR 12 per married couple (without children with the same arrival dates).

Legal remedies

• contradiction


• legal challenge


• obligation action

Legal basis

§ 17 paragraph 1 and 3 Federal Registration Act (BMG)

https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/bmg/__17.html




§ 21 paragraph 4 of the Federal Registration Act (BMG)

https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/bmg/__21.html




§ 23 Federal Registration Act (BMG)

https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/bmg/__23.html




§ 23a paragraph 2 and 3 Federal Registration Act (BMG)

https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/bmg/__23a.html




§ 24 paragraph 1 of the Federal Registration Act (BMG)

https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/bmg/__24.html




Numbers 17.1, 17.3, 22 and 23.0 to 23.0.2 General administrative regulation for the implementation of the Federal Registration Act (BMGVwV)

https://www.verwaltungsverbindungen-im-internet.de/bsvwvbund_27092022_VII2201041418.htm




§ 1 Hamburg Implementation Act for the Federal Registration Act (HmbAGBMG)

https://www.landesrecht-hamburg.de/bsha/document/jlr-BMGAGHAV2P1

If you move into a new apartment, you must register with the registration office responsible for you at your new place of residence within two weeks of moving in.

If you are under the age of 16, you must be registered by the person whose home you are moving into.

If you are over 18 and have a carer or guardian assigned to you who can determine your whereabouts, then your new home must be registered by your carer or guardian.

You only have to register newborns who were born in Germany if they move into a different apartment than that of their parents or mother.

To register your new apartment, you must visit the registration office responsible for you in person or authorize another person.

If you have moved within Hamburg, you can also register your new apartment online under certain conditions.