Anmeldung in Germany – register your address, then get your tax ID and social security number
Last updated 25 September 2026Rules checked every MondayOfficial sourcesSources & methodology →
In Germany almost everything starts with the Anmeldung, the registration of your address at the Bürgeramt. It triggers your tax ID by post, and your first job brings a social security number. Here is how to register in Berlin, Munich, Hamburg or Frankfurt, and what to bring.
The Anmeldung (address registration) is your first official step in Germany, and the one everything else hangs on. Only after you register can you receive your Steuer-ID (tax ID); your first job then brings a social security number. Two developments are worth knowing. Since July 2026, authorities can send follow-up questions and receive missing documents through BundID, the federal citizen account, for selected services. And you can register your bank account with the Bundeszentralamt für Steuern (BZSt, Federal Central Tax Office), linked to your tax ID – a prerequisite for the planned payment of Kindergeld without an application from 2027, which is not yet in force.
Who must do the Anmeldung, and by when?
Everyone who moves into a flat must register with the Meldebehörde (registration office) within two weeks of moving in, under the Federal Registration Act. There is one exception: if you normally live abroad and are not registered in Germany, the duty starts only once your stay passes three months. Berlin adds that people already registered elsewhere in Germany need not register there for stays of up to six months.
Late or missing registration is an administrative offence with a fine of up to €1,000, and offering an address for a sham registration can cost up to €50,000. Nor can you register in advance: the City of Munich points out that a future date is legally impossible.
Registration also starts a clock. If you are an EU citizen who is not working, the five years after which you can claim Grundsicherungsgeld – the basic income support that replaced Bürgergeld on 1 July 2026 – count from your registration.
What do you need for the Anmeldung?
| Document | What it is | Good to know |
|---|---|---|
| Passport or ID card | A valid passport or, for EU citizens, a national ID card | In Berlin, non-EU nationals also bring their eAT (electronic residence permit) if they have one |
| Wohnungsgeberbestätigung | The landlord's written confirmation with their name and address (and the owner's, if different), your move-in date, the flat's address and the names of everyone registering | In Berlin a rental contract does not replace it |
| Registration form | The city's form, completed | Usually on the city's website |
| Marriage and birth certificates | Civil-status documents | May be required at your first registration in Berlin |
| Written power of attorney | Only if someone registers for you | Accepted in Berlin |
Source: Federal Registration Act, ServicePortal Berlin and Make it in Germany, read 23 September 2026.
Your landlord must confirm the move-in within the same two weeks. If they refuse, or the confirmation does not arrive in time, tell the registration office without delay; in Munich you can submit a declaration on the missing confirmation instead. At the appointment you receive a free Meldebestätigung (registration confirmation). Later you can ask for a Meldebescheinigung (registration certificate) showing your name, date of birth and addresses – the electronic version is free.
Anmeldung at the Bürgeramt in Berlin, Munich, Hamburg and Frankfurt
The rule is federal; the offices are local.
| City | Where you go | How it works | Good to know |
|---|---|---|---|
| Berlin | Any Bürgeramt (citizens' office) | Within 14 days, with an appointment; free; confirmation issued immediately | Online only for adult German or EU citizens moving within Germany, with an activated eID card – not with an eAT. Refugees and asylum seekers go to the Flüchtlingsbürgeramt Mitte |
| Munich | One of six Bürgerbüro offices of the Kreisverwaltungsreferat, such as Ruppertstraße 19 | Within two weeks; free; online for a main residence only | The tax ID letter follows in about two to four weeks |
| Hamburg | One of 22 Hamburg Service offices | In person within two weeks; book online | Takes about 12 minutes; late registration can be fined |
| Frankfurt | A Bürgeramt | In person within two weeks, with passport and landlord's confirmation; appointments online | The public-authority number 115 answers questions about city offices |
Source: ServicePortal Berlin, City of Munich, Hamburg Service, City of Frankfurt (Office for Multicultural Affairs) and Make it in Germany, read 23 September 2026.
In Berlin you must be 16 to register in person; younger children are registered by the adult they live with, and the address on your eAT or EU eID card is updated on the spot. EU citizens aged 16 or over can get that eID card for €37; it is valid for ten years but is not a travel document.
When does the Steuer-ID (tax ID) arrive?
You do not apply for it. Once the registration office has passed on your data, the BZSt assigns your Steuer-ID and sends it by letter – never by phone. It has 11 digits, stays valid for life and does not change if you move, marry or change your name. The City of Munich says the letter arrives about two to four weeks after your first registration.
You need it when you start work, because your employer asks for it, and banks must collect it from account holders. For Kindergeld you give both your own tax ID and your child's.
No letter three months after registering? Send the BZSt a copy of your ID document and your registration confirmation. Your surname must be on the letterbox, or the letter cannot be delivered. If you lose the number, request it again with the BZSt online form or by letter; it goes only to your registered address. The BZSt tax ID hotline is +49 228 406-1240, Monday to Friday 9:00–14:00, but staff cannot give you the number over the phone.
Your social security number and residence card
You do not register yourself with the pension insurance either. Your employer must do so from your first day of work, and the Deutsche Rentenversicherung (German pension insurance) then sends you a letter with your social security number and opens a pension account for life. Since 1 January 2023 the card is called Versicherungsnummernachweis (proof of insurance number), and you no longer have to carry it. Keep the same number when you change jobs; a replacement is available from the Deutsche Rentenversicherung or your Krankenkasse (health insurance fund). The Deutsche Rentenversicherung's free service line is 0800 1000 4800, Monday to Thursday 8:00–19:00 and Friday 8:00–15:30.
From outside the EU, your residence permit comes as an eAT, a credit-card-sized card with a chip holding your photo, fingerprints and any conditions. In Berlin it normally takes two visits to the Landesamt für Einwanderung (LEA) – one for fingerprints and photo, one to collect the card – and the card is valid for at most ten years. To prove who you are and that you may stay, show it with your passport. It costs €100; a new card, for example after a new passport or a loss, costs €67. If it is lost or stolen, block the online-ID function on 116 116.
| Number or document | Issued by | How you get it | You need it for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Meldebestätigung (registration confirmation) | Registration office (Bürgeramt) | At your appointment, free | Proof of your address, for example at a bank |
| Steuer-ID | Federal Central Tax Office (BZSt) | By letter, automatically after you register | Employer, bank, Kindergeld |
| Social security number | Deutsche Rentenversicherung | By letter, after your employer registers you | Every employer, your pension |
| eAT | Ausländerbehörde (immigration office) | In person; in Berlin two visits | Identity and right to stay, together with your passport |
Source: Federal Registration Act, Federal Central Tax Office, Deutsche Rentenversicherung, BAMF, Landesamt für Einwanderung Berlin and ServicePortal Berlin, read 23 September 2026.
What to do now
| Step | What | When |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ask your landlord for the Wohnungsgeberbestätigung | When you sign or get the keys |
| 2 | Book a Bürgeramt appointment | As soon as you know your move-in date |
| 3 | Register with passport, form and confirmation | Within two weeks of moving in (Berlin: 14 days) |
| 4 | Put your surname on the letterbox | On the day you move in |
| 5 | Give your employer your tax ID | On your first working day |
| 6 | Chase your tax ID at the BZSt | If nothing has arrived three months after registering |
| 7 | Non-EU: apply for your eAT at the Ausländerbehörde | While your visa is valid, or within 90 days of visa-free entry |
Source: Federal Registration Act, Federal Central Tax Office, ServicePortal Berlin and Residence Ordinance, read 23 September 2026.
Official sources
The official pages this guide is based on, read 23 September 2026. Links open the authority’s own website.
- Bundesmeldegesetz § 17 Abs. 1 · gesetze-im-internet.de
- ServicePortal Berlin – Wohnsitz anmelden · service.berlin.de
- Landeshauptstadt München – Wohnsitzanmeldung · stadt.muenchen.de
- Make it in Germany – Housing and registration · make-it-in-germany.com
- Bundeszentralamt für Steuern – Die Identifikationsnummer · bzst.de
- Bundeszentralamt für Steuern – IdNr and FAQ · bzst.de
- Deutsche Rentenversicherung – Neu im Berufsleben · deutsche-rentenversicherung.de
- Deutsche Rentenversicherung – Versicherungsnummernachweis (Sozialversicherungsausweis) · deutsche-rentenversicherung.de
- BAMF – Elektronischer Aufenthaltstitel (eAT) · bamf.de
- Landesamt für Einwanderung Berlin – Elektronischer Aufenthaltstitel · berlin.de
- Landesamt für Einwanderung Berlin – Termin vereinbaren · berlin.de
- Aufenthaltsgesetz § 81 Abs. 4–5; Aufenthaltsverordnung § 47 Abs. 1 Nr. 8 · gesetze-im-internet.de
- Aufenthaltsverordnung §§ 45, 45a, 45c · gesetze-im-internet.de
- BMI – Einreise und Aufenthalt; BAMF – The EU Blue Card · bmi.bund.de
Relocate in Europe provides general information, not legal or financial advice for your individual situation. Check with the authority named above before you act – rules change, and your case may differ.