Registering your address in Germany: two weeks, and the landlord’s duty

Last checked against the official sources: 29 August 2026

Registering your address is the door every other formality in Germany passes through: the tax ID, the bank account, insurance, renewing a residence permit. The irony is that the decisive document — the landlord’s confirmation of your move-in — is not in your hands. But the law did not leave it to goodwill: the confirmation is a legal duty with a fixed deadline, withholding it is a fineable offence, and the person registering has an express way out.

Two weeks — counted from what

The provision is short and literal: anyone who moves into a dwelling “shall register with the registration authority within two weeks of moving in“. The clock therefore starts at the actual move, not the date the contract was signed and not the handover of keys if the move follows later.

Note also that this is a duty to appear, not a duty of intention: a shortage of appointments at the town hall does not legally suspend the deadline. Book the appointment as soon as you know your move-in date, and keep proof that you booked it inside the two weeks — in practice that is what counts when lateness is discussed.

The confirmation is a duty, not a favour

§ 19 opens with a sentence that admits no reading around it: “the provider of the dwelling is obliged to cooperate in the registration.” It then spells the duty out: they, or a person they instruct, must confirm the move-in to the person required to register, in writing or electronically to the registration authority, within the deadline named in § 17(1) — the same two weeks.

The statute fixes the content at exactly four items: the name and address of the provider of the dwelling — plus the owner’s name if they are not the owner — the move-in date, the address of the dwelling, and the names of the persons required to register. Any form carrying those items works; no particular format is prescribed.

You carry a matching duty: to give the provider the information they need to issue the confirmation. And the closing sentence sets an important limit: only the provider of the dwelling or a person they have instructed may issue the confirmation — a note from another tenant or an agent without instruction is worthless.

On the electronic route the provider receives an allocation reference which they must pass to you for use when registering. The registration authority may also demand information from the owner — and, where the owner is not the provider, from the provider too — about who lives or has lived with them.

What to do when the landlord stalls

This is the clause most affected tenants have never heard of, and it is written plainly in paragraph 2: if the provider or their instructed person refuses the confirmation, or you do not receive it in time for any other reason, you must notify the registration authority of that immediately.

In practice that means the delay stops being your problem alone: you have discharged your part by notifying inside the deadline, and the refusal itself is an offence by the landlord punishable by a fine of up to €1,000. The authority can also demand the information from the owner directly.

So make the notification in writing — an email or a form — and keep a copy and the date. That document is what protects you from a late-registration fine afterwards.

Deregistration: the only case where it is required

Many people assume every move requires deregistering and then registering again. The statute says otherwise: deregistration is required only where you move out and do not take another dwelling in Germany — that is, where you actually leave the country. A move within Germany is covered by the new registration alone.

Two precise timing details apply. The deadline is two weeks after moving out, but deregistration is also possible at the earliest one week before — a narrow window that helps anyone leaving Germany who wants their paperwork closed before travelling. In both cases the register is updated to the move-out date, not to the date of the request.

Children and newborns: who registers whom

Paragraph 3 shifts the duty away from the minor: registering and deregistering people under 16 falls on those into or out of whose dwelling they move. Where an adult has a carer or guardian entitled to determine their residence, the duty falls on that person.

Newborns have a rule new parents rarely know: a child born in Germany is only registered if taken into a dwelling other than that of the parents or the mother. A baby born and living with its parents therefore needs no separate address registration.

The reason sits in paragraph 4: registry offices notify the registration authorities immediately of the recording of a birth and of every change of civil status, and the registration authorities notify the registry offices of the tax identification number. That automatic chain is why the newborn’s tax ID letter arrives without anyone applying for it.

The fines — and the largest number in the Act

§ 54 sets two entirely different scales.

The first, up to €1,000: failing to register, registering incorrectly or late, failing to deregister on time, a provider of a dwelling who fails to confirm the move-in or confirms it incorrectly or late, and anyone issuing a confirmation without being entitled to.

The second, up to €50,000 — fifty times higher — covers a single act: offering or making an address available to a third party for registration although the dwelling is neither actually occupied by them nor intended to be. This is the sham registration, and § 19(6) prohibits it in express terms.

The message is clear: lateness is a comparatively small offence, while buying an address is the act the legislator punishes most severely in this entire statute — and it is an offer newcomers are made surprisingly often.

Practical steps

1. Book the appointment before the move, not after. The deadline runs from the actual move-in, and a full appointment calendar does not stop it.
2. Request the confirmation in writing and point to the legal duty. The statute requires the landlord to issue it inside the same deadline.
3. Check the four items before you go. Provider’s name and address (plus the owner’s if different), move-in date, address of the dwelling, names of those required to register.
4. If it is refused or delayed, notify the registration authority at once, in writing. That right is written into the statute and it shifts the exposure.
5. Do not deregister for a move within Germany. Deregistration is required only when you leave the country without another dwelling here.
6. Refuse any offer of an address purely for registration. It is expressly prohibited and carries a fine of up to €50,000.

The three terms — and what registration costs

• Anmeldung — first registration on moving into a dwelling in Germany. Two weeks.
• Ummeldung — updating the address on moving from one dwelling to another inside Germany. Also two weeks, and in law it is a fresh registration rather than a separate procedure.
• Abmeldung — deregistration. Not required for an internal move, only when leaving the country without keeping a dwelling here.

As for cost, the registration itself is free in most municipalities; what usually carries a fee is an additional certificate, such as an extended registration certificate. Check your municipality’s page — these fees are municipal, not federal.

Frequently asked questions

How long do I have to register?

Two weeks from actually moving into the dwelling, not from signing the contract. Difficulty getting an appointment does not legally suspend the deadline.

My landlord refuses to give me the confirmation — what now?

Notify the registration authority immediately; the statute gives you that right expressly. The refusal is itself an offence by the landlord carrying a fine of up to €1,000, and the authority can demand the information from the owner.

Do I deregister when moving within Germany?

No. Deregistration is required only where you leave a dwelling and do not take another one in Germany. An internal move is covered by the new registration.

Do I need to register my newborn?

Not while the baby lives with its parents. A child born in Germany is registered only if taken into a dwelling other than that of the parents or the mother, and the registry office notifies the registration authority of the birth automatically.

Can I buy an address just for registration?

No. The law expressly prohibits offering or providing an address for registration where there is no actual occupation, and the fine reaches €50,000.