We help you prepare your registration update clearly — in your language, without extra stress.
Start preparation →You've unpacked. You've figured out the new neighbourhood. And now there's another government form in German, another landlord signature to collect, another Bürgeramt appointment to book.
The Ummeldung looks identical to the Anmeldung — and people make the same mistakes. Wrong previous address. Wrong move-in date format. Landlord confirmation missing. Rejected at the counter.
Then you go home and wait weeks for a new slot. In that time, your bank, your employer, your health insurance — everyone who knows your address — holds an outdated record. That can cause real friction.
We built GermanyFlow so that moving to a new address in Germany doesn't mean another form-filling struggle.
Free: a completed Ummeldung form with your old address, your new address, your move-in date — a draft prepared for use with the official blank form.
Not a guide. Not a blank PDF. A filled preparation example for review before your appointment.
The official blank Ummeldung form is a free public document. You can download it directly from the German government.
Download blank form (PDF)GermanyFlow is not a government service and is not affiliated with any German authority. We help you prepare your information. You submit the document at the Bürgeramt yourself.
If you move to another home in Germany, you do not deregister and register again — you simply register at the new address, and the two municipal offices sort out the rest between them. The law gives you two weeks from the day you move in (§ 17 (1) BMG), and missing that deadline is an administrative offence. This guide explains who has to do it, what to bring, how the appointment goes, what happens if your landlord will not sign the confirmation, and which other addresses you still have to change yourself. Every rule comes from the Federal Registration Act (Bundesmeldegesetz, BMG) unless noted; the sections are linked at the end.
Anyone who moves into a home in Germany has to register there, whether the move is across the country or to the next street (§ 17 (1) BMG). For people under 16 the duty falls on whoever they move in with, and newborns only have to be registered if they move into a home other than their parents' or mother's (§ 17 (3) BMG). You do not deregister at the old address: deregistration is only for people who move out and take no new home in Germany (§ 17 (2) BMG). If you keep more than one home here, one of them is your main residence — the one you mainly use (§ 21 (1)–(3) BMG) — and every change of main residence has to be reported within two weeks to the office responsible for the new one (§ 21 (4) BMG).
The deadline in § 17 (1) BMG runs from the day you move in, not from the day the tenancy starts or the day you get an appointment. Registering late, or not at all, is an administrative offence under § 54 (2) BMG and can be fined up to 1000 euros; the same applies to failing to report a change of main residence. If the office has no free appointment inside your two weeks, contact it anyway and keep the evidence that you tried — the duty is on you to act in time, and offices deal with a full calendar every day.
The Meldebestätigung is free and lists only your name, any doctorate, date of birth, the move-in or move-out date, the date of registration, the address and whether this is your sole, main or secondary home (§ 24 (2) BMG). That short document is what banks, employers, insurers, schools and the vehicle office will ask for, so keep it where you can find it, and keep a copy. Your new address also travels automatically between the two municipal registers, which is why there is nothing to do at the old town hall.
Two problems account for most of the trouble: no appointment inside the deadline, and no confirmation from the landlord. For the second one the law has an answer — report it to the office without delay and the duty moves off your shoulders (§ 19 (2) BMG). For the first, approach the office in whatever way it offers and keep proof of the attempt. Offering an address for a registration when nobody actually moves in is forbidden and carries a fine of up to 50 000 euros (§ 19 (6), § 54 (1) and (3) BMG), so do not accept such an offer from anyone. This page is general information rather than legal advice.
No, not if your new home is in Germany. Deregistration is only required when you move out and take no new home in the country (§ 17 (2) BMG).
Two weeks from the day you move in (§ 17 (1) BMG). A change of main residence also has to be reported within two weeks (§ 21 (4) BMG).
Tell the registration office without delay — the law puts that step on you and expects the office to take it from there (§ 19 (2) BMG). Only the landlord or someone they authorise may issue the confirmation (§ 19 (1) BMG).
Registering late or not at all is an administrative offence and can be fined up to 1000 euros (§ 54 (2) and (3) BMG).
Yes. § 17 (1) BMG applies to anyone who moves into a home, with no exception for a move inside the same municipality.
The address entry on your identity card, which you must present once it is incorrect (§ 27 (1) no. 1 PAuswG), and your vehicle data, which the holder reports to the registration authority without delay (§ 15 (1) FZV).
GermanyFlow is built and maintained by an independent developer with first-hand experience navigating German bureaucracy — Anmeldung, residence permits, Kindergeld, and more. Content is checked against official sources and updated when the rules change; see our Editorial Policy for details. Spotted something outdated? Let us know.