BundID and the federal user account

BundID is an online account you can use to access participating government services. Using the federal citizen account is voluntary, although some procedures may not offer a paper alternative.

In short

• Use of the citizen account is voluntary. You are not required to hold a BundID in order to live in Germany. That does not mean every procedure still has a paper path.
• BundID is not itself an Anmeldung, a tax ID, or a residence permit. A city appointment system may still require its own account. Many Bürgeramt booking tools are municipal.
• If an office requires the high level of identity verification (the “high assurance level” in section 3), a lower-level login will not be enough. Check which login methods the office accepts.
• A deadline in a letter can still run from delivery of a paper notice. Do not ignore a paper Bescheid because you expected the same text in the account mailbox.

What you need to know

Section 2 of the Online Access Act defines a Nutzerkonto as a central IT component. It identifies and authenticates a user for administrative services, and it provides a mailbox for communication about a procedure. The Act distinguishes a Bürgerkonto for a natural person from an Organisationskonto for a company or an authority.

Section 3 says that, unless another federal statute provides otherwise, a natural person is identified and authenticated for electronic administrative services in the portal network through a central citizen account that the Federation provides. The same section says use of that citizen account is voluntary. An authority that offers services in the portal network must use the organisation account. A person does not.

The public site at id.bund.de calls the service BundID. Its imprint says the site is provided by the Federal Ministry for Digital Affairs and State Modernisation. The imprint prints a service line on +49 361 6063080 and another on +49 7132 981 2746.

Which local office actually accepts a BundID login is a decision of that office. A city appointment system may still require its own account. A municipality that has connected its service may accept an online Anmeldung through BundID under section 23a of the Federal Registration Act, for example on the BayernPortal, which also accepts a BayernID.

That path exists only where the municipality is connected. In the Bavarian service it is currently open to German citizens and to EU citizens with an eID card, and online filing with an electronic residence permit is still planned there. The two-week registration duty still applies, and the BundID login is not the Anmeldung.

Section 13, added by an October 2026 amendment, allows a time-limited pilot of the EU Digital Identity Wallet. Joining that pilot is voluntary. Section 12 says the federal citizen account is to be developed into a DeutschlandID. The service on id.bund.de is still called BundID, and section 3 still makes use of the citizen account voluntary.

Section 3 (4) sets how identity is proved. For a service that needs at most the substantial assurance level, the Act allows a secure procedure under section 87a (6) of the Fiscal Code, or another electronic means of identification recognised at least at the substantial level of the eIDAS Regulation. For a higher assurance level the Act requires a means recognised at the high level. Check the procedure’s instructions to see which login it accepts.

What to do

1. Check whether the office offers the procedure through BundID, then use id.bund.de to access it. The account itself is not an Anmeldung, a tax ID or a residence permit.
2. Choose the assurance level the procedure asks for. If the office requires the high level, a lower login will not satisfy section 3. Read the office’s own instructions for which level it accepts.
3. Keep the mailbox in mind. Section 2 defines the account’s Postfach as the channel for procedure-related communication. A deadline in a letter can still run from delivery of a paper notice. The official-letters page explains how a deadline is calculated. Do not assume a portal message replaced a notice you have not opened.
4. If the site does not work in your browser, BundID suggests enabling JavaScript or trying another browser. You can also use the telephone numbers above. Ask the office running your procedure about any alternative route.

Common mistakes

• Treating BundID as a replacement for registration at the Meldebehörde or for a residence title.
• Assuming every Bürgeramt appointment can be booked with the federal account. Many booking tools are municipal.
• Ignoring a paper Bescheid because you expected the same text in the account mailbox.