Emergencies and doctors

Call 112 for the fire service and the rescue service, and 110 for the police. Call 116 117 when a practice is closed, you need help today, and it is not life-threatening. 116 117 answers in German.

In short

• Call 112 for the fire service and the rescue service, and 110 for the police. 112 is free of charge, including from a mobile phone that has a SIM card. These numbers do not depend on your city, your insurance, or your residence title.
• Call 116 117 when a practice is closed, you need help today, and it is not life-threatening. The line is open 24 hours and answers only in German. It can direct you to an on-call practice. If life is in danger or lasting harm is possible, call 112.
• You can attend an emergency department without a referral or a telephone service sending you there. For life-threatening illness or severe symptoms, such as severe chest pain or breathing difficulty, call 112 for the ambulance service instead of arranging your own journey.
• Say where it is, what happened, and who is calling, then stay on the line. You do not need a perfect German sentence. If speech or hearing makes a voice call hard, an emergency fax can be sent to 110 or 112, and the nora app can contact those control rooms.
• For a planned statutory visit, take the elektronische Gesundheitskarte. Section 13 of the federal medical contract requires you to show it each time you see a contracted doctor. Statutory care is a benefit in kind under Social Code Book V: the fund arranges payment with the doctor. A private patient is in a different system, which the insurance page explains. If you are still on the incoming policy the health-insurance page describes, take that policy’s details and say so at the desk.
• For poison-control advice or an out-of-hours pharmacy, check the service for your area; this guide does not list local numbers or rotas.

What you need to know

These numbers are national. They do not depend on your city, your insurance, or your residence title. The Federal Office of Civil Protection and Disaster Assistance says you reach the fire service and the rescue service anywhere in Germany and in Europe on 112, free of charge, including from a mobile phone that has a SIM card. The same office tells spontaneous helpers to call 112 for the rescue service or the fire service and 110 for the police.

116 117 is the patient service of the medical on-call system. It is open 24 hours a day. The service says it is available only in German. Use it when three things are true at once: practices are closed, you need medical help today, and the situation is not life-threatening.

If the situation is life-threatening or there is a risk of permanent injury, that same page says to call 112. You do not need to go to a hospital emergency room for the on-call case. You can visit an on-call practice. The 116 117 site finds one from a postcode, and the phone line will tell you the nearest one, in German.

The Bundestag approved an emergency-care reform on 15 October 2026. It envisages separate appointment-service and acute-care functions under 116 117, digitally linked with 112, and integrated emergency centres. For help now, follow the current official service instructions above: 112 for life-threatening emergencies and 116 117 for urgent non-life-threatening care when practices are closed. Check the federal ministry’s reform page for implementation updates.

The federal health portal also explains that people can attend an emergency department independently. A referral or prior telephone instruction is not generally required. Emergency departments assess acute illness and injuries by urgency, whether you arrive independently or by ambulance. If life is in danger or symptoms are severe, call 112 for the ambulance service. Do not wait for a referral or drive yourself with those symptoms. For other urgent complaints, 116 117 can help identify the appropriate service.

For an illness that can wait until opening hours, a doctor’s practice is the usual place to go. The 116 117 English page lets you search by place or postcode, including for a practice where English is spoken. It recommends booking by phone; without an appointment, you may wait longer. Check which languages the practice offers when you book.

What to do

1. If someone is in danger now, look after your own safety first. The civil-protection office says to secure the scene if you need to. On a road, move injured people out of the danger area after you have secured the scene, and then call. In other cases, call as early as you can. Say where it is, what happened, and who is calling, and wait for questions. Stay on the line.
2. Choose the number for the problem. 112 is fire and rescue. 110 is police. 116 117 is the doctor when it is urgent but not an emergency in the 112 sense, and when practices are shut. If you are unsure whether a medical problem is life-threatening, the 116 117 page’s own line is to use 112 when life is in danger or lasting harm is possible.
3. If speech or hearing makes a voice call hard, the civil-protection office says an emergency fax can be sent to 110 or 112, and that the nora app can contact the police, fire, and rescue control rooms. The app’s address is on that page: www.nora-notruf.de.
4. For a planned visit, take the elektronische Gesundheitskarte if you are in a statutory fund. Section 13 of the federal contract between the health funds and the physicians’ association requires you to show that card each time you see a contracted doctor. Under section 2 (2) of Social Code Book V, statutory care is provided as a benefit in kind: the fund arranges payment with the doctor. A private patient is in a different system. The insurance page explains that difference. Ask the practice when you book which card they need.
5. For urgent, non-life-threatening care when practices are closed, use 116 117’s official practice search or call for the nearest on-call practice. The line is German. If you do not speak enough German, ask someone with you to call. For a serious acute problem, an emergency department can also be attended without a referral or telephone permission; for danger or severe symptoms, call 112 instead of driving yourself. Do not delay the emergency call while looking for help with German. Say the place, the event, and your name.

Before agreeing to a paid extra

For a planned appointment, ask whether each proposed service is covered statutory care or an optional self-pay service. Outpatient extras are called IGeL; hospital elective services are called Wahlleistungen. Showing your health card does not make every extra free.

Before consenting to an IGeL, obtain written information about the service and expected costs and agree the private treatment in writing. Ask about benefits, risks and covered alternatives, and check possible reimbursement with your insurer first. Take time to decide about optional care; do not delay emergency treatment to compare prices. Keep the agreement and itemised invoice. The federal health portal explains these rights, and the ministry links independent patient advice. If a charge surprises you, ask the practice to explain it in writing and seek patient advice before assuming you must pay it.

Common mistakes

• Waiting for a perfect German sentence. Say the place, what happened, and who you are, then wait. The control room asks the next question.
• Assuming that you need telephone permission before an emergency department can assess you. Independent attendance is possible. A closed practice alone does not make a routine illness an emergency; use 116 117 for urgent non-life-threatening out-of-hours care, and 112 for danger or severe symptoms.
• Leaving the health card at home for a routine appointment. Statutory patients are expected to show it. If you are still on the incoming policy the health-insurance page describes, take that policy’s details instead and say so at the desk.
• Assuming every doctor speaks English because the 116 117 site has an English page. The on-call phone line is German. The site can help you search for an English-speaking practice for an ordinary appointment. That search is not the emergency call.