Deregister when you leave

If you move out and do not take another home in Germany, you need to deregister your address. This is called Abmeldung. You can do it from one week before you move out until two weeks afterwards.

In short

• If you move out and do not take a new dwelling in Germany, deregister with the Meldebehörde within two weeks of moving out. The earliest you may file is one week before you move out. The register is updated as of the move-out date.
• For an ordinary move into a new dwelling in Germany, register it. If you give up a secondary dwelling without taking a new one, notify the registration authority even if you keep your main home. For a child under 16, the people whose home the child is leaving file the deregistration.
• Abmeldung does not end your lease, phone contract, bank account or health insurance. You also need to tell the broadcasting contribution service separately.
• Abmeldung does not request a pension refund. Your tax identification number (Steuer-ID) is issued once and stays valid when you leave Germany.
• You cannot file more than a week before moving out. Check your city’s appointment procedure and any local fee.

What you need to know

Section 17 of the Federal Registration Act separates two acts. Moving into a dwelling is an Anmeldung, within two weeks. Moving out of a dwelling and not taking a new dwelling in Germany is an Abmeldung, also within two weeks of moving out. The earliest you may deregister is one week before you move out. The register is updated as of the move-out date, not as of the day you happen to file if you file early within that week.

For an ordinary move into a new dwelling in Germany, register the new address. If you give up a secondary dwelling without taking a new one, section 21(4) requires you to notify either the authority responsible for the secondary dwelling or the authority responsible for your sole or main dwelling. This also applies when you retain your existing main home.

For a person under 16, the people whose home the child is leaving file the deregistration. If a guardian or a carer has been appointed for an adult and can decide where that adult lives, the guardian or carer files.

Abmeldung updates the population register. It does not cancel a lease, phone contract, bank account or health-insurance membership; each has its own conditions for ending it. It also does not apply for a pension or contribution refund. The statutory-pension guide explains the rules and when a refund of your own contributions may be possible.

What to do

1. Check whether you are moving into a new dwelling in Germany. If so, normally use the registration page for the new address. If you are giving up a secondary dwelling without taking a new one, notify the authority responsible for it or for your sole or main dwelling, even if you keep your main home.
2. File with the Meldebehörde in the week before you leave, or within two weeks afterwards. For a secondary dwelling, you can notify either of the authorities described above. Take the identity document the office asks for and check its appointment and fee information. If you deregister after moving abroad, section 23(6) allows you to do so in writing or electronically; ask the office which channel it uses.
3. Tell the broadcasting contribution service that you have given up the dwelling. The registration office tells the service when you move in, but you still need to report the end of the contribution, including an exemption or a move-out. The broadcasting contribution guide explains the amount and payment schedule.
4. End your tenancy, phone and internet contract, and any subscriptions that bill the old address. Check the notice rules in the tenant guide. Give the landlord a forwarding address if the deposit still has to be settled. Section 551 says the interest on a cash deposit is yours. A student or youth dorm is the exception: the statute does not require the landlord to pay interest there. The tenant guide has the rest of that rule.
5. Keep the deregistration confirmation with your tax papers. Section 139b of the Fiscal Code says a person may have only one identification number, and that each number is issued only once. Leaving Germany does not replace it or end it. The tax identification page explains the number. You may still need it if a German payer or the Finanzamt writes to you later.

Common mistakes

• Trying to file more than a week before moving out. Section 17 allows deregistration at the earliest one week before the move.
• Assuming the Abmeldung ends the Rundfunkbeitrag, the lease, and the phone line. It updates one register. The contribution service, the landlord, and the provider each need their own notice, on their own rules.
• Treating deregistration as a pension refund. The pension page states the statutory conditions. Deutsche Rentenversicherung decides the file, and the Abmeldung does not submit it.
• Forgetting a child who is leaving with you. The adults whose home the child leaves are the ones who deregister the child. The child does not file alone.