Before the move
- Mail forwarding (Nachsendeauftrag): Deutsche Post forwards your letters to the new address for a fee. Order it a few days before the move directly from Deutsche Post; look-alike websites charge extra for the same service.
- Jobcenter: if the Jobcenter pays your rent, ask it to approve the new flat (Zusicherung) before you sign the lease. Details: Jobcenter and rent.
- Immigration office: if your residence permit contains a residence condition (Wohnsitzauflage), for example after temporary protection, clarify with the authority whether you may move to another city or federal state.
- Wohngeld: housing benefit is granted for a specific flat. As a rule, you have to apply again for the new one — see our guide to Wohngeld.
- School and Kita: tell the school and the day-care centre early. If your child has to change school, contact the school office (Schulamt) of the new district.
- Old flat: give notice in time and plan the handover — see how to give notice on your lease.
Electricity, gas and internet
- Electricity and gas: tell your supplier the move date and the meter readings in the old flat. Basic supply (Grundversorgung) can be cancelled with two weeks’ notice. A special contract usually continues at the new address if the supplier can deliver there; if not, household customers can as a rule cancel with six weeks’ notice when moving (§ 41b EnWG).
- In the new flat, note the meter readings on moving-in day and sign up with a supplier. If you do nothing, you are usually supplied under basic supply, which is often more expensive.
- Internet and landline (§ 60 TKG): when you move, the provider must continue the service at the new address on the same terms and without a new minimum term, provided it offers the service there. It may charge a fee for the move, but no more than for a new connection. If the service is not available at the new address, you can cancel with one month’s notice — the Sonderkündigungsrecht.
The first two weeks: Ummeldung
You must register your new address within two weeks of moving in — also when you move within the same city (Ummeldung, § 17 of the Federal Registration Act, BMG). You need the new landlord’s Wohnungsgeberbestätigung; you are deregistered from the old address automatically. Registering late can be fined. How the appointment works is explained in our guide to the Anmeldung. Bring your ID card or passport: on a German ID card, the new address is saved on the chip and you get an address sticker.
Online: in Berlin, people aged 18 or over with a German ID card or an EU citizen eID card with the online ID function activated can report a move within Germany online. You need a BundID account, the PIN and the AusweisApp on a smartphone or a card reader. It is free of charge. An electronic residence permit (eAT) cannot be used for this, so non-EU citizens currently register in person.
Do you have a residence card (eAT)? Bring it to the Bürgeramt appointment together with your passport and ask whether the new address can be updated there. If not, ask the immigration office (LEA) how to update the card. Either way, keep your registration certificate (Meldebestätigung).
What the registration office passes on by itself
The registration office passes certain data on to other public bodies — for example to the tax authorities via your tax ID (Steuer-ID), as a rule to the immigration office, and in regular data comparisons to the broadcasting fee service. Do not rely on this, though: banks, insurers, employers and service providers get nothing from the Bürgeramt. Tell them yourself.
The first month: who else to tell
- Rundfunkbeitrag: report the move to the Beitragsservice online. If someone already pays for the new flat, give their contribution number so that you do not pay twice.
- Bank: change your address in online banking or the app — otherwise statements and new cards may go to the old address.
- Health insurance (Krankenkasse): report your new address; the fund sends you letters and contribution notices.
- Employer: give HR your new address for payslips and tax documents.
- Jobcenter, Familienkasse, Wohngeld office: report the move straight away — you are obliged to report changes that affect your benefits. Send the Meldebestätigung, and to the Jobcenter also the new lease.
- Car (Zulassung): the address in the vehicle registration certificate (Zulassungsbescheinigung Teil I) must be updated without undue delay. Within Berlin, you can do this at a Bürgeramt, at the vehicle registration office or online for a small fee.
- Household contents insurance (Hausratversicherung): tell your insurer in good time. During the move, your belongings are usually insured at both addresses for a transition period; the premium may change with the new address or floor area.
- Mobile phone, Deutschlandticket and other contracts: update your address in your customer account — with your mobile provider, your Deutschlandticket subscription (for example with BVG), your gym, streaming services and online shops.
Small things that are easy to forget
- Put your name on the letterbox and the doorbell on moving day — otherwise letters, parcels and official mail may not reach you.
- Doctors, pharmacy, dentist, library card, clubs and associations: tell them on your next visit.
- Make a list of all your contracts and tick each one off; keep the confirmations of your address changes.
- Check your mail forwarding before it ends: by then, everyone who still writes to your old address should have the new one.
Not moved yet? Read what to check in a rental contract and how to get your deposit back. On Flat-Radar you can create a free housing request: landlords see it, and new matching listings come to your e-mail.