Register of residents - requesting information (extended)
In addition to first and family names, doctoral degree and address, the extended civil register information provides information on:
- Date and place of birth (if born abroad, also the country)
- previous names
- Marital status (limited to whether married or in a civil partnership or not)
- current nationalities
- previous addresses
- Date of moving in and out
- Name and address of legal representative
- Name and address of spouse or civil partner, and
- Date and place of death (if abroad also the state)
Note: Would you like to know what data is stored about you? Upon request, the municipality will provide you with information about the data stored about you (self-disclosure).
You can also apply for simple information from the population register. To search for specific groups of people, you can request information from the population register about several people who are not named (group information).
Prerequisite
You must be able to prove a legitimate interest.
A legitimate interest is any public or private, ideal or economic interest that is recognised by the legal system as worthy of protection. The decision must take into account the confidentiality interest of the person sought.
The legitimate interest exists, for example, if the data is needed for legal prosecution or defence (e.g. Dunning proceedings, filing a lawsuit). The verification of personal data provided by a borrower by a credit institution is also included. Extended information can also be provided if the data is needed for a serious research project.
Furthermore, the registration authority requires information about the person sought, such as surname, first name, previous address(es) and date of birth. The granting of a extended information request from the civil register is only permissible if the person sought can be clearly identified on the basis of the information provided in the request concerning the surname, former surname, first names, date of birth, sex or an address. Furthermore, you must declare that you will not use the data for the purposes of advertising and address trading.
Responsible department
the registration authority of the last known place of residence of the person sought
The registration authority is
- the municipality/town administration of the place of residence or
- the administrative community or the municipality that performs the duties of the registration authority for the municipality of residence
Standard port
In the city selection, enter the name of the municipality or city where the person you are looking for probably lives or has lived.
Procedure
You must apply for extended information from the civil register at the competent office. To do this, contact the municipality or the city in which the person you are looking for presumably lives or has lived.
You can make the application
- make the application orally at the authority
- send it by post or e-mail, or
- depending on what the municipality offers, also submit it online.
Tip: The municipalities' register of residents only contains data on private individuals. You can obtain information about companies or business enterprises from the business register.
The person sought will be notified of the granting of extended information from the civil register. An exception to the obligation to notify the registration office is only possible on the basis of a legal interest, e.g. to assert legal claims.
Deadlines
None
Required documents
- Identity card or passport
- in the case of a written application: Copy of identity card or passport
- Proof of legitimate interest
Costs
- for self-disclosure: none
- for other information from the civil register: the amount of the costs depends on the administrative fee statutes of the respective municipality.
Note: In the case of a written request for information from the population register, you must pay the administrative fees in advance. For example, you can enclose a crossed cheque with your request. If you apply for information on the population register electronically, you can usually issue a direct debit mandate.
Processing time
Usually two to eight weeks.
Miscellaneous
None
Appeal
As the person concerned, you can lodge a written objection against the refusal of a request for information or its only partial compliance with the request with the competent municipality.
Release note
10.02.2023; Innenministerium Baden-Württemberg