Register of residents - apply for information (simple)

As part of a simple registration register enquiry, the registration authority will provide you with the surname, first names, doctor's degree and current addresses of the person you are looking for.

If the person is deceased, you will be informed of this.

Whether a registration authority provides you with information about the data of the person you are looking for is at their discretion.
Simple information will not be provided if an information block is entered in the register or if the registration authority has reason to believe that this could jeopardise the interests of the person concerned or another person worthy of protection.

Related forms and processes

Prerequisite

  • The person you are looking for must be clearly identifiable on the basis of the information you provide. This means that you must already have data on the person concerned.
    This is usually the first and last name, date of birth, gender or last known address.
  • If you use the data for commercial purposes, you must provide this information.
  • When making the enquiry, you must declare that you will not use the data for advertising or address trading purposes
  • There must be no information block in the population register.

Responsible department

the registration authority of the last known place of residence of the person sought

The registration authority is

  • the municipal/city administration of the place of residence or
  • the administrative community or the municipality that fulfils the tasks of the registration authority for the municipality of residence.

Procedure

You must apply for simple information from the residents' register at the relevant office. You do not need a form for this. You can make the application

  • verbally at the authority,
  • by post or by e-mail or
  • online, depending on the municipality's services.

Please note: Some registration authorities will only process your application once you have paid the fee.

Please note: The local authority's register of residents only contains data on private individuals. You can obtain information about companies or commercial enterprises from the business register.

It is possible that the data of the person you are looking for is subject to an information block. The registration authority will then check on a case-by-case basis whether your interest in the information outweighs the confidentiality interest of the person you are looking for.

Note: The data may not be used for advertising or address trading purposes.

Deadlines

none

Required documents

none

Costs

  • for self-information: none
  • for other information from the population register: The costs are based on the administrative fee statutes of the respective municipality.

Note: If you request information from the population register in writing or electronically, you must pay the administrative fees in advance. You can, for example, enclose a crossed cheque with your written request.

If you request the information from the population register electronically, you can also transfer the fee in advance and enclose the transfer receipt with the request as an electronic attachment.

Detailed information

If you need more detailed data, you can apply for extended information from the population register.

You can also request information from the civil register about several persons who are not named (group information).

Miscellaneous

none

Appeal

As the person concerned, you can lodge a written objection with the responsible municipality against the rejection of a request for information or its only partial fulfilment.

Legal basis

Bundesmeldegesetz (BMG):

  • § 44 Einfache Melderegisterauskunft

Allgemeine Verwaltungsvorschrift zur Durchführung des Bundesmeldegesetzes (BMGVwV):

  • Ziffer 44 Zu § 44 Einfache Melderegisterauskunft

Release note

machine generated, based on the German release by: Innenministerium Baden-Württemberg, 17.02.2025