Administrative services A-Z

• Forms: no
• Online procedure possible: yes
• Written form required: yes
• Personal appearance required: yes

The travel document as a passport substitute is issued by the border authorities. Border authorities are the Federal Police and other state and federal authorities responsible for policing cross-border traffic.

As a German citizen, you may be prohibited from leaving Germany if you are not carrying a valid passport or passport substitute when crossing the border. Such a situation is possible if, for example, your passport or identity card has expired and you only notice this shortly before you start your journey. in these acute emergencies, the border authorities can issue you with a travel document as a passport substitute before you start your journey.

With the travel document as a passport substitute, you can leave Germany as a German citizen and then re-enter the country. The travel document as a passport substitute is generally only valid for the duration of the respective trip, but for a maximum of three months. It becomes invalid upon re-entry unless it has been issued for several entries and exits. It is therefore not a full replacement for a passport.

You can only enter another country with a travel document as a passport replacement if the country recognizes your document as a travel document. The foreign state is under no obligation to recognize your document. There is also the possibility that airlines may refuse to take you on board with this travel document.

On the website of the Federal Police you will find a list of countries that recognize the travel document as a passport substitute without restriction or in conjunction with an expired photo ID (e.g. passport or identity card). Please note, however, that foreign border authorities may change this practice at short notice.
You have no legal entitlement to the issue of a travel document as a passport replacement. The competent border authority will decide whether to issue you with this emergency document.
Issuance may be refused, for example, if:

• you want to travel to a country that does not recognize the travel document as a passport substitute or
• the passport authority can issue you with a temporary identity card or passport on request.

Note: In the following countries, it is not the Federal Police but a state or federal authority that is responsible for carrying out police checks on cross-border traffic:

• in the Free State of Bavaria at the airports of Nuremberg and Memmingen as well as the airfields that are authorized as border crossing points, the Bavarian Border Police is responsible,
• in the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg at the port, the Hamburg Water Police is responsible,
• in Lower Saxony, Schleswig-Holstein in various ports and in Baden-Württemberg at Friedrichshafen Airport, the customs administration is responsible.

You can apply for a travel document as a passport replacement in person at the border authority, such as the Federal Police at the airport. You can also send the application to the border authority online in advance to speed up the process. In any case, you must appear in person at the border authority before starting your journey.

Applications for a travel document as a passport replacement can be made by

• German nationals

Further requirements:

• You must prove your identity and your German citizenship with an officially recognized document.
• There must be no grounds for refusing you a passport.
• There are no security concerns.
• The destination country recognizes the travel document as a passport substitute as a border crossing document.
• In the case of minors, the consent of all legal representatives must be obtained.

Notes:

For children, the travel document can be applied for as a passport substitute by the legal guardian or an authorized person. An independent application is only possible from the age of 18. If not both parents are traveling with the child, both custodial parents must agree to the trip.

The situation is special for parents who are permanently separated and have joint custody: only the parent with whom the child usually resides may apply for the passport. The parents must provide credible evidence of permanent separation. This also applies if one of the parents with custody is permanently unavailable, for example if they have moved away.
In the case of school trips, the accompanying teacher can also provide credible evidence of the custodial parent's consent in exceptional cases.

For a person for whom a guardian has been officially appointed, the officially appointed guardian can apply for the travel document as a passport substitute. In these cases, it is necessary for the officially appointed guardian to be able to prove their official appointment in addition to the identity of the person for whom you are making the application.

For the application and collection you need:

• Proof of your identity and citizenship by:
  • expired passport or temporary passport or
  • expired identity card or temporary identity card
• when applying for a child:
  • expired children's passport or
  • birth certificate (only if applying for a child).

• Application for a travel document as a passport replacement for Germans: EUR 8.00

You can apply for a travel document as a passport replacement in person directly at the border authority, for example at the airport with the Federal Police, or send it to the border authorities online in advance for processing.

Personal application

• You go to the border authority and ask for an application form, which you fill in and sign.
• An identity check will be carried out on site. To do this, you must prove your identity and nationality or that of the person for whom you are applying for a travel document as a passport replacement.
• You must pay the processing fee in cash on site.
• The travel document will then be issued to you as a passport replacement.

Digital application

• You can also submit the application online and send it to the border authorities for processing to speed up the procedure.
• To do this, complete the application in the federal portal and send it off.
• After submitting the application digitally, you can contact the relevant border authority.
• Before starting your journey, you must appear in person at the border authority in order to:
  • sign the application,
  • carry out an identity check and
  • pay the processing fee.
• The travel document will then be issued to you as a passport replacement.

none

Please contact the responsible local border authority.

Please contact the responsible border authority.

24-hour hotline of the Federal Police:
Telephone: 0800 6 888 000

• § Section 6 (5) Passport Act (PassG)
• § Section 19 (1) sentence 2 Passport Act (PassG)
• § Section 20 (2) sentence 5 and (3) Passport Act (PassG)
• § Section 7(1)(7) of the Passport Ordinance (PassV)
• § Section 15(1)(1)(h) (Fees)
• § Section 10 (1) numbers 1 and 3 of the Federal Fees Act (BGebG)

• Information on applying for a travel document on the website of the Federal Police
• List of countries that recognize passport replacement documents issued in Germany on the website of the Federal Police

Federal Ministry of the Interior, Building and Community (BMI)