Administrative services A-Z

In Germany, data on birth, marriage, civil partnership and death is recorded in the civil status register in the form of civil status cases. You must provide proof of a person's civil status in a wide variety of life situations, for example when children start school or in the event of inheritance.

You have the option of applying for a multilingual extract from the civil status register for yourself or a relative in the ascending or descending line of descent, i.e. parents, grandparents, children and grandchildren, as well as for spouses.

You can request the following register extracts in various languages from your local registry office:

• Birth register
• Marriage register
• Death register

The civil status also includes other family and name-related facts. For this reason, all events that change a person's civil status are also recorded in the civil status registers as so-called subsequent certifications. Such events can be, for example, the recognition of paternity, adoption, dissolution of marriage, a change of name or a declaration of death.

You can apply for extracts from the register for yourself and for your relatives in ascending or descending line of descent, i.e. parents, grandparents, children and grandchildren, as well as for spouses.

• You apply for a multilingual register extract for yourself or for
  • your spouse
  • your life partner
  • Your ancestor (parents, grandparents)
  • Your children or grandchildren
• You can provide proof of kinship, for example through a
  • birth certificate
  • marriage certificate
  • civil partnership certificate
• If you are applying for a multilingual register extract for another person (e.g. siblings), you must provide evidence of a legitimate interest, for example through
  • certificate of inheritance
  • extract from the land register
• You are at least 16 years old
  

Registry office

• § Section 62 of the Civil Status Act (PStG)
• § Section 50 Ordinance on Civil Status (PStV)

• Information on civil status law on the website of the Federal Ministry of the Interior and for Home Affairs

Federal Ministry of the Interior and for Home Affairs (BMI)