Abmeldung — How to deregister your address in Berlin

When you move out of your apartment and leave Germany, you must deregister your address at the Bürgeramt. This is called the Abmeldung.

This guide explains why it’s important, and how to do it.

Who must deregister

You must do your Abmeldung if…

• You move out of Germany
  For example, if you move out of your Berlin apartment, and you move to Canada.
• or you have multiple homes, and you leave one of them
  For example, if you have apartments in Berlin and Hamburg, and you move out of the Hamburg apartment.

Do not do your Abmeldung if…

• You will return to the same address
  For example, if you study in France for 3 months, then move back to the same address in Germany.
• You move to another address in Germany
  For example, if you move from Berlin to Munich. When you register your new address, your old address is automatically deregistered.
• You have not registered your address

Why you must deregister

You must deregister to…

• Stop being a German resident
• Stop paying taxes in Germany

When you deregister, you get a deregistration certificate (Abmeldebescheinigung). With this certificate, you can…

• Stop paying the TV tax
• Cancel your German health insurance
• Cancel your phone, internet, electricity, gas and gym contracts
• Get a refund of your pension payments

How to do your Abmeldung

There are 4 ways to deregister your address:

• In person at the Bürgeramt 
  It’s the fastest way to get an Abmeldebescheinigung. You need it to cancel your contracts and your health insurance.
• By email
  It’s easier, but you might not get your Abmeldebescheinigung in time.
• By post
• Pay someone to deregister you

Deregister minimum 7 days before you move out, and maximum 14 days after you move out.¹ If you wait longer, it’s okay. Some people take months to deregister, and nothing bad happens.¹¹

When you deregister, you get an Abmeldebescheinigung. This document confirms that you are deregistered. If you deregister in person, they give it to you. If you deregister by email or by post, you must ask for this document, and they will send it to you.²

In person at the Bürgeramt

This is the safest option, because you always get an Abmeldebescheinigung.

To do your Abmeldung in person…

1. Book an appointment for Abmeldung einer Wohnung. Choose any Bürgeramt in Berlin. If there are no appointments available, check again every few minutes.
2. Fill the Abmeldung form
3. Go to your appointment. Bring:
   • The Abmeldung form, filled and signed
   • Your passport or Personalausweis, not a copy¹⁴
   • A proof of your move-out date, if you deregister late (optional)¹²

If you deregister multiple people, you must also bring…

• Their passport or Personalausweis, not a copy¹⁵

If you send someone else to deregister you, they must also bring…

• A Vollmacht for each person to deregister. Use this template.

The appointment takes around 10 minutes. If you don’t speak German, you probably won’t need help, but you can still bring a translator.

During your appointment, you will get an Abmeldebescheinigung.

By email

This is the easiest option, but it’s not 100% reliable.

Each Bürgeramt does things differently. They rarely email your Abmeldebescheinigung. They might refuse to mail to another country, so you must give them a backup address in Germany.

To deregister by email, send this message to any Bürgeramt in Berlin:

Attach this to your email:

• The Abmeldung form, filled and signed
• A copy of your passport or Personalausweis
• A proof of your move-out date, if you deregister late (optional)¹²

If you deregister multiple people, also attach…

• A copy of their passport or Personalausweis
• A signed Vollmacht for each person you deregister

Write your new address in the form. If you use a German address, and your name is not on the mailbox, use “c/o” or “bei” on the address form.

You will get an Abmeldebescheinigung 1 to 4 weeks later.³ They usually send it by regular post, not email or registered mail. They might refuse to send it to another country.

By post

Send the same documents and message as when you deregister by email.

There is no reason to do your Abmeldung by post. It’s slower, but not more reliable.

How to mail a letter — from your computer, without a printer

Pay someone to do it

These companies can deregister your address:

• Deregistration.de
• EasyAssist

They will deregister your address, and send you a deregistration certificate by email. It’s expensive, but it’s faster and 100% online.

They can also cancel your TV tax, your health insurance, and your other contracts.

What happens after you deregister

When you deregister, you lose your official address in Germany. This has consequences.

Taxes

The Abmeldung tells the Finanzamt that you have left the country, and that you don’t need to pay taxes in Germany.⁶ You might still have to pay taxes in Germany if you have a residence, investments or a business in Germany.

Taxes after leaving Germany

Residence permit

Your residence permit or permanent residence does not expire when you deregister your address. It only expires if you leave Germany “non-temporary reasons”. Your German citizenship never expires.

When does a residence permit expire?

Health insurance

When you deregister, you can lose your German health insurance.⁷ German health insurance is only for German residents. If you want to keep your health insurance, you probably should not deregister.

If you have private health insurance, ask for an Anwartschaft. You pay a little money every month while you are outside of Germany. When you return to Germany, you can get your old health insurance back.⁸ It guarantees that you will get the same health insurance for the same price.

If you move to another EU country, you are retired, and you get a German public pension, you can keep your German public health insurance.⁴

Social security

When you deregister, you might stop receiving Bürgergeld, Elterngeld Kindergeld and other social services.⁹ Those services are only for German residents. You can get ALG I in another EU country for up to 6 months.

Bank account

You can keep your German bank account, even if you deregister your address and leave Germany.⁵ You need it to get your apartment deposit, last paycheck, yearly bonus and tax return.

If the bank sends you a letter, and it can’t be delivered, they might freeze your bank account.¹⁰ If they freeze your bank account, you can’t withdraw money, use your credit card, or make bank transfers.

Vehicles

You can’t own a vehicle registered in Germany if you don’t live in Germany.⁷ Some people had a different experience, so there are exceptions to this.

Other services

When you deregister, you get an Abmeldebescheinigung. Use it to cancel your phone, internet and electricity contracts without fees or delays.⁹

If you already moved out

If you already left Germany, you can do your Abmeldung by email or by post.¹³ You will not be punished. It’s better to pay someone to deregister you, because it guarantees that you will receive an Abmeldebescheinigung.

What to do next

How to move out of your apartment

How to change your address

How to leave Germany

Sources and footnotes

1. § 17 Abs. 2 BMG, Berlin.de (January 2026) ⤴

2. Robert Hantzsch (August 2025), Oliver Frankfurth (April 2023), Facebook, reddit.com ⤴

3. Robert Hantzsch (August 2025), reddit.com ⤴

4. Techniker Krankenkasse (January 2026), Techniker Krankenkasse (October 2025) ⤴

5. Nerea Lopez (January 2026) ⤴

6. wohnsitzausland.com (January 2026) ⤴

7. wirelesslife.de ⤴

8. Finanztip, Seamus Wolf (2025) ⤴

9. wirelesslife.de ⤴

10. reddit.com/r/germany ⤴

11. Robert Hantzsch (August 2025) ⤴

12. Robert Hantzsch (August 2025), Oliver Frankfurth (April 2023) ⤴

13. Reddit ⤴

14. Twitter (August 2024) ⤴

15. Twitter (August 2024) ⤴