How to get a free Schufa

By Nicolas Bouliane

If you apply for an apartment, you might need a Schufa report. Most landlords require it.8 This is how you get one.

What is a Schufa?

The Schufa score is like a credit score. A good score shows that you pay your bills on time. The Schufa report (SCHUFA-Bonitätsauskunft) shows your Schufa score (Basisscore).

Example Schufa certificate
Example Schufa certificate

Your score is based on your financial situations. Your income does not affect your score.

A score above 95% is good enough.5

How to get a Schufa report

There are 2 versions of the Schufa:6

  • The paid version (Bonitätsauskunft)
    It costs 29.95€. It looks more official, so landlords prefer it.8 You can get it online now, or by post in 1 to 3 days.
  • The free version (Datenkopie)
    It has the same information, but they make it look worse:4
    • It’s harder to read. Your score is mixed with your private information. You must censor it before you share it.7
    • It looks worse. Many landlords want the fancy certificate you get with the paid version.8
    • You get it slower. It arrives by post in 5 to 7 days.

The paid version is better for apartment applications; it’s what landlords expect.8 The free version is better for your own use.

You can also get a Schufa from ImmoScout24. It costs 29.95€. If you have a premium membership, you pay 20% to 50% less. It does not work for everyone. You must verify your identity with your bank, and some banks are not supported.

The Bonify app shows the same information as the free Schufa report.11 The app does not work well, tries to sell you financial products, and is a privacy risk.9 I don’t recommend it.

You can’t get a Schufa in person at the bank anymore.2

If you can’t get a Schufa

Bring other proofs of income, such as what?

Short-term apartments (from HousingAnywhere, Spotahome, Wunderflats) rarely require a Schufa. They can help you get your first apartment without a stable job.

Look for short-term apartments

If you don’t have a score

Schufa is a private company. They only know what other companies tell them. If you are new in Germany, Schufa has no information about you, so you don’t have a score yet.1

You get a Schufa record when you…3

When you open a bank account, you let your bank to check your score. If you don’t have a score, a new Schufa record is created.

Not all companies check your score. Foreign companies rarely care about Schufa. A foreign bank probably won’t create a Schufa record when you open an account.

What to do next

After you get your Schufa report, look for an apartment.

Get a free report every year, and check if the information is correct.10 False information can lower your Schufa score. You don’t need the 29.95€ version for this.

Sources and footnotes

  1. advocado.de, HereLocation (2025), Graham Pugh, apartment search expert (January 2024) ⤴

  2. Wendelin Winkelmann, meineSchufa.de (July 2024) ⤴

  3. schufa.de (January 2025), qonto (January 2025) ⤴

  4. GDPR Article 5 ⤴

  5. qonto (January 2025) ⤴

  6. kreditvergleich.net ⤴

  7. immobilienscout24.de, Reddit ⤴

  8. Christine Gerkrath, relocation consultant (March 2024), Elliot Herman, relocation consultant (January 2024), Graham Pugh, apartment search expert (January 2024), immobilienscout24.de, immobilienscout24.de ⤴

  9. Trustpilot (January 2025), kuketz-blog.de (July 2023), Verbraucherzentrale (October 2024), Anwalt24 (October 2024), Verbraucherzentrale (December 2024) ⤴

  10. verbraucherzentrale.de ⤴

  11. Schufa (January 2025) ⤴