Please find information on the reform of the German naming law here.

Is a name declaration necessary?

If the parents of the child are married

If the parents are married at the time of the child’s birth and they have a shared last name, the child automatically obtains that parent’s last name as its birth name. A name declaration is not necessary in this case. If the parents have declared a shared last name after marrying in Germany, the name has to be documented by the German marriage certificate or a confirmation of the name issued by the German registrar’s office.

In cases where the parents of the child are married but do not have a shared last name, a name declaration is generally not required. If a German child is born in the U.S., the name on the U.S. birth certificate can usually be accepted. If you have already made a name declaration for a sibling of your child, this name is binding for all other children without the need for an additional name declaration. In those cases, please provide the confirmation of the name for the sibling when applying for your child’s passport.

From May 1, 2025, onwards, you can also combine the parents’ last names to use as your child’s last name. That name may not have more than two parts. The name can be spelled with or without a hyphen.

If the parents of the child are not married

If the parents are not married at the time of child’s birth, the child usually obtains the mother’s last name if she has sole custody. If the mother’s last name is the desired last name for the child, an additional name declaration is not necessary. If both parents wish a different last name, a name declaration can be submitted.

If the parents are unmarried but have joint custody, the name on the German or U.S. birth certificate can generally be accepted as proof of name usage (see below). For proof of joint custody, an acknowledgement of paternity is required. This acknowledgement of paternity is generally provided before the U.S. birth certificate is issued.

Simplification for children born abroad after May 1, 2025,

If a German child is born to parents with a habitual residence abroad, as of May 1, 2025, the child’s last name at birth will be determined by the law of the parents’ country of residence. The last name stated on the foreign birth certificate in accordance with the law in the country in question is, as a rule, also valid under German law and may be stated in the child’s German passport without any further declaration.

• Example: Marie Becker and Lukas Schmidt, who kept their last names after marrying, live in the U.S. Their daughter Lena is born there. The name Lena Becker Schmidt was entered on the U.S. birth certificate in accordance with US law. This name can now be used without any further declaration and the embassy or consulate can issue a German passport for Lena under this name.

If the parents wish to use a different name, they can specify the child’s birth name in line with the new options available under German law by opting for German law.

• Example: Marie Becker and Lukas Schmidt would like their daughter Lena to have the last name Becker. In this case, they can choose German law and declare that the child should be given the name Lena Becker.

Which documents do we have to complete?

Download the declaration form here:

Declaration form in German

Please print out the declaration form and complete it carefully. Do not use block capital letters because this could result in deviated spelling.

Instead of doing a name declaration, the parents can alternatively register the birth of their child in the register of births at the competent Registrar’s Office (“Standesamt”) in Germany and a German birth certificate can be issued. The name declaration is included in the application form for the birth registration.

General information on registering the birth of a child

How do we have to submit the declaration?

The Registrar’s Office in Germany that was the last place of residency of the child is responsible for processing the declaration. If the child has never taken up residency in Germany, then the last place of German residence of one parent. If neither the child nor the parents ever resided in Germany, the Registrar’s Office in Berlin is the appropriate office for processing the birth registration.

The German Consular Missions in the U.S. however do not process the declarations, but forward them, upon request, to the appropriate Registrar’s Office in Germany. You however also have the option to send your declaration directly to the appropriate Registrar’s Office. In this case, your signatures would have to be notarized by a U.S. Notary Public.

If you wish to submit your declaration through a German Consular Mission, both parents that have custody need to be present during the appointment, since both of their signatures on the form must be notarized. If your child is already 14 years old or older, the child also must be present and sign the form.

What documents do we need?

If you would like to directly submit the declaration to the Registrar’s Office in Germany, please send in one completed declaration form, including the documents mentioned below as notarized copies or in the original. Copies may be notarized by the German Consular Mission or a Notary Public, see information leaflet.

If you would like to submit your application through the German consular mission, please present one completed application form as well as the documents mentioned below in the original. Copies are made at the German mission and then notarized for a fee.

• U.S. American birth certificate (if the birth certificate only states the county as place of birth, either a “proof of birth letter” with the town of birth, issued by the hospital must be presented, or a “long-form” of the birth certificate)
• marriage certificate of the parents (issued by the “Registrar/Clerk of the County”)
• passports of both parents; for non-U.S. citizens residence permit (visa or Green Card)
• birth certificates of both parents
• if child was born out of wedlock , acknowledgement of paternity as well
• in case of dual citizenship, U.S. Naturalization Certificate and if applicable “Beibehaltungsgenehmigung”
• if applicable, German naturalization certificate or “Staatsangehörigkeitsausweis”
• if applicable, divorce decree or death certificate
• if applicable, deregistration (“Abmeldebescheinigung”) from Germany

The Registrar’s Offices in Germany have the right to request apostilles and translations of all foreign documents. It is up to the discretion of the competent Registrar’s Office whether the documents are accepted with or without an apostille and translation.

Based on the experiences of the German Missions in the U.S., depending on the individual Registrar’s Office, the requirements for the documents that have to be submitted vary considerably. This applies to how the documents are being certified (notarized by a U.S. Notary Public or a German Consular Officer), as well as to what kind of documents need to be presented (certified copies or originals/with or without an apostille/with or without a translation into German). In order to expedite the processing of your declaration, we recommend that you contact the appropriate Registrar’s Office in Germany prior to submitting your declaration. This would also include inquiring about the possibility of sending the documents directly to the Registrar’s Office without involving the German Missions.

What is the fee for a child's name declaration?

During your appointment at the Embassy, you initially only pay the fee for notarizing your signature(s) and for notarizing the copies of the supporting documents. You may pay the fee in cash in US-Dollars at the current exchange rate or with credit card (Visa or Mastercard, the amount will be charged in Euros):

A certificate about the validity of the name declaration can be ordered, which is recommended for future passport applications. The fee for the issuance is set by each Registrar’s Office individually.

On 14.09.2024, the new fee schedule for Berlin registry offices came into force with an amending ordinance for the implementation of the PStG, which provides for the following important change for name declarations:

If, before a name certificate is issued, the validity of a declaration on the use of a name must be checked on the basis of family law regulations and no German civil status register entry exists, the registry office will now charge a processing fee of €80. This should be the rule for name declarations to Standesamt I in Berlin. In addition, there is a fee for the name certificate (as before €12).

This fee cannot be paid at a diplomatic mission abroad, but must be paid directly to the relevant registry office. Upon receipt of your declaration form, you will receive a request for payment from the registry office.

How long will it take to process the name declaration?

The processing times depends on the Registrar's Office in charge and varies significantly from city to city.

Given the ever increasing numbers of declarations, please be advised that processing at the Registrar’s Office I in Berlin takes at least two to three months. Once the last name has been confirmed a German passport can be issued in the new Name.

Which German Consular Mission serves my U.S. home state?

To find out which of the nine German Consular Missions in the U.S. serves your U.S. home state, which is the correct mailing address or whether you need to schedule an appointment to submit the declaration in person, please use our interactive consulate finder