On November 1, 2017 the jurisdiction of registrar’s offices in Germany for name declarations as well as registrations of births and marriages abroad changes significantly. While the Registry I (Standesamt I) in Berlin has processed all applications from non-residents till date, from now on, the registrar’s office at the applicant’s last place of residence in Germany is in charge for these services. The Registry I will only be in charge, if the applicants have never resided in Germany before. By this change in the law, the German legislature hopes to reduce processing times in favour of the applicants.

In the context of this change in law, the application forms were adjusted respectively. Please make sure to use the application forms available for download on this website exclusively, from now on. Further, please fill them completely in order to make sure that the registry in charge for your application can be determined without delay and problems. At this time, all application forms are only available in German language, but bilingual forms will be published as soon as possible.

Till date, the Registry I in Berlin has processed most applications including US documents without asking for an apostille. However, the decision whether to insist on an apostille on foreign documents is up to each and every registry, which is why the German missions in the US are not in the position to give any information/advice on this topic. If an applicant decides not to provide apostilles for foreign documents when filing an application, he/she might be asked to hand them in at a later point of time.

If you have any questions concerning this change in law and the new jurisdiction regulations, please do not hesitate to contact your Consulate General/Embassy.