Apply for exemption from the ID card requirement for permanently housed persons

If you are expected to be permanently confined to a hospital, nursing home, or similar facility, then you may be exempt from the requirement to have an ID card.

If you are likely to be permanently accommodated in a hospital, nursing home or similar facility, you can be exempted from the obligation to have an ID card. This is the case, for example, if you are no longer able to live in your home due to your state of health.
If you are also no longer able to apply for the exemption yourself, an authorized person can do this for you. You can revoke the exemption at any time. All you need to do is apply for an identity card or passport.

Please note that the identity card can no longer be used as an official identity document once you have been exempted from the identification requirement. If the presentation of a valid identity card is required for identification purposes or is common in everyday life, the official certificate of exemption is not sufficient.

An identity document is always required when traveling abroad. The person concerned can apply for a new ID card at any time after the exemption from the ID card requirement has been granted. The letter from the authorities stating that an ID card is required should then be returned to the issuing authority.

Please contact the identity card authority at the applicant's main place of residence.

• written request
• as far as available: your old identity card or passport
• if applicable, proof that you are likely to be permanently accommodated in a hospital, nursing home or similar institution, for example by means of a certificate from the family doctor, the hospital, the nursing home or the nursing service

Forms available: Yes
Written form required: Yes
Informal application possible: Yes
Personal appearance required: No

Online services available: No

• You must have German citizenship.
• You must be at least 16 years old.
• You are expected to be permanently housed in a hospital or nursing home or similar institution.
• You must be registered with your main place of residence in your municipality.

• Complaint to the superior authority, alternatively to the Ministry of the Interior of the federal state.

Exemption from the ID card requirement can be applied for in writing or by going to the ID card authority at your main place of residence.

If the relevant ID card authority offers an online service for exemption from the ID card requirement, the application can be submitted via this service.

Fee free of charge