Receive information from the population register

If you are looking for a person, you can apply to the relevant registration authority for the place of residence of the person you are looking for for information on the population register.

Via you have the possibility to find the person you are looking for via an information from the population register of your municipality. Anyone can apply for this. There are the following types of information from the population register:

Simple information from the population register:

Upon personal or written request, the registration authority will provide the following information about individual specific residents of their town, municipality or administrative community:

• First name and surname
• Doctoral degree
• current addresses
• if the person is deceased, this fact

Extended registration register information:
If a legitimate interest in the provision of information is substantiated, the registration authority may provide extended information from the population register, which also contains the following data:

• Date and place of birth
• Former first names and surnames
• marital status (limited to whether or not married or in a civil partnership)
• current nationalities
• previous addresses
• Date of moving in and out
• Family and first name and address of legal representative
• Date and place of death
• First and last names and address of the spouse or partner

In the case of extended information, the interest must be substantiated for each individual piece of information or for each individual date. The term "legitimate interest" here includes any interest of a legal, economic or non-material nature that is to be recognized as worthy of protection. The request for information must contain sufficient information to identify the person sought so that the registration authority can rule out any confusion.

According to the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), the recipient of the information is obliged to inform the data subject. This does not apply to the cases listed in the GDPR if and to the extent that

• the data subject already has the information
• the provision of this information proves to be impossible or would require a disproportionate effort
• the obtaining or disclosure is expressly regulated by German or Union law to which the controller is subject and which provides for appropriate measures to protect the legitimate interests of the data subject, or
• the personal data is subject to professional secrecy under German or Union law, including a statutory duty of confidentiality.

In the case of simple or extended information from the population register, the obligation to provide information under the GDPR also does not apply if

• its fulfillment would impair a legal interest, in particular the assertion of legal claims, unless the legitimate interest of the data subject in the fulfillment of the information obligation prevails.

The full administrative fee is also due if no registration documents are (or are no longer) available for the person in question or if no person can be clearly identified from the information provided by the enquirer or if the content of the information provided is already known.

Other types of civil register information are

• Registration register information - in special cases
• Registration register information for landlords
• Self-reporting
• Group information

Please contact the registration office of the place of residence of the person you are looking for.

Information can be requested informally in writing or in person.

• Documents required: As precise information as possible about the person in question (surname, first name and, if possible, date of birth)
• Required documents: If the data is used for commercial purposes, this must be stated. It is forbidden to use data from a civil register disclosure for commercial purposes without this purpose being stated at the time of the request.

In the case of extended information from the population register, the legitimate interest in providing the information must be substantiated.

The prerequisite for obtaining simple information from the population register is that you do not use it for advertising or address trading purposes and that you declare this to the registration authority

To obtain extended information from the population register, you must demonstrate a legitimate interest.

For group information, a public interest must be justified.

You can apply for information from the population register in person or in writing to the relevant office.

Some municipalities offer the option of requesting information from the population register online.

Costs are incurred. These vary according to the type of information requested:

• Simple information from the register of residents EUR 11.00
• Simple information for commercial purposes 13.00 EUR
• Extended information from the register of residents 14.00 EUR
• Information from the population register that requires more administrative effort 16.00 to 40.00 EUR
• Information from the population register for which local investigations are required 30.00 to 90.00 EUR

Only information on private individuals can be obtained from the population register.