Your information: 

The information on your ID card must always be up to date. 

Information that may change, for example:  

• Last name due to marriage and a name change 

• Address due to a move to a different primary residence 

• Change of first name(s) based on a declaration under the Self-Determination Act  

Changes to the information on your ID card, with the exception of address or height, will render your old ID card invalid. If you do not have a passport or other travel document with your current information, you must apply for a new ID card or passport. 

You apply for your new ID card at the ID card office in your primary residence. This is usually the Citizens’ Office, the Residents’ Registration Office, City Hall, or Citizen Services. You may also apply at a citizens’ office in any other municipality or city if you can provide a valid reason. Please check with the office you’ve chosen in advance to see under what conditions this is possible. There is also an additional “non-jurisdiction fee.”  

If your address changes, you do not need a new ID card; you simply need to have the new address stored in the ID card’s chip and cover the data field on the back of the ID card with a sticker bearing the new address. You can do this at the citizens’ office of the city or municipality where you have your new primary residence. In some municipalities, you can apply for the change of address digitally (electronic registration of residence), which means you will receive the sticker with the new address by mail and can avoid a trip to the municipal office.  

You are required to present identification if you:

• are a German citizen
• are at least 16 years old
• are registered in Germany

If you have a valid passport and all the information in the passport is up to date, applying for an ID card is optional.

The following applies when applying outside your primary residence:

• You must be able to provide a valid reason why you are not applying for the ID card at the ID card office in your place of primary residence.
   

If your ID card is stolen or goes missing, you must report it to the police or to an ID card issuing authority, such as a municipal office, the Residents’ Registration Office, city hall, or citizen services. In this case, the authority will automatically report the online ID card to the blocking hotline and initiate the blocking process.

If the information on your ID card is no longer up to date, you must have it updated as soon as possible; exceptions: height and address. 

• Validity period: 10 years
  For applicants over 24 years of age.
• Validity period: 6 years
  For applicants under 24 years of age.

The Citizens' Office will update the address on your ID card immediately. 

If you apply for a new ID card, it usually takes at least two weeks before you can pick it up at the Citizens’ Office or receive it at your doorstep or at a post office. 

Change of address:

• Identity card
• If applicable, power of attorney and identification document of the authorized representative
• Landlord's confirmation
  
  

Name change due to marriage:

• A current biometric passport photo
• Previous identity card
• Certificate from the registry office confirming the date of marriage and the future name
• Please present your marriage certificate when you come to collect your passport.
  
  

Changing your name due to divorce

• A current, biometric passport photo
• Previous identity card
• Certificate from the registry office confirming the new name

Change other personal data

• A current, biometric passport photo
• Previous identity card
• Proof of the data to be changed, e.g., certificate from the registry office confirming the new name

Registration of a doctoral title

• A current biometric passport photo
• Previous identity card
• Doctorate certificate (we require the original certificate in German)

You can inquire with the Central Office for Foreign Education (ZAB) at the Secretariat of the Standing Conference of the Ministers of Education and Cultural Affairs to find out whether a doctoral degree obtained abroad is recognized in Germany.

Graurheindorfer Straße 157

53117 Bonn

P.O. Box 2240

53012 Bonn

Phone

zabservicekmkorg

A reduction or waiver of the fee is possible under certain conditions.

• Fee: 30.00 EUR
  Issuance of a new ID card by a consular or diplomatic mission abroad
• Fee: Free
  of charge. Changing your address is free of charge.
• Fee: 46.00 EUR
  New ID card for applicants aged 24 and older
• Fee: 15.00 EUR
  Fee for mailing to your home address
• Fee: 13.00 EUR
  Surcharge for applications submitted outside of office hours or to an unauthorized authority
• Fee: 27.60 EUR
  New ID card for applicants under 24 years of age
• Fee: 43.00 EUR
  Surcharge for the issuance of a new ID card by a consular or diplomatic mission abroad
• Fee: 6.00 EUR
  Fee for passport photo if the authority uses the PointID photo system from Bundesdruckerei GmbH. If the authority uses photo systems from other manufacturers, the fee may vary.

Cash / EC