Update: This article has been corrected to reflect that the new online service can only be used to receive a Meldebescheinigung and not an Anmeldung certificate.

The city of Berlin has announced that residents can now complete their Meldebescheinigung online. The service will soon be available across the country.

Berlin launches online appointments to get a Meldebescheinigung

The city of Berlin has announced that from today, November 8, newcomers and locals in the capital will be able to do their Meldebescheinigung registration online. While initial Anmeldung registrations will still have to be done in person, getting a Meldebescheinigung to officially confirm that you have moved house, can now be done online.

The announcement marks a big step forward when it comes to digitising administrative processes in the city, which attracts millions of new Berliners every year. Regardless of their nationality, every newcomer to Berlin must register at an address in the city within two weeks of moving, but major staff shortages in Bürgerämte (Citizens’ Offices) means finding an appointment is often nigh impossible. At least until now!

Berlin’s Officer for Digitisation Martina Klement hopes the new service will relieve overburdened employees, who issued around 137.000 registration certificates in 2022, and allow them to concentrate on other tasks. As it was in person, the online service will also be free of charge. Hopefully, the change means it is only a matter of time before the Anmeldung procedure moves online too.

Online Meldebescheinigung will launch in the rest of Germany

Klement announced the digitisation of the Meldebescheinigung process at the Smart Country Convention in Berlin on November 7. But Berliners aren’t getting special treatment. From 2024, the online service will be available across the whole of the federal republic.

Further details about how the system will work in other federal states are yet to be revealed.

Thumb image credit: Mo Photography Berlin / Shutterstock.com