Geburtsurkunde beantragen bei Geburt im Ausland oder in einem ehemaligen deutschen Gebiet

For your child born abroad, it is advisable to apply for the birth to be certified in a German birth register (subsequent certification) if at least one parent has German citizenship. This also determines the name of the child. Furthermore, the possession of German citizenship is checked and confirmed.

If your child born abroad to German parents or a German mother or father is to acquire German citizenship, you must have this procedure carried out within one year of the birth.

In your application, you can request the issue of one or more German birth certificates, including multilingual versions, so-called international birth certificates. You will be able to use these with all German authorities in the future. The advantage of this is that you will no longer have to have your foreign certificates translated and you will also be able to prove the child's name and nationality.

As a German citizen living abroad, you can apply for the birth of your child to be certified in a German birth register via the German diplomatic mission responsible for you.

The registry office in whose jurisdiction the person born abroad has their place of residence or last place of residence or habitual abode in Germany is responsible for certifying the birth of a German abroad. If this does not give rise to jurisdiction, the registry office in whose jurisdiction the applicant has or last had his or her domicile or habitual residence in Germany shall certify the birth. If there is no jurisdiction, the registry office I in Berlin will notarize the birth.

Parents, spouses or partners or children of the person born abroad are also entitled to apply.

Details about the procedure can be obtained from the responsible German diplomatic mission abroad or viewed on their website.

At Standesamt I in Berlin, births of Germans abroad or on German ships are notarized or certificates issued for Germans who have never had a residence in Germany. If necessary, birth certificates or copies of certificates from the following registers can be obtained there:

Consular registers,
Registers from former German colonies,
registry office records from the former German eastern territories, East Prussia, West Prussia, Upper Silesia, Lower Silesia and Pomerania,
Registers for areas occupied during the Second World War, i.e. the Generalgouvernement, Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Belarus, Ukraine, the Netherlands and Norway from 1940 to 1946.

Most of these register holdings have been handed over to the Landesarchiv Berlin by the Standesamt I in Berlin for reasons of responsibility or will be handed over in the coming years. Please note that the place where the person you are looking for lived is not necessarily the same as the location of the registry office responsible for the birth certificate at the time. In some cases, especially in smaller towns, you may have to look up where the responsible registry office was located. Local registers in libraries can help you with this, or you can try searching on the Internet.

If the registry office I in Berlin has a birth register entry for the person you are enquiring about, the birth certificate will be issued against payment. Otherwise - for example, if the records were destroyed during the war - you will receive a written confirmation that the registry office is not in a position to issue a birth certificate in your case.

Please provide a postal address with your request, as birth certificates cannot be sent by e-mail.

• Valid identity card or passport

You must also submit the following documents:

• foreign birth certificate with translation into German by an officially recognized translator and, if necessary, legalization or apostille (an international birth certificate may be sufficient)
• for naturalized citizens: additional naturalization certificate
• for persons entitled to asylum, stateless persons, homeless foreigners and foreign refugees: additional proof of special status

For representation:

• Written power of attorney from the authorized person to whom the entry relates
• Valid identity card or passport of the authorized person

The registry office may request the submission of further documents if necessary.

Persons entitled to apply for the notarization of a birth abroad: parents, each parent individually, the child born abroad, their spouse, their partner, their children

Minimum age as applicant: 16 years

To acquire German citizenship by birth: at least one parent in possession of German citizenship and application for subsequent certification within one year of birth abroad

You have a birth abroad notarized as follows:

Submitting an application for notarization of a birth abroad to the competent registry office in Germany or to the competent German diplomatic mission abroad

Jurisdiction for applications in Germany: The registry office in whose jurisdiction either the child concerned or the person making the application in Germany has or last had his or her place of residence or habitual abode; otherwise the registry office I in Berlin

Responsibility for applications abroad: the respective German diplomatic mission abroad

Responsible for issuing birth certificates from birth registers from the former German territories and from the consular and colonial registers: Standesamt I in Berlin; against invoice; if no records are available, you will receive a written certificate to this effect

The parents, each parent, the child born abroad, the child's spouse, the child's partner and the child's children are entitled to apply.

Birth certificates are only sent by post for a fee

You have a birth abroad notarized as follows:
Submitting an application for notarization of a birth abroad to the competent registry office in Germany or to the competent German diplomatic mission abroad

Jurisdiction for applications in Germany: The registry office in whose jurisdiction either the child concerned or the person making the application in Germany has or last had his or her place of residence or habitual abode; otherwise the registry office I in Berlin

Responsibility for applications abroad: the respective German diplomatic mission abroad

Responsible for issuing birth certificates from birth registers from the former German territories and from the consular and colonial registers: Standesamt I in Berlin; against invoice; if no records are available, you will receive a written certificate to this effect

The parents, each parent, the child born abroad, the child's spouse, the child's partner and the child's children are entitled to apply.

Birth certificates are only sent by post for a fee

Birth certificates cannot be sent by e-mail.

If the issuance of the certificate is refused, an application for an order can (only) be filed with the Schöneberg Local Court in Berlin. The appeal procedure is only possible with regard to the fee notice.

Births of children born abroad can be certified in a German civil status register (subsequent certification) upon application
It is advisable to submit an application if at least one parent has German citizenship
When the application is submitted, the name is determined at the same time
At the same time, possession of German citizenship is checked and confirmed
To acquire German citizenship by birth, the application for subsequent certification must be submitted within one year of the birth abroad either to the competent registry office in Germany or to the competent German diplomatic mission abroad

Responsibility in Germany for the certification of a birth abroad
1. registry office in whose jurisdiction the person born abroad is or was domiciled or habitually resident in Germany;
2. if this is not possible, the registry office in whose jurisdiction the applicant is or was last domiciled or habitually resident
3. if this is not possible, registry office I in Berlin

Responsibility for issuing a birth certificate from birth registers from the former German territories or consular and colonial registers lies with Registry Office I in Berlin