Finally, it turns around the corner: the furniture van. The movers are here, everyone is busy helping out and it’s ready to go. Off to the new four walls – how exciting! Once you’ve got that far, you’ve already done quite a bit of moving and everything is well organized. But there’s still one thing you may not have thought of yet: The change to a new residence. Oops, yes, exactly. Don’t panic, it’s not too late. Here you will find an overview of how to get the change of address in dry clothes.
I’m out of here: The cancellation of my registration
Deregistration is not a big effort but a mere formality. If you move to a new municipality, you must inform the previous municipality that you are moving away. To deregister, you go to your local authority’s home registration office. You can find out who is responsible for you and what their opening hours are on the Internet. In most cases, you will have to come and see them in person. However, some local authorities now also allow you to deregister online and send the necessary documents by post. The best thing to do is to call the residents’ registration office and ask for information. To deregister, you need to bring your certificate of residence or confirmation of registration, the family booklet (if available) and proof of current health insurance.
Arrived: All the important information about registration in the new municipality
The good news first of all is that you don’t have to drop everything right away and sprint to the new municipality of residence. You’ll have a few days after your arrival, usually exactly 14 days, but it’s best to put a visible note on the door so that you don’t forget. In the new community, the walk will then lead you back to the residents’ registration office, just like when you check out. They should ask you the new rental contract, the family booklet and proof of health insurance (for the whole family, if applicable). In some cases, you may also need to bring other documents with you, such as your identity card. It’s best to call the relevant office beforehand – that’s just to be on the safe side.
If you are only moving within the municipality, you will still need to go to the residents’ registration office. After all, the authority must know about the change of address. So here too: Go there and take care of the formalities. Do you also have a four-legged family member? Dogs must also be registered in the new municipality after the move.
Registration at the road traffic office
Not only the residents’ registration office, but also the road traffic office would like to know about your move. You can even do this online. Assuming you have a credit card-sized driving licence. You can then either bring your vehicle registration card and old driving licences in person or send them by post. Learn more in our article about moving with a vehicle.
And what else?
Of course, re-registering at the residents’ registration office is not the only formality you need to complete. Banks, insurance companies, doctors, and all sorts of subscriptions must of course also find out that you have moved and now have a new address. The wisest thing to do is to set up a redirection service at the post office. With a forwarding order, you kill several birds with one stone. Firstly, you can be sure that no mail will get lost. Secondly, there is the service of having the postal service send your new address to all senders and you don’t even have to worry about it yourself.
We wish you a good arrival in the new municipality and we hope that even after the change of address there will always be nice postcards in your letterbox.
