Register of voters (European elections) - applying for registration of Germans living abroad
Only those who are entered in the electoral roll may exercise their right to vote.
An official electoral roll is kept for each electoral district.
You will only be included in the voters' register upon application if you
- live abroad as a German or German national and
- are not registered with any registration authority in Germany.
Responsible authority
The municipality in which you were last registered before you left Germany
Note: If you have never been registered in Germany, the District Office Mitte in Berlin is responsible for you.
Contact
Details
Prerequisite
- You are not registered with any registration authority in Germany 42 days before the election,
- You assume that you are eligible to vote in the European elections.
You are entitled to vote if you
- Are German or German within the meaning of Article 116 paragraph 1 of the Basic Law,
- are at least 16 years old on election day,
- are not excluded from the right to vote and
- have been resident or otherwise ordinarily resident in the other EU member states for at least three months , or
- live outside the EU and have resided or had a residence in the Federal Republic of Germany for at least three months without interruption within the last 25 years prior to your departure and after your 14th birthday or
- for other reasons are personally and directly familiar with the politicalthe political conditions in the Federal Republic of Germany and are affected by them.
Procedure
You must apply for registration in writing on a prescribed form with an affidavit.
You can request forms and information sheets for the application from
- the diplomatic and consular missions of the Federal Republic of Germany abroad,
- the Federal Returning Officer and
- the district and city electoral officers.
You must sign the application in person and send the original to the relevant office.
E-mail or fax is not sufficient.
Please note: If you are unable to submit the application yourself, you can ask someone else to help you. This may be necessary, for example, if you cannot read or are physically impaired. The person helping you must then also sign the application and the declaration in lieu of an oath.
The application for entry in the electoral roll is also an application for a polling card.
When you receive the polling card, you therefore know that you are entered on the electoral roll. You will also receive your postal voting documents with it.
If the competent authority rejects your application, you will be informed.
Deadlines
You must submit the application by the 21st day before the election at the latest.
Required documents
None
Costs
The corresponding postage will be charged for sending the application for entry in the electoral roll by post to the municipality or the Berlin Mitte district office.
Miscellaneous
None
Legal basis
Grundgesetz
Artikel 116 Absatz 1 Grundgesetz
Europawahlgesetz
- § 4 Europawahlgesetz in Verbindung mit § 14 Bundeswahlgesetz
- § 6 Europawahlgesetz in Verbindung mit § 12 Bundeswahlgesetz
Bundeswahlgesetz
- § 12 Bundeswahlgesetz in Verbindung mit § 6 Europawahlgesetz
- § 14 Bundeswahlgesetz in Verbindung mit § 4 Europawahlgesetz
- § 17 Bundeswahlgesetz
Europawahlordnung
- §§ 14 - 23 Europawahlordnung
Release note
machine generated, based on the German release by: 11.04.2025 Innenministerium Baden-Württemberg