Residence - Notify change of main residence

If you have several residences in the federal territory, you must declare to the registration office which of these residences is your main residence.

Main residence is:

  • if you are married or in a civil partnership and live only temporarily separated from your family or your civil partner: the predominantly used dwelling of the family or the civil partnership.
  • if you are married or in a civil partnership and live permanently separated: Your predominant home
  • if you are a minor: the main home of your parents or foster parents. If they live separately, the main residence is the residence in which you mainly live.
  • Only if the predominantly used dwelling cannot be determined beyond doubt, the focus of the living relations is to be taken into account. Indications for this are, for example, the type of dwelling, personal ties, social and communal political activities as well as membership in clubs and other organisations.

A secondary residence is any other residence within the country. You can therefore have one main residence and several secondary residences.

If you change your main residence, you must inform the competent registration office.

Related forms and processes

Prerequisite

You have several flats in the federal territory.

Responsible department

the registration office

The registration authority is

  • the municipality/town administration of your place of residence or
  • the administrative community or the municipality that performs the duties of the registration authority for the municipality of residence.

Procedure

If your circumstances change and one of your secondary residences becomes your main residence, you must inform the registration office responsible for the new main residence.

Note: You must also state which flats you have in the federal territory and which of them is your main flat every time you register or deregister. This applies regardless of whether you change your main residence or not.

Deadlines

You must notify the change of main residence within two weeks to the registration office responsible for the new main residence.

Required documents

Identity card or passport

Costs

Within the specified period, usually free of charge. However, depending on a local fee statute, a processing fee may be charged in individual cases.

Processing time

Processing usually immediately on site

Detailed information

None

Miscellaneous

Please note that when you change your main residence, the address or place of residence in your documents must also be changed. You can find out how to do this in the"Moving house" section and the associated services.

Appeal

None

Release note

10.02.2023; Innenministerium Baden-Württemberg