Checklist
Leaving Germany: deregistration.
Home, registration office, tax office, insurance, accounts and contracts: with this list your departure from Germany is in order within a few weeks.
As of 17 September 2026 · Global Capital Strategy
You are moving abroad and want to close everything in Germany cleanly. This list collects the places where you deregister or change something, and says briefly for each point what matters.
Most points are formalities and quickly done. Where your tax adviser should take a look, for example with shareholdings in corporations, the list says so. The relocation checklist shows the whole timeline from twelve months before to after the move.
01 · Home
Give up, sell or let your home.
The break begins with your home. It decides whether your domicile in Germany actually ends.
- Give notice on your lease in timeAs a tenant you usually give notice of just under three months (section 573c BGB), unless the lease validly provides otherwise. Plan the moving date accordingly.
- Sell your own home or let it permanentlyA home you can still use at will usually remains a domicile for tax purposes (section 8 AO). Let it permanently to third parties, without using it yourself, and keep no set of keys. Then the break is clean. Guide: deregistration is not enough
- Document the handoverHandover report, meter readings and the landlord’s or buyer’s confirmation later show when you moved out. Ask for a move-out confirmation at the same time: registration law no longer requires it, but some registration offices still ask for one.
- Deal with furniture and belongingsSell, store or take them along: a storage unit in Germany is unproblematic, a home that stays furnished and available is not. Glossary: domicile
02 · Registration office
Deregister at the registration office.
Deregistration takes a few minutes, and some municipalities offer it online.
- Deregister as moving abroadIf you move abroad and keep no home in Germany, you deregister at the registration office. You can do so at the earliest one week before moving out, and it is due no later than two weeks afterwards (section 17(2) BMG). Glossary: deregistration
- Give your new addressThe registration office asks for your new address abroad. Have it ready, or at least the country and town.
- Keep the deregistration certificateHealth insurer, banks, insurers and contract partners ask for it. File the original and several copies, digital ones too.
- Keep deregistration and tax apartDeregistration is mandatory, but for tax purposes what counts is your home and habitual abode. The points on this list evidence both. Glossary: habitual abode
03 · Tax office
Inform the tax office.
A short notification, the last return and, if relevant, a look at shareholdings.
- Report the move and your new addressTell your tax office the date of departure and your address abroad, informally or via ELSTER. If the tax office then sends you questions about your circumstances abroad, it is best to answer them together with your tax adviser.
- Have an authorised recipient readyWithout a domicile in Germany, the EU or the EEA, the tax office may require you to name a person in Germany who receives letters on your behalf (section 123 AO). Your tax adviser or a trusted person can take this on.
- File your last income tax returnFor the year of departure you still file a return. It covers income up to the departure and German-source income afterwards. Guide to double tax treaties
- Check exit taxationIf you hold at least 1% in a corporation, have it calculated before the move whether exit tax arises and how much (section 6 AStG). With the figure in hand you plan calmly and know the routes to avoid or spread it. Without such shares, this point does not apply. Guide: planning for exit tax
- Report a foreign companyIf you form a company abroad before moving, such as a US LLC, notify the tax office (section 138(2) AO). Glossary: reporting duty section 138 AO
- Keep your tax IDYour German tax identification number remains. You need it for returns on German income and for questions from banks.
04 · Insurance and pension
Sort out health insurance and pension.
Two points with long-term effect: your cover abroad and your existing pension entitlements.
- New health cover without a gapClarify from when you are insured in the destination country or through international health insurance, and let cover start on the day you move.
- End or suspend German health insuranceInform your health insurer with the deregistration certificate. With private health insurance, ask about a dormant policy (Anwartschaftsversicherung) if you want to keep the option of returning to your plan.
- Have your pension record clarifiedHave your insurance record with Deutsche Rentenversicherung clarified before the move and keep the record of contributions. Entitlements you have earned remain in place when you move. Whether the pension is later paid abroad in full depends on your country of residence.
- Weigh voluntary contributionsWhether voluntary contributions to the German pension scheme make sense for you depends on the destination country and your plans. Deutsche Rentenversicherung provides information on this.
- Review other insuranceLiability, disability, life insurance: ask which policies remain valid abroad, cancel what you no longer need, and give your new address.
05 · Accounts and mail
Switch accounts and mail.
So that money and letters still reach you after the move.
- Inform your banksGive your banks your new address and your new tax residence. Not every bank keeps accounts for customers abroad without restrictions; ask beforehand. Glossary: CRS
- Adjust exemption ordersExemption orders for investment income (Freistellungsaufträge) require unlimited tax liability in Germany. After departure, withdraw them or have the bank adjust them.
- Put accounts and payments in orderDecide which German account remains, open the account in the destination country, and then switch standing orders and direct debits. Account opening checklist
- Set up mail forwardingAccording to Deutsche Post, mail forwarding is also available abroad. For official mail, additionally name a trusted person or use a digital mail service.
- Grant a power of attorneyA power of attorney for mail, authorities and banks, notarised where required, saves you a trip back for a single signature.
06 · Contracts
Cancel and deregister contracts.
Most contracts end with a short letter and a copy of the deregistration certificate.
- Deregister from the broadcasting feeDeregister your home with the ARD, ZDF and Deutschlandradio contribution service and enclose the deregistration certificate.
- Electricity, gas, internet and mobileGive notice for the moving date. If a contract ends later, ask for early termination with proof of your departure.
- Sell or deregister your vehicleSell the vehicle, or deregister it in Germany and register it in the destination country. Deregistration ends vehicle tax and the insurance obligation.
- Memberships and subscriptionsGym, clubs, newspapers, streaming: enter every notice period in one list and cancel in time.
- Trade registration and chambersIf you run a registered trade in Germany or belong to a chamber, deregister or transfer the trade and end the membership.
This checklist orders the steps and marks the points where the individual case decides. Deadlines and procedures can differ by municipality and provider. It does not replace legal or tax advice. That is provided by the licensed professionals you appoint directly.