Notice closing a current account (Germany)
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This document is in German
The PDF you download is in German — that is the language it has to be filed in, so it is not translated. Everything on this page is here to tell you what it says.
A letter to a German bank or savings bank (Sparkasse) closing your current account (Girokonto), whether you are leaving altogether or switching to a new bank. It gives the IBAN, the account holder and date of birth, the closing date you want and the account for the remaining balance, ends the linked cards, overdraft and online banking, and asks for written confirmation. Under § 675h of the German Civil Code (BGB) you may close the account at any time without notice, unless a notice period of at most one month was agreed, and closing is free. A choice covers switching through the statutory switching service (§§ 20 ff. ZKG). In German.
What you fill in
The details the document asks for.
- Customer
- Customer's address
- Bank
- Address of the bank that holds the account
- City
- Date
- IBAN of the current account
- Customer number at the bank
- Date of termination
- Date of birth
- Switching banks (with or without the statutory switching service)
- Account to transfer the balance to
Preview
This document is produced for you. Your answers are typed into it and the finished PDF is yours to keep.
Common questions
- Can I close my current account in Germany at any time, and may the bank charge for it?
- Yes. You may end the account agreement at any time without notice, even if it runs for a fixed term; only an agreed notice period applies, and one longer than a month is void (§ 675h(1) of the German Civil Code, BGB). The bank may not charge for the termination itself (§ 675h(4) BGB). Regular account fees are owed only pro rata up to the closing date, and fees paid in advance are refunded pro rata.
- How does switching with the statutory account switching service work in Germany?
- You authorise your new bank to carry out the switch. It acts within two business days of the authorisation, obtains the lists of your standing orders and direct debits from the old bank, and sets up the standing orders within five business days of receiving them; both banks are liable for mistakes (§§ 20 ff. of the German Payment Accounts Act, ZKG). Choose the switching-service option in the letter so that the old bank closes the account only after these steps. Without it, the letter asks for a list and you move the payments yourself.
- How do I deliver the account closure to a German bank with proof?
- No statute prescribes a form, and the bank's terms may not demand more of a consumer than text form (§ 309 no. 13 BGB), so an online-banking message or an e-mail is enough. But the notice takes effect only when it reaches the bank (§ 130 BGB), and you must be able to prove that. The safest way is to hand the signed letter in at a branch and have receipt confirmed on a copy. The tracking record of a registered letter dropped in the letterbox (Einwurf-Einschreiben) does not on its own prove receipt (Federal Labour Court, 2 AZR 68/24).
- What happens to the balance, overdraft, cards and a joint account when a German current account is closed?
- After settling the account the bank transfers any balance to the account you name; a negative balance must be paid off, and an arranged overdraft ends with the account. The cards for the account stop working; make them unusable after closure unless the bank asks for them back. For a joint account, the account agreement decides whether one holder can close it alone — it is safest for all holders to sign the letter.
How you can sign this document
- Print it and sign by hand. The signature lines in the document are left blank on purpose — sign on them in ink.
- Sign it yourself with a qualified electronic signature. If you already hold a QES — Evrotrust, B-Trust, StampIT, ZealiD or any qualified provider on the EU Trusted List, on a card, a USB token, in a mobile app or in the cloud — our signing guide explains step by step how to sign this exact file without invalidating it. Step-by-step help, and a way to check it worked
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