Germany: templates and forms
126 forms available to fill out or download. · Showing 49–72
Service contract between businesses — Dienstvertrag (Germany)
A contract between two businesses in Germany for ongoing or one-off services — consulting, IT support, marketing, bookkeeping, agency work — where the provider owes careful performance rather than a particular result (a Dienstvertrag under §§ 611 ff. of the German Civil Code, BGB). It covers the scope and what lies outside it, independent performance, term and notice, the fee with a payment deadline and the statutory consequences of late payment, re-performance, confidentiality, a data processing agreement under Art. 28 GDPR, rights in work results and a liability cap. In German.
Notice of defect and demand for repair or replacement with a deadline (Germany)
A complaint to the seller about faulty goods bought in Germany: you report the defect, choose repair or replacement (§§ 437 and 439 of the German Civil Code, BGB) and set a deadline. It follows the sales law in force since 2022 — a defect that appears within a year of delivery is presumed to have been there from the start (§ 477 BGB), the seller must act within a reasonable time of being told (§ 475(5) BGB) and pays the costs — and, for purchases from 31 July 2026, the extra twelve months of limitation after a repair (§ 475e(5) BGB). In German.
Data subject access request under Article 15 GDPR (Germany)
Your request to a company, club or other body in Germany that processes data about you: under Article 15 of the GDPR (DSGVO in German) you ask what data it holds, why, who receives it, how long it keeps it and where it came from, and for a copy of the data — the first copy free. The answer is due within one month (Article 12(3)). If none comes, you can complain to the data protection authority of your German state. For customer, member and user accounts. In German.
Withdrawal from a sale or price reduction after a failed repair (Germany)
The second step of a complaint about faulty goods in Germany. If the seller did not repair or replace the goods in time after being told of the defect, the defect returned after a repair, or the seller refused, you declare withdrawal from the sale or a reduction of the price (§§ 437 and 441 of the German Civil Code, BGB) — when buying from a trader, without a further deadline (§ 475d BGB). With purchase date, defect, ground, amount to refund, deadline for payment and IBAN. In German.
Notice ending a mobile phone or internet contract (Germany)
A notice ending a mobile, DSL, cable or fibre contract in Germany under the Telecommunications Act (TKG): ordinary notice at the earliest date, one month's notice once the minimum term has ended (§ 56 TKG), notice because you are moving (§ 60 TKG), because the internet is too slow and a deadline to fix it has passed, with the regulator's measurement record (§ 57(4) TKG), or after a one-sided change to the contract. With customer and contract numbers, phone number and a request to confirm the end date. In German.
Contract for work between businesses — Werkvertrag (Germany)
A contract between two businesses in Germany for a defined result — software, a website, an expert report, a concept, a repair or an installation — that the contractor answers for (a Werkvertrag under §§ 631 ff. of the German Civil Code, BGB). It includes the specification and agreed quality, a completion date, an acceptance procedure with the deadline of § 640(2) BGB, the fee falling due on acceptance, rights for defects, termination, usage rights in the work, confidentiality and a liability cap. Not for construction contracts, nor for making movable goods, which sales law governs. In German.
Cancelling a gym contract or subscription (Germany)
A letter cancelling a gym contract or another running subscription in Germany — a membership, a magazine, a streaming or delivery plan. You give ordinary notice for the earliest possible date, or terminate for good cause under § 314 of the German Civil Code (BGB), such as a lasting illness with a doctor's certificate; you revoke the SEPA direct-debit mandate from the end date and ask for confirmation of it in writing. For contracts since 1 March 2022, at most one month's notice applies after the first term (§ 309 No. 9 BGB). In German.
Invitation letter for a visitor visa (Germany)
The letter in which you invite a relative or friend from a country whose nationals need a visa to visit you in Germany, addressed to the German embassy or consulate-general: details of the person invited and of you, the purpose and dates of the visit, where they will stay and who bears the costs. No form is prescribed for it. It is not a formal guarantee of costs (Verpflichtungserklärung) under § 68 of the German Residence Act (AufenthG): that is made separately at the foreigners' authority, on its official form, if the mission asks for one. In German.
Payment reminder and dunning letter to a business customer (Germany)
A letter to another business that has not paid an invoice — as a friendly payment reminder or as the final demand before a court payment order. It names the invoice, the due date and the day default began (at the latest 30 days after the due date and receipt, § 286(3) of the German Civil Code, BGB), calculates default interest at nine points above the base rate, claims the €40 flat fee (§ 288(2) and (5) BGB) and sets a deadline. Laid out as a German business letter (DIN 5008), in German. Consumers as debtors have a separate demand letter.
Small-amount invoice up to €250 (Germany)
A template for invoices up to €250 including VAT, with the simplified particulars of § 33 of the German VAT Implementing Ordinance (UStDV): the supplier's name and address, the date of issue, the quantity and type of goods or services, the total including tax and the tax rate — the customer, an invoice number and the tax number are not required. Small-amount invoices are permanently exempt from the e-invoice duty and may still be issued on paper or in another electronic form, such as a PDF. In German.
Objection to data transfers from the population register (Germany)
The informal letter to the German registration office (Meldebehörde) that has transfer blocks entered in the population register: you object, point by point, to your data being passed to political parties before elections, to office-holders and the press for birthday and wedding anniversaries, to address-book publishers (§ 50(5) of the Federal Registration Act, BMG) and to a family member's religious community (§ 42(3) BMG). It leaves out the objection to transfers to the Bundeswehr, abolished on 1 January 2026. Many offices also offer their own free form. In German.
Invoice with VAT under § 14 UStG (Germany)
An invoice template with every particular § 14(4) of the German VAT Act (UStG) requires: both parties' names and addresses, tax number or VAT ID, invoice number and date, time of supply, quantity and type of goods or services, net amount, rate, tax and gross amount, plus payment terms and the default notice. On e-invoicing: between businesses in Germany a PDF is enough only until the end of 2026 (with the recipient's consent), and until the end of 2027 at up to €800,000 prior-year turnover; then an e-invoice is compulsory. To consumers a PDF stays allowed. In German.
Managing director's service contract for a GmbH (Germany)
The service contract between a German GmbH or UG (haftungsbeschränkt) and its managing director (Geschäftsführer), separate from the appointment by shareholders' resolution. It covers duties and transactions needing the shareholders' consent, start and place of work, salary and variable pay, sick pay, holiday, a non-compete during the contract, confidentiality, termination and garden leave after removal from office. It records the director's shareholding and says when the director is insured as an employee: without shares always; a shareholder-director is self-employed only with a majority or a blocking minority over all company business. In German.
Freelance contract with grant of usage rights (Germany)
A contract between a business and a self-employed freelancer in Germany — in design, copywriting, programming, consulting or media, for example — granting usage rights in the work results under the German Copyright Act (UrhG). It describes genuinely independent work, without instructions on time, place and method and without integration into the client's organisation, and covers the fee, the small-business VAT rule, the artists' social levy, confidentiality and termination. It states the risk of disguised employment plainly: the facts decide, not the label (§ 7(1) SGB IV). With a choice on the status determination under § 7a SGB IV. In German.
Conciliation application to the federal Universal Conciliation Body, with a consumer-centre complaint (Germany)
The Universalschlichtungsstelle des Bundes in Kehl, Germany's catch-all consumer conciliation body, offers its own free online form. This document is your written application for it: the facts, your claim and its value, your earlier attempt with the trader and the declarations needed, to upload, email or post. The procedure is free for consumers, covers claims from €10 to €50,000 where no sector body is competent, and needs the trader to take part. With a short complaint to the consumer centre (Verbraucherzentrale) of your German state. In German.
Invoice for a small business under § 19 UStG (Germany)
An invoice template for small businesses that charge no VAT, with the note on the small-business exemption under § 19 of the German VAT Act (UStG) that § 34a UStDV has required since 2025: both parties' names and addresses, tax number or VAT ID, date, invoice number, the goods or services and the total, plus payment terms and the default notice. A small business has turnover of at most €25,000 last year and at most €100,000 this year; in the year it starts trading the limit is €25,000. It may keep issuing paper and PDF invoices for good, but must still be able to receive e-invoices. In German.
Request for a pupil's leave of absence from lessons (Germany)
The written request to a school's head in Germany to grant a pupil leave from lessons for an important reason, such as a family event that cannot be moved. It gives the name, class, dates, reason and evidence, states that the leave is not for extending the holidays, and asks for a written decision before it starts. Each Land's school law decides who grants leave and how early to apply; you choose the Land on the form. Missing school without permission to extend the holidays can lead to a fine. In German, ready to print, sign and hand in.
Application for a care level (Germany)
The application to a German long-term care insurer (Pflegekasse) for care-insurance benefits and the assessment that sets a care level (Pflegegrad) — for yourself or, with a power of attorney or a carer's card from the court, for someone else. An informal application is enough, but only a written one proves the date from which benefits run (§ 33 of Book XI of the Social Code, SGB XI). It flags the shorter deadlines after a hospital stay or announced care leave, and adds a ready letter claiming €70 per week begun if the insurer misses its 25 working days. In German.
Application to the health insurer to cover or refund costs (Germany)
The application asking a German statutory health insurer (Krankenkasse) to pay for treatment, a medical aid or another service — before treatment, as a request for cost cover with the three-, five- or six-week decision deadline of § 13(3a) of Book V of the Social Code (SGB V), or afterwards, as a claim for reimbursement where the insurer missed the deadline, could not provide urgent care in time or wrongly refused it. In German, with no diagnosis in the letter: the enclosed prescription gives the medical reasons.
Data processing agreement under Art. 28 GDPR (Germany)
The data processing agreement (Auftragsverarbeitungsvertrag, AVV) every business in Germany needs when a service provider processes personal data for it — hosting, cloud software, payroll, newsletters, IT support. It contains everything Art. 28(3) GDPR requires: subject-matter, duration, nature and purpose, types of data and data subjects, instructions, confidentiality, security, sub-processors, assistance, deletion or return, information and audits, with annexes for the technical and organisational measures and the sub-processors. Free models from supervisory authorities and the European Commission also exist. In German.
Complaint about medical treatment (Germany)
One letter for four routes after treatment in Germany you are unhappy with or suspect was faulty: a complaint to the practice or hospital itself, a professional-conduct complaint to the regional medical chamber (Landesärztekammer), an application to the chamber's expert or mediation board (Gutachterkommission or Schlichtungsstelle), and a request to the health insurer for support under § 66 of Book V of the Social Code (SGB V). With the facts, the route you choose and, if you wish, a release from medical confidentiality. In German, for every Land.
Request for a replacement school certificate (Germany)
The letter asking your former school in Germany for a replacement (Zweitschrift) of a lost or damaged certificate, such as the Abitur certificate or a school-leaving certificate. It names the certificate, the year it was issued, the years at the school and your name at the time, asks for your present name after a change of name, and asks about any fee beforehand. If the school has closed, it goes to the school that keeps its records or to the school administration of its operator. Each Land sets its own fees and procedure; in Brandenburg the school offices take applications on their own form. In German, ready to print, sign and send.
Objection to a decision of the health or care insurer (Germany)
The objection (Widerspruch) to a decision of your German statutory health or long-term care insurer (Krankenkasse or Pflegekasse) — for instance refusing treatment, a medical aid or rehabilitation, or setting too low a care level. With the decision's date, the reference, your reasons and a request to see the file, so you can add to the reasons once you have read the expert opinion. To print, sign and post: under § 84 of the Social Courts Act (SGG) a plain e-mail is not a valid objection. Deadline: one month. In German.
Special termination of an electricity or gas contract after a price rise (Germany)
Notice ending your electricity or gas contract in Germany after an announced price increase, without a notice period, on the day the new price is due to apply. Outside basic supply this rests on § 41(5) of the German Energy Industry Act (EnWG), in basic supply (Grundversorgung) on § 5(3) of the StromGVV or GasGVV; basic supply can also be ended at any time on two weeks' notice. With customer and meter numbers, supply address, date of the price notice, a fallback notice for the next possible date and a request to confirm the end date in text form. In German.