Germany: templates and forms

A claim letter to the airline under EU Regulation (EC) No 261/2004, written for Germany: €250, €400 or €600 compensation per passenger when you reached your destination three hours or more late, your flight was cancelled at short notice, or you were denied boarding. It sets out the flight, the amount by distance, a refusal of vouchers, your out-of-pocket costs and a payment deadline, and names the German conciliation bodies that come next. For passengers on the same booking too. In German.

A letter cancelling your home-contents, personal liability, legal expenses, buildings, accident or pet liability insurance in Germany: with ordinary notice at the end of the insurance period, within one month of a premium increase (§ 40 of the German Insurance Contract Act, VVG), after a claim, or, for contracts of more than three years, at the end of the third year (§ 11 VVG) — each time, failing that, for the earliest possible date. It revokes the direct-debit mandate and asks for confirmation of the end date. Motor insurance has a document of its own. In German.

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.

A letter cancelling your German motor insurance with your current insurer: at the end of the insurance year, early after a premium increase or a claim, or after buying a used vehicle whose policy passed to you (§ 96 of the German Insurance Contract Act, VVG). For all cover or for the comprehensive cover only, asking the insurer to confirm the end date and refund any unused premium. For most policies, a cancellation for 31 December must reach the insurer by 30 November. In German, ready to send.

The authority that lets someone else collect your new ID card or passport at the German citizens' office (Bürgeramt), register or deregister your address for you, or apply for and collect a registration certificate. With the statement that the PIN letter has arrived, without which an ID card is not handed to a representative. Some offices offer their own form free of charge; this one is an independently worded alternative. In German, under the German Civil Code (BGB); fill in, print, sign by hand and give the original to your representative.

A consumer complaint to your electricity or gas supplier in Germany — a wrong bill, excessive instalments, a meter reading not taken over, a missing bonus or a termination left unconfirmed. The letter gives customer number, meter number and supply address, describes the problem, asks for a remedy and points to the four-week statutory deadline for an answer (§ 111a of the German Energy Industry Act, EnWG). If it fails, it is the precondition for a free application to the energy conciliation body, the Schlichtungsstelle Energie (§ 111b EnWG). Not for water or district heating. In German.

A letter to your German bank or Sparkasse to refund a direct debit, stop a debit that has been announced, refuse a payee's future debits, or cancel a standing order. A SEPA core direct debit can be reclaimed within eight weeks of the debit with no reason given (§ 675x of the German Civil Code, BGB), and a debit taken without a valid mandate up to 13 months later (§§ 675u, 676b BGB). A standing order or an announced debit can be revoked until the end of the business day before it is carried out (§ 675p BGB). With the payee, mandate reference, amount and date. In German.

A letter to the payee — a gym, insurer, club, mail-order shop or debt collector in Germany — revoking your SEPA direct debit mandate (formerly Einzugsermächtigung). It gives the mandate reference, the creditor identifier and your IBAN, forbids further debits from receipt, and says how payment continues: you will pay by transfer, the contract has ended, or you will pay from another account. Revoking the mandate ends neither the contract nor what you owe. If a debit still arrives, your bank refunds a SEPA core direct debit within eight weeks, no reason needed (§ 675x of the German Civil Code, BGB). In German.

A mutual NDA under German law for two businesses or freelancers who exchange confidential information before working together: the purpose, what is and is not confidential, sharing only with staff and advisers, an express ban on reverse engineering the samples and prototypes handed over (§ 3(1) no. 2 of the German Trade Secrets Act, GeschGehG), return and deletion, duration, and a contractual penalty of your choice — set at the injured party's reasonable discretion subject to the court, a fixed sum, or none. Signing it also counts as a reasonable secrecy measure under the Act. In German.

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.

The letter to the German tax office (Finanzamt) that returns a business to the small-business scheme of § 19 of the German VAT Act (UStG) after it had waived the scheme and charged VAT. The waiver binds for at least five calendar years and can then be revoked only from the start of a later calendar year. The letter names the year of the waiver and the year from which the scheme should apply again, and states that turnover stays within the €25,000 and €100,000 limits. Germany has no ‘VAT deregistration’: this is the route. In German.

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.

A landlord's notice in Germany when the tenant is behind with the rent: without notice under § 543(2) of the German Civil Code (BGB) and, at the same time, ordinary notice in the alternative under § 573(2) no. 1 BGB — because if the tenant pays up, only the termination without notice falls away (BGH VIII ZR 106/23). The letter states the ground and every unpaid month, sets a date to hand the flat back, objects to a tacit extension and tells the tenant about the objection in text form. In German, to print and sign by hand by every landlord.

An agreement ending a German employment relationship by mutual consent (Aufhebungsvertrag), in German: end date, pay and garden leave, severance, remaining leave, a reference with an agreed grade, employment papers and a clean-break clause. Its preamble records the reason that decides whether unemployment benefit is blocked for 12 weeks (§ 159 SGB III), and it warns of that block and of the duty to register as a job-seeker. Under § 623 of the German Civil Code (BGB) it is valid only if printed and signed by hand by both sides: the electronic form is excluded.

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.

A letter withdrawing from a purchase made online, by phone or by catalogue, or from a contract signed at your door, in Germany. Under §§ 312g and 355 of the German Civil Code (BGB) a consumer may withdraw within 14 days without giving reasons. The letter carries everything the statutory model withdrawal form asks for — order date, date the goods arrived, order number, the goods, your name and address — in its own words, and asks for the refund within 14 days and a confirmation of receipt. In German, ready to send by e-mail or post.

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.

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.

Revoking a power of attorney in Germany: a letter to the agent asking for the power of attorney document back (§ 175 of the German Civil Code, BGB), which doubles as the notice to the bank, office or other body the power was shown or announced to — each receives a signed copy, because towards them the power stays in force until they are told it has ended (§§ 170–173 BGB). With the court route for declaring an unreturned document void (§ 176 BGB). In German; fill in, print, sign and deliver to each recipient with proof of receipt.

The letter a tenant in Germany uses to end a residential lease. Under § 573c of the German Civil Code (BGB) the tenant's notice period is three months: notice that arrives by the third working day of a month ends the tenancy at the end of the month after next. The letter gives notice to the chosen date, or else to the next possible one, and can invoke the special rights after a rent increase (§ 561 BGB) or a refused sublet (§ 540 BGB). Written form is required (§ 568 BGB): print it and have every tenant sign by hand — by e-mail it is void. In German.

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.

A joint list, drawn up by both spouses in Germany, of what each owned and owed on the wedding day, plus inheritances and gifts received during the marriage, with values. Under § 1377 of the German Civil Code (BGB), an inventory the spouses draw up together, dated and signed by both, is presumed correct between them; without one, everything a spouse owns at the end is presumed to be gain when the gains are equalised on divorce. No notary needed. Separate property or another regime needs a notarised marriage contract, which this is not. In German.

The application to a school's head in Germany for adjustments (Nachteilsausgleich) for a pupil with a disability, a chronic illness or an impairment such as dyslexia: adapted conditions for tests and exams — more time, breaks, a separate room or aids — without lowering the standard expected. It describes how the impairment affects the pupil's work, the adjustments requested and the period, and encloses a medical or specialist report. Each Land makes its own rules; you choose the Land on the form. Apply in good time before the exams. In German, ready to print, sign and hand in.

A request to a German employer for unpaid special leave (unbezahlter Sonderurlaub) over set dates, giving the reason and the terms both sides agree: release from work without pay, the employment continuing, and a return on the same terms. There is no general statutory right to it, so the leave exists only once the employer agrees, and the document has room below for that consent. It points out that social insurance cover continues for one month at most (§ 7(3) of the German Social Code, Book IV, SGB IV), after which health insurance must be arranged. In German.