Germany: templates and forms
126 forms available to fill out or download. · Showing 97–120
Other parent's consent to a child's ID card or passport (Germany)
The written consent of the parent who cannot come along when a child's ID card or passport is applied for in Germany. Where parental responsibility is joint, both parents apply; the one who cannot attend sends written consent with their ID card or a copy. The consent also confirms the child's habitual residence, which some offices ask about. Many German towns offer their own consent form free of charge — this document is an independently worded alternative. In German; fill in, print and sign by hand.
Seller's notice of sale to the vehicle registration office (Germany)
The notice of sale (Veräußerungsanzeige) by which a seller in Germany tells the vehicle registration office who the new keeper is: the buyer's name, date of birth and address, the vehicle, plate and VIN, the date and hour of handover, and confirmation that the registration certificate Parts I and II were handed over (§ 15 of the German Vehicle Registration Ordinance, FZV). The seller's motor vehicle tax ends only when it arrives (§ 5(5) KraftStG). Many registration offices also offer their own free form. In German, to print, sign and hand in on the day of sale.
Objection to a tax assessment (Germany)
Your objection (Einspruch) to a notice from the German tax office — an income tax, VAT or property tax value assessment, for example — or to a child benefit decision of the Familienkasse. The deadline is one month from notification, and since 2025 a posted notice counts as notified only on the fourth day after posting (§§ 355 and 122 of the German Fiscal Code, AO). The letter identifies the notice, says what should change, gives the grounds or announces them, and can ask for payment to be suspended, because the objection alone does not stop it. In German.
Annual leave request (Germany)
A request to a German employer for annual leave (Erholungsurlaub) over set dates, with the number of working days and who covers the work, citing § 7(1) of the Federal Leave Act (BUrlG): the employee's wishes must be followed unless urgent operational needs, or colleagues with a socially stronger claim, stand in the way. It says the leave starts only once approved, and leaves room below for the employer's decision. No form is prescribed: e-mail it or hand it in. In German.
Authority to collect an ID document and handle registration matters (Germany)
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.
Vehicle handover record for a private car sale (Germany)
A handover record for a car sold privately in Germany, the companion to the sale contract. It records the date and hour of handover, the mileage, the fuel or charge level, visible damage, the keys and papers handed over (registration certificate Parts I and II, roadworthiness test report) and the price paid. It matters because tax, insurance and the registration stay with the seller until the notice of sale reaches the registration office. In German, for seller and buyer to print and sign.
Application to change a surname or first name (Germany)
A written application to the German name-change authority to change a surname, a first name or both under the Name Change Act (NamÄndG): the applicant's details, the name wanted, the important reason § 3 NamÄndG requires, the children the change extends to under § 4, and the enclosures. Not for returning to a birth name after divorce, double names (possible since 1 May 2025) or a change under the Self-Determination Act (SBGG) — those are declarations at the register office (Standesamt). In German, ready to print, sign and send.
Lasting power of attorney for health, care and property (Germany)
The German Federal Ministry of Justice publishes a free model of the Vorsorgevollmacht; this document is our own wording. You authorise someone you trust to act for you in health and care, on where you live, with authorities and in all financial matters once you can no longer do so yourself. It names medical decisions, detention and coercive measures expressly, as § 1820(2) of the German Civil Code (BGB) requires, and works towards third parties without conditions. In German, to print and sign by hand.
Claim notification to your own motor insurer (Germany)
Reporting a loss to your own German motor insurer: to the liability cover when someone else may claim against you, or to the partial or comprehensive cover (Teilkasko, Vollkasko) for damage to your own vehicle. With the policy number and plate, the date, time and place, who was driving, anyone else involved, what happened, the damage, the police and witnesses, and a question whether the insurer wants to inspect the vehicle before repair. The model motor insurance terms (AKB) ask for notice within one week; your own policy's terms govern. In German.
Request to defer tax and pay in instalments (Germany)
Your application to the German tax office (Finanzamt) to defer tax that is due under § 222 of the German Fiscal Code (AO) and pay it in instalments or later, where paying on the due date would be a substantial hardship — after a large back-payment, a lost contract or an illness, for example. The letter gives the tax, period, amount and due date, proposes a payment plan, explains the hardship, sums up income, outgoings and assets and deals with security. Deferral interest at 0.5% a month costs less than the 1% late-payment surcharge. In German.
Notice to the tax office of ceasing freelance work (Germany)
The letter a freelancer in Germany — a translator, architect, consultant, teacher or journalist, for example — sends to the tax office (Finanzamt) on giving up their self-employed profession. Section 138 of the German Fiscal Code (AO) requires the notice within one month, and there is no official form for it. It gives the tax number, the kind of work and its last day, says whether the practice is closed or sold, deals with the VAT pre-returns and asks for the advance payments to be adjusted. In German, to post or to send through ELSTER.
Employment reference request — Arbeitszeugnis (Germany)
A letter asking a German employer for a full employment reference (qualifiziertes Arbeitszeugnis) on leaving, or an interim reference (Zwischenzeugnis) while still employed — expressly covering performance and conduct, because without that request the employer owes only a basic reference stating the type and length of the work (§ 109 of the German Trade Regulation Act, GewO). It gives the job, the period of employment, the reason and a date by which the reference should be posted. No form is prescribed for the request. In German.
Shareholders' resolution appointing or removing a GmbH managing director (Germany)
A shareholders' resolution of a German GmbH or UG (haftungsbeschränkt) appointing, removing or replacing a managing director (Geschäftsführer), with the new director's acceptance. For a shareholders' meeting, a video or phone meeting, a resolution in text form without a meeting (§ 48(2) of the German Limited Companies Act, GmbHG, since 2025) and a sole shareholder. The resolution needs no notary; a notary then files the change with the commercial register — the answers below explain what is needed. In German.
Parental authority for a child's care and medical treatment (Germany)
The authority parents in Germany give grandparents, a babysitter, a childminder or the leader of a school trip to look after their child for a set period, take the child to the doctor and consent to treatment — or that one parent gives the other in advance. Choose routine treatment and emergencies, emergencies only, or a named treatment. With the health insurer, health notes and a release from medical confidentiality. Parental responsibility stays with the parents. In German, under the German Civil Code (BGB); fill in, print and have both holders of parental responsibility sign.
Parents' consent for a minor to travel abroad (Germany)
A consent for a child travelling abroad from Germany without their parents, with only one parent, with grandparents or alone. German law does not require one, but the German Foreign Office (Auswärtiges Amt) and the Federal Police recommend it. It holds what they recommend: the child's details, the details of each holder of parental responsibility and how to reach them, the journey and the accompanying adult. Written in German with an English translation on the page. Whether the signatures must be certified or translated depends on the destination. Fill in, print, sign by hand and hand it over with copies of your ID.
Living will: advance decisions on medical treatment (Germany)
The German Federal Ministry of Justice offers free text modules for a living will (Patientenverfügung); this document is our own wording under § 1827 of the German Civil Code (BGB). You set out in which situations your decisions apply — the dying phase, terminal illness, severe brain damage, advanced dementia — and decide on each measure separately: life-sustaining treatment, pain relief, artificial nutrition and hydration, resuscitation, ventilation, dialysis, antibiotics, blood and organ donation. Situations and measures are named specifically, as the Federal Court of Justice requires. In German, signed by hand; no notary.
Request for paid educational leave (Germany)
An employee's request in Germany for paid educational leave (Bildungsurlaub, called Bildungszeit or Bildungsfreistellung in some Länder) for a recognised course, with its title, organiser, place, dates, number of working days and proof of recognition. One document for all 14 Länder that have an educational leave law: choose the Land where you work, whose law sets the entitlement, the waiting period, the notice period and course recognition. Bavaria has no educational leave, and Saxony only from 1 January 2027. In German.
Request to extend the tax return deadline (Germany)
Your request to the German tax office (Finanzamt) to extend the deadline for an income tax, VAT or other tax return under § 109 of the German Fiscal Code (AO) — because of illness, missing papers or a move, for example. For 2025 returns filed without an adviser, the deadline was 31 July 2026. The letter gives the return, the year, the current and the requested deadline and the reason, and asks in the alternative for a backdated extension, so that no late-filing surcharge of at least €25 a month is charged. In German, to post, fax or send through ELSTER.
Parental leave notice to the employer — Elternzeit (Germany)
The notice by which an employee in Germany claims parental leave (Elternzeit) under § 16 of the Federal Parental Allowance and Parental Leave Act (BEEG): the child, the date of birth or due date, the start and end of the leave and any further periods, with the binding choice for the first two years and a request for confirmation. It must reach the employer at least seven weeks before the leave starts, or 13 weeks before leave after the third birthday. For children born or placed for adoption from 1 May 2025, text form such as e-mail is enough; for older children a hand-signed original is required. In German.
Carer directive: wishes for a court-appointed carer (Germany)
The German Federal Ministry of Justice publishes a free model of the Betreuungsverfügung; this document is our own wording. You set out whom the guardianship court should appoint as your legal carer, who comes second and whom you reject, and record your wishes on housing, care and daily life. The court must follow your proposal unless the person is unsuitable (§ 1816(2) of the German Civil Code, BGB), and the carer must follow your wishes (§ 1821 BGB). In German, to sign by hand; certification at the local care authority is possible.
Employee confidentiality agreement (Germany)
A confidentiality agreement with an employee in Germany, in German, that protects trade secrets as one of the reasonable secrecy measures the German Trade Secrets Act (GeschGehG) requires: named kinds of confidential information, duties during the employment, a duty afterwards limited to those secrets and a set period, return of documents, and the statutory exceptions for whistleblowers. It leaves out the catch-all clause on all internal matters that the Federal Labour Court struck down in 2024, and any ban on discussing one's own pay.
Post-employment non-compete agreement (Germany)
An agreement barring an employee in Germany from competing after the job ends, in German, under §§ 74 ff. of the German Commercial Code (HGB): the barred activities, the area, a length of at most two years and the compensation of at least half the last pay without which the ban is not binding. With the offset of other earnings, the duty to report them and the employer's waiver under § 75a HGB. Written form: print it, both sign by hand, and the employee is handed an original signed by the employer.
Landlord's termination for rent arrears, with ordinary notice in the alternative (Germany)
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.
Open-ended employment contract (Germany)
A permanent employment contract for full- or part-time work in Germany, in German, with every essential term the German Evidence Act (Nachweisgesetz, NachwG) requires: start, job, place of work, probation, hours and breaks, overtime, pay and when it is due, the minimum wage, leave, notice periods under § 622 of the German Civil Code (BGB), the written form of a dismissal and the deadline to sue, collective agreements, training and pension. Its time limit for claims leaves the minimum wage untouched and asks only for text form.