Birth; Notice

The child’s birth must be registered by the civil registry office with jurisdiction over the area where the child was born.

Written Notification for Births in a Hospital

If a child is born in a hospital or other facility that provides obstetric care, the facility’s operator (usually the administration) is required to report the birth. For this purpose, the facility’s administration will collect the parents’ information and request that they provide the necessary documents and proof. The child’s first names may also be determined at the time of the written notification. Nevertheless, it cannot be ruled out that the parents may need to visit the civil registry office in person. This is particularly necessary, for example, if a declaration regarding the child’s last name is required or if, in the case of an unmarried mother, the father wishes to acknowledge paternity.

Verbal Registration

If a written registration is not possible, the child’s birth must be registered verbally at the civil registry office. This is the case, for example, in the event of a home birth.

The following persons are required to register the birth:

• Each parent of the child, if they have custody.
• Any other person who was present at the birth or who has personal knowledge of the birth.

You can submit your documents either by mail or by placing them in the mailbox at City Hall or at the Registry Office on the 3rd floor. Alternatively, you can schedule an in-person appointment to submit your documents at the Registry Office.

Please also refer to our information sheet on birth registration.

After a birth is reported, the civil registry office records the birth in the birth registry. The following information about the child and his or her parents is entered:

• date, time, and place of birth,
• the child’s first names and last name,
• the child’s gender,
• the first names and last names of the parents.

In addition to the information provided, the registry records of the parents’ marriage, as well as the birth registry records for children born in Germany and those with unmarried parents, are also provided.

I don’t yet have all the documents needed to register my child’s birth. What can I do?

If the documents required for the birth registration are not yet complete, you can apply for a provisional birth certificate for your child at the registry office. This certificate will then be issued based on the information currently on file. It is intended for submission to the child benefit and parental allowance office, the health insurance provider, and other relevant agencies. The provisional certificate costs €12.00.

The child's mother is the woman who gave birth to the child.

The child’s father is the mother’s husband. If the child was born after the husband’s death, he is considered the father if the child was born within 300 days of his death. If the mother is divorced and the child was born after the divorce decree became final, the former husband is not considered the child’s father.

If the child’s mother is not married at the time of the child’s birth, the civil registry office may only list a man as the father on the birth certificate if he has acknowledged paternity. The same applies if the mother is in a registered domestic partnership at the time of the birth. For this purpose, it is possible to acknowledge paternity even before the birth is registered.

Upon request, the competent civil registry office issues birth certificates based on the birth register, which include the essential data from the birth register regarding the child and its parents. In addition, certified copies of the birth register (which are a verbatim reproduction of the birth register’s contents) may also be issued. For more information, see “Civil Status Certificate; Issuance” under “Related Topics.”

You will automatically receive the tax identification number after the birth of your newborn child has been registered at the civil registry office. To this end, the civil registry office generates a notification to the relevant registration authority. This authority then forwards the notification to the Federal Central Tax Office. The Federal Central Tax Office will then mail the tax identification number to you.

The birth must be reported to the registry office within one week.

• If the parents are married to each other:
  
  • Marriage certificate or certified copy of the marriage registry
  • Valid passports or ID cards for both parents
• If the parents are not married to each other:
  
  • Unmarried mothers: Birth certificate or certified printout from the mother’s birth registry
  • Mothers in a registered civil partnership: civil partnership certificate or certified printout from the civil partnership registry (also applies to annulled and dissolved civil partnerships)
  • Divorced mothers: Marriage certificate or certified printout from the marriage registry for the divorced marriage, with a note of divorce; if married abroad: Marriage certificate with a final divorce decree
  • Widowed mothers: Marriage certificate or certified printout from the marriage registry for the last marriage, noting the husband’s death; alternatively, marriage and death certificates or a certified printout from the marriage and death registries
  • if applicable, proof of any prior acknowledgments of paternity and declarations of custody
  • Valid passport or national ID card of the mother

  To register the father, we recommend that you visit the civil registry office together.

• The following documents from the father are required:
  
  • Birth certificate or certified printout from the birth registry
  • Valid passport or national ID card
• General Information:
  
  • All documents must be submitted as originals; photocopies will not be accepted!
  • Documents in foreign languages must be in international format or accompanied by a translation (by a publicly appointed and sworn translator or interpreter!).
  • The documents listed above are generally required. In special cases, additional documents may be necessary! Your local civil registry office will be happy to advise you. 
    It is advisable—especially when registering a birth verbally—to check with the registry office responsible for birth registration to confirm whether the documents listed above are sufficient.

• Information Sheet on Birth Registration
  For detailed information on the required documents and the applicable naming laws, please refer to our information sheet on birth registration.

Registering the birth of a newborn child in Erlangen is free of charge. However, a fee of €12.00 is charged for each birth certificate issued. Birth certificates required for applying for child benefit, parental allowance, and maternity pay are issued free of charge. If the registration of a birth must be postponed due to missing documents from the parents, a provisional certificate of the child’s birth can be issued for a fee of €12.00.

How can I pay for the certificates for my newborn child?

The Registry Office will send you an email with the necessary information for paying for the certificates for your newborn child. If you did not provide an email address on the birth notification form, we will contact you by phone or mail.

As a rule, the registry office receives the birth notification from the maternity hospital or birthing center via a hospital courier within one week. The notifications must then be reviewed. If all the documents required for registration are already on file, the birth can usually be registered within two weeks of receipt. If any documents are missing, registration will be delayed until they are submitted. After registration, the birth certificates are mailed to the parents. If original foreign documents were submitted along with the application, the birth certificates can be picked up from the registry office together with the originals. The exact pickup times will then be communicated to the parents via email.