Resident Registration Information; Requesting Basic or Extended Information from the Resident Registration System

The recipient of the information is required to inform the data subject in accordance with Article 14, paragraphs 1–4 of the GDPR. Exceptions to this are the cases listed in Article 14, paragraph 5 of the GDPR, if and to the extent that

• the data subject already has the information,
• providing this information proves impossible or would involve a disproportionate effort,
• the collection or disclosure is expressly regulated by German or Union law to which the controller is subject and which provides for appropriate measures to protect the data subject’s legitimate interests, or
• the personal data is subject to professional secrecy, including a statutory duty of confidentiality, under German or Union law.

In the case of a basic or extended registration record inquiry, the obligation to provide information under Article 14 of the GDPR also does not apply if

• fulfilling this obligation would impair a legal interest, in particular the assertion of legal claims, unless the data subject’s legitimate interest in the fulfillment of the obligation to provide information outweighs such interest.

Basic Resident Registration Inquiry

If you are looking for a person, you may request a basic residence registry inquiry from the registration office in whose jurisdiction the person you are seeking has, to the best of your knowledge, resided. If you can provide sufficiently specific details about this person, you will receive information regarding their first and last names, doctoral degree, current addresses, and—if the person has died—this fact. The provision of basic registration information is permitted only if the identity of the person about whom information is sought can be unequivocally established based on the details provided in the request regarding the family name, former names, first names, date of birth, gender, or an address, and the person or entity requesting the information declares that the data will not be used for advertising or address trading purposes. If, based on the information you provide (e.g., only first and last name), multiple people meet the search criteria, it is not possible to provide the information. If necessary, the registration office will inform you of this or ask you for additional criteria (e.g., date of birth).

Information is provided only regarding current names and current addresses. This means that if you inquire about the residence of a person you are seeking at a registration office that was previously responsible for that person, that office will also provide you with information regarding the person’s previous address. The registration office is not required to check with the new registration office (the address where the person moved to) to confirm whether the person you are looking for still lives there before providing the information. If the person has moved multiple times, you may therefore need to submit several requests for information before you can obtain their current address.

You will not receive information, for example, about a person’s birth name, former names, or date of birth.

Of course, you can also request information about a large number of residents whose names are known (e.g., for class reunions). However, even in this case, each individual must be clearly identifiable by name.

Basic information from the registration records can also be provided automatically (see “Online Process”). In this case, the requirements for identifying the person in question are more stringent: In addition to the competent registration authority, you must provide the person’s last name or a former last name and at least one corresponding first name. In addition, an address (which may be outdated) or two other pieces of information from the list specified in Section 49(5) of the Federal Registration Act must be provided for the person in question; however, the data on gender and marital status may not be used together.

Extended Resident Registration Information

Provided you can demonstrate a legitimate interest, you may be granted extended registration information in addition to last names, first names, doctoral degrees, current addresses, and, where applicable, information regarding a person’s death. This may include information on former names, date and place of birth, and—if the person was born abroad—the country of birth, marital status, current nationalities, former addresses, dates of moving in and out, last name and first names, as well as the address of the legal representative, spouse, or domestic partner; and the date and place of death, as well as the country of death if the person died abroad. The term “legitimate interest” encompasses any interest of a legal, economic, or even non-material nature that is recognized as worthy of protection.

Group Information

Information from the registration records concerning a large number of unnamed individuals may only be provided if it is in the public interest. The public interest refers to the interest of the general public, which must be distinguished from the interests of individual persons or groups. It must be a domestic public interest. The determination of whether a public interest exists may generally be made by the registration authority itself or, in cases of doubt, by the higher-level supervisory authority. With regard to the composition of the group of individuals, only the following data may be used: date of birth, gender, current nationality, current addresses, dates of moving in and moving out, and marital status. In addition to the fact of membership in the group, data regarding last name, first name, doctoral degree, age, gender, nationalities, current addresses, and legal representatives—including their last name, first name, and address—may be disclosed.

A prerequisite for receiving basic information from the resident registry is that you do not use it for advertising or address trading purposes and that you declare this to the registration authority.

To receive an expanded registration record, you must demonstrate a legitimate interest.

For a group-based record, a public interest must be demonstrated.

• As much detail as possible about the person you are looking for
  

  (Possible combinations include: last name, first name, date of birth, former names, gender, address)

• If the data is to be used for commercial purposes, this must be specified. It is prohibited to use data from a registration record for commercial purposes without specifying this purpose in the request.

• 10 euros, provided that information from the resident registry can be provided in writing without the need for further inquiries or investigations
• 9.52 euros (minimum) for information from the resident registration records via the “Bürgerauskunft” portal
• up to 15 euros per case for expanded residence registry information or if verification requires inquiries, investigations, or access to registration records outside the residence registry

Since this is a processing fee, the person making the request must pay the fee even if the person being sought is not registered, cannot be located, or the information provided is already known. 

Please do not make advance bank transfers.

Please do not send certified checks.

Please enclose the fee in cash with your request, or you will receive an invoice.

Procedures for very frequent requests for information from the resident registration system:

Institutions that frequently request information from the resident registry (e.g., banks, savings banks, collection agencies, attorneys, and others) may register for the City of Erlangen’s online resident registration service by entering into a user agreement, allowing them to retrieve basic resident registration information online and upon receipt of an invoice. Invoices are issued once a year. A fee of 8 euros per inquiry is charged. Interested parties should contact Mr. Gügel at + (49) 09131 / 86 - 2208.

In addition to information about the online procedures, you can still submit a request by mail or fax.