Birth Register - Birth in Germany

Congratulations on the birth of your child. The Registry Office Steglitz-Zehlendorf of Berlin wishes you a great time getting to know your child and will be happy to assist you in obtaining the birth certificate.

Please ask the staff responsible in your hospital to help you to complete the formalities. They will give you a flyer with essential information and collect all the necessary documents to forward to the registry office. After certification, you will receive the birth certificates by post to your home address free of charge.

Please always include an e-mail address and a telephone number so that we can contact you quickly and easily.

The Registry Office Steglitz-Zehlendorf of Berlin is responsible for certifying births if your child was born in our district.

You will find the following information on this page:

• 1. Which documents must be submitted for certification?

  If you are married:

  • a certified printout from the marriage register or marriage certificate
  • for marriages abroad: the foreign marriage certificate with an official German translation
  • a certified printout of the parents’ birth entry or their birth certificates
  • both identity cards (or passports with police registration)
  • if applicable, the naturalization certificate, if one parent now has German nationality

  If this is not your first child, please also submit the birth certificate of the previous child.

  Note: Further documents may be required for processing.

  If you are single:

  • a certified printout of the mother’s birth entry or the birth certificate
  • the mother’s identity card (or passport with police registration)
  • if applicable, the birth certificate of the previous child
  • if applicable, the naturalization certificate, should the mother now have German citizenship

  Paternity has already been recognised:

  Please also submit the following documents:

  • the original certificate of recognition of paternity with the mother’s consent
  • a certified printout of the father’s birth entry or birth certificate
  • the father’s identity card or passport
  • if applicable, the naturalisation certificate, if the father now has German nationality

  You have made a declaration of joint custody and therefore have joint custody:

  • the original custody declaration document

  If a declaration of custody is made after the birth of the child, you only have 3 months to change your child’s surname which was assigned at birth.

  You are divorced

  • a certified printout from the marriage register with the notice of divorce or the legally binding divorce decree with the marriage certificate
  • the mother’s identity card or passport
  • the mother’s birth certificate
  • if applicable, the birth certificate of the previous child
  • if applicable, the naturalization certificate, should the mother now have German nationality
  • if applicable, reversion to the birth name or former surname

  Note: Additional documents may be required for processing.

  You are widowed

  • a certified printout from the marriage register with the notice of dissolution or the marriage certificate and the death certificate.
  • the mother’s identity card (or passport with police registration)
  • the mother’s birth certificate
  • if applicable, reversion to the birth name or former surname

  Note: Further documents may be required as part of the registration.

• 2. What first name can my child be given?

  The following have the right to give the child a first name:

  • both parents in the case of parents who are married to each other,
  • only the mother in the case of parents who are not married and have not made a declaration of custody,
  • both parents in the case of parents who are not married to each other and have joint custody at the time of the child’s birth.

  There is no definitive “catalogue” of permissible first names. When choosing a first name, please bear in mind that you are deciding on behalf of your child and that this name will accompany your child for the rest of its life. According to Sections 1626 et seq. of the German Civil Code (BGB), the legal guardians are basically free to choose a first name, but the chosen first names must not conflict with the child’s best interests. Names that do not have the character of first names may not be chosen. Several first names can be combined to form a single first name but this combination should not contain more than one hyphen. The spelling of first names is based on the general rules of German spelling.

  If you choose a first name that is not commonly used in Germany, please enquire with us whether proof of the name’s registrability is needed.

  On the Berlin Open Data Portal you will find a list of the most frequently used first names in recent years, broken down by gender and by district.

• 3. Which surname can my child have?

  If the parents have a joint married name, the child receives this as its birth name.

  If the parents have joint custody (because they are married to each other or have submitted a custody declaration to the Youth Welfare Office) but do not have a joint married name, the parents can use the mother’s surname or the father’s surname as the child’s birth name for their first joint child. This rule also applies to all further joint children for whom joint custody exists and is free of charge.

  If the mother has sole custody, the child is given the name that the mother has at the time of birth.

  Naming is possible in the following cases:

  • The sole custodial mother can give the child the name of the non-custodial father as the child’s birth name. The father must consent to the giving of the name.
  • The custodial mother and her (new) husband, who is not the child’s father, can give the child their joint married name as the child’s birth name. If the child’s father also has custody of the child or if the child bears the father’s name, the father must consent to the name change.

  If the parents marry after the birth and decide on a joint married name, the birth name of the child under the age of 5 changes automatically. For children aged 5 and over, a separate declaration must be submitted if the child’s name is also to change as a result. If no declaration is made, the child retains its previous surname.

  If the parents declare joint custody after the birth of the child, the child’s birth name can be changed within three months of the declaration of custody.

  If foreign law is to be observed, please consult us regarding the child’s name.