Moving checklist: these companies need to be informed

Stage 1: The first 14 days

• Register at the residents' registration office – legal deadline: 14 days after moving in
• Request the landlord's confirmation (mandatory for registration)
• Photograph electricity, gas and water meter readings on move-out and move-in day
• Inform your electricity and gas providers about the move, or carry the contract over
• Check Deutsche Post's mail-forwarding service – 6 months from around €32.90 online
• Put your name on the doorbell and letterbox

Registration is the only item with a genuine legal deadline. If you miss it by a wide margin, you risk a fine – the framework under the Federal Registration Act allows for up to €1,000. Appointments at citizen service centres in big cities are often booked out weeks in advance, so book yours before the move if you can.

Stage 2: The first four weeks

• Update your bank, credit card provider, brokerage and savings accounts
• Notify all insurers – especially home contents and car insurance
• Inform your employer and HR department
• Notify the tax office if your local office changes
• Vehicle registration office: update the address on your vehicle registration certificate
• Health insurance fund, pension insurance, family benefits office

Two points here matter financially. Home contents insurance usually covers both the old and new flat only for a transition period of around two months – after that, only the registered address counts. And car insurance premiums are calculated by regional risk class: moving from a big city to the countryside can save several hundred euros a year, while the reverse can make it more expensive.

Stage 3: Check contracts and subscriptions

• Internet and landline – notify ideally four to six weeks before the move
• Mobile phone, streaming services, cloud and software subscriptions
• Gym, clubs and memberships at your old address
• Newspaper and magazine subscriptions, delivery services
• Tradesperson, cleaning and gardening contracts
• Online shops with a stored billing and delivery address

For internet contracts, it's worth checking the small print early: if the provider can't supply service at your new address, § 60 of the German Telecommunications Act (Telekommunikationsgesetz) grants a special termination right with one month's notice. Otherwise, the contract simply continues at the new address – switching provider "because of the move" isn't possible then.

Stage 4: After two to three months

• Check your post: who's still writing to your old address?
• Extend mail forwarding in time, or notify specific senders directly
• Keep an eye on the service-charge statement and deposit for your old flat
• Rental deposit: usually repaid within three to six months

Mail forwarding is a useful early-warning system here: every letter that gets forwarded reveals a sender who doesn't have your new address yet. Note down these senders and update them before the forwarding expires.

The fastest way

Instead of writing to every company individually, we automatically detect your ongoing business relationships. You see a clear list and decide with a click who receives your new address – and which contracts you'd like to cancel right away. Several evenings of paperwork become a process that takes just a few minutes.