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Germany

52.5200° N · Western Europe · Schengen

Germany still asks foreign guests to sign a Meldeschein by hand — even when check-in happens online.

The federal Bundesmeldegesetz (BMG) sets the baseline identity duty for every Beherbergungsstätte. Berlin, Munich and Hamburg then layer their own Zweckentfremdung and Wohnraumschutz registration numbers on short-stay listings — and Berlin and Hamburg each collect a separate overnight tax while Bavaria still blocks Munich from doing the same.

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NextStay relevance · Germany

4 / 5

High

The Bundesmeldegesetz still expects a handwritten Meldeschein from foreign guests, and Berlin, Munich and Hamburg each run their own Zweckentfremdung registration numbers on top — plus separate municipal overnight taxes where the Land allows them.

At a glance · Germany

  • Identity

    §29 BMG Meldeschein

  • Listing

    City registration number

  • Berlin tax

    7.5% Übernachtungsteuer

  • EU layer

    Reg. (EU) 2024/1028

Who this is for

What hotels and hosts actually need to know

Germany runs three tracks that hosts routinely conflate. The first is federal: §29 BMG requires a handwritten, signed Meldeschein from foreign guests on arrival day, checked against an identity document — with a narrow, conditional electronic alternative in §29(5). The second is municipal housing law: Berlin's Zweckentfremdungsverbot-Gesetz, Munich's Zweckentfremdungssatzung and Hamburg's Wohnraumschutzgesetz each require a registration number on short-stay listings, independently of the Meldeschein. The third is municipal tax: Berlin's Übernachtungsteuer (7.5% of net overnight charge) and Hamburg's Kultur- und Tourismustaxe sit on their own filing clocks — Munich currently has no overnight tax because Bavarian Kommunalabgabengesetz still forbids it. All three tracks are being pulled toward the same EU short-term rental data regime — Regulation (EU) 2024/1028 — but on different local timelines.

Front desk teams already know the paper Meldeschein. The design question for online or hybrid check-in is whether the guest's consent and payment/eID method actually satisfies §29(5) — not whether a document photo was uploaded — and whether City Tax / KTT is remitted on the city's own calendar.

  • 01Hand every foreign guest a Meldeschein to sign on arrival day, or run a §29(5)-compliant electronic route
  • 02Compare Meldeschein data against the identity document presented at check-in and note any mismatch
  • 03Retain completed Meldescheine (or the electronic equivalent) for one year, then destroy within three months
  • 04Register for and remit Berlin Übernachtungsteuer or Hamburg KTT where the property sits — Munich has no overnight tax today

Chapter · Identity

The Meldeschein under §29–§30 BMG

The Bundesmeldegesetz's special registration duty for Beherbergungsstätten (§29) is federal law — it applies the same way in a Berlin hotel and a Bavarian guesthouse, and it starts from a handwritten, signed form.

Statute

“Beherbergte ausländische Personen haben am Tag der Ankunft einen besonderen Meldeschein handschriftlich zu unterschreiben, der die in § 30 Absatz 2 aufgeführten Daten enthält.”
§29 Absatz 2 Bundesmeldegesetz (BMG) [01]
  1. 01

    Who signs, and when

    Foreign guests must handwrite and sign a special Meldeschein on the day of arrival. Accompanying foreign spouses, registered partners and minor children only need to be counted by number on the form, not individually named. For tour groups above ten people, only the group leader signs, stating the number and nationality of foreign travellers. German nationals are outside this special Meldeschein duty under §29(2) — do not invent a paper Meldeschein obligation for domestic guests from federal BMG alone.

    [01]
  2. 02

    The identity check is the operator's job

    Guests named individually on the Meldeschein must show a valid identity document (a recognised, valid passport or passport-substitute) to the person running the accommodation. §30(2) then requires the operator to compare the Meldeschein entries against that document and note any discrepancy — or note it if no valid document is presented at all.

    [01][02]
  3. 03

    Closed field list under §30(2)

    §30(2) is exhaustive at federal level: date of arrival and expected departure; surname and first names; date of birth; nationality; address; number and nationality of accompanying foreign spouses, partners and minor children; serial number of the recognised and valid passport or passport-substitute. Länder may add tourist-tax fields by state law, but operators may not invent extra federal Meldeschein columns beyond that closed list.

    [02]
  4. 04

    Retention, destruction and authority access

    Completed Meldescheine — paper or electronic — must be kept for one year from the guest's departure date, then destroyed within three months (§30(4)). Competent authorities can demand the handwritten forms for inspection, or the electronically captured data in machine-readable form. §30(5) expressly ties electronic processing to GDPR Articles 24, 25 and 32.

    [02][19]

Chapter · Registration

City-level registration: Berlin, Munich, Hamburg

Independently of the BMG Meldeschein, short-stay listings in Berlin, Munich and Hamburg each need a city-issued registration number before they can be advertised — three separate statutes, converging on the same EU data-sharing logic.

  1. 01

    Berlin — Registriernummer and the ~90-day Nebenwohnung route

    Under the Zweckentfremdungsverbot-Gesetz, offering or advertising housing for other-than-residential use — including as a Ferienwohnung — generally needs prior Bezirksamt approval, which comes with a Registriernummer that must be publicly visible in every advert. A Berlin secondary home (Nebenwohnung) can typically be permitted for holiday letting up to around 90 days a year; a self-used main residence (Hauptwohnung) can be let out during the owner's own absences under permit, and unlimited genehmigungsfrei letting of up to 49% of a Hauptwohnung's floor area requires only a fee-free notification, not full approval. Confirm the exact permit type and day ceiling with the competent Bezirksamt for the property address.

    [04][05]
  2. 02

    Munich — 8-week self-use allowance, registration number in transition

    Munich's Zweckentfremdungssatzung allows self-used housing to be let as a holiday rental for up to 8 weeks a year without a separate permit. Following the amended Bavarian Zweckentfremdungsgesetz, the city council adopted a registration-number requirement for every apartment advertised on an online portal, administered by the Sozialreferat. As of this review, the registration IT system was not yet live — the Sozialreferat cited a delay tied to connecting to the Bundesnetzagentur's federal data-access point, and confirmed it would announce the actual go-live date separately. Describe the registration duty as adopted but not yet enforceable in practice until that system opens.

    [08][09]
  3. 03

    Hamburg — Wohnraumschutznummer, independent of tourist tax

    Since 2019, anyone letting housing (or parts of it) short-term to changing occupants in Hamburg needs a Wohnraumschutznummer, requested online via the Hamburg Serviceportal, and must show that number in every advert. A second amendment to the Hamburgisches Wohnraumschutzgesetz, timed to the EU short-term rental data regulation, took effect 20 May 2026: it removes the old exemption that allowed unlimited short-term letting of up to 50% of a home's floor area, replacing it with a genehmigungsfrei allowance capped at 8 weeks per calendar year — and it shifts routine platform data reporting to the EU's single digital access point at the Bundesnetzagentur rather than requiring hosts to self-report. The Wohnraumschutznummer duty itself continues either way.

    [12][13]
  4. 04

    Local registration is additive, not a substitute

    A Berlin, Munich or Hamburg registration number satisfies that city's Zweckentfremdung / Wohnraumschutz duty. It does not replace the federal Meldeschein under §29 BMG, and it does not replace municipal tourist tax registration — treat all three as separate, stacked obligations on the same listing.

    [04][01]

Chapter · Tax

Overnight tax & short-stay fiscal track

Municipal overnight tax is city law where the Land allows it — Berlin and Hamburg levy; Munich currently cannot. Federal Umsatzsteuer on short-term lodging sits on a separate track under the UStG.

Statute

“Die Steuer ermäßigt sich auf sieben Prozent für … die Vermietung von Wohn- und Schlafräumen, die ein Unternehmer zur kurzfristigen Beherbergung von Fremden bereithält, sowie die kurzfristige Vermietung von Campingflächen. Satz 1 gilt nicht für Leistungen, die nicht unmittelbar der Vermietung dienen …”
§12 Absatz 2 Nummer 11 Umsatzsteuergesetz (UStG) [03]
  1. 01

    Berlin — Übernachtungsteuer at 7.5%

    Berlin levies an Übernachtungsteuer (City Tax) of 7.5% of the net overnight charge (excluding ancillaries such as breakfast) on paid stays in Beherbergungsbetriebe — hotels, pensions, holiday apartments, private rooms and youth hostels alike. Business travel has been in scope since 1 April 2024; from 1 January 2025 the rate rose to 7.5% and the old exemption for stays over 21 days was abolished. From 1 January 2026 filings are exclusively quarterly, the former small-business exemption for fewer than ten beds is gone, and electronic Anmeldung is mandatory. Operators must notify Finanzamt Marzahn-Hellersdorf within one week of starting (or ending) the activity, self-calculate the tax, and file and pay by the 10th day after each calendar quarter. Confirm any later ÜnStG amendment with Senatsverwaltung für Finanzen before quoting guests.

    [06][07]
  2. 02

    Hamburg — Kultur- und Tourismustaxe (staggered)

    Hamburg's Kultur- und Tourismustaxe (KTT / Bettensteuer) has applied since 1 January 2013 to paid overnight stays in Beherbergungsbetriebe. For bookings from 1 January 2025 the official Merkblatt sets a per-person net overnight scale: €0 up to €10 (Bagatellgrenze); €0.60 up to €25; €1.20 up to €50; €2.40 up to €100; €3.60 up to €150; €4.80 up to €200; then +€1.20 for each further commenced €50. Tax is per person, not per room — split the room price across occupants. Operators are the Steuerschuldner (they may pass it on to guests), notify under §6 HmbKTTG, and file quarterly by 15 April / 15 July / 15 October / 15 January — or annually by 15 January if prior-year KTT was under €1,000. Hamburg's Senate has approved a further general rate increase from 1 January 2027 — confirm the live 2027 scale with the Finanzbehörde before publishing euro figures for post-2026 stays.

    [14][15][16][17]
  3. 03

    Munich — no overnight tax while Bavarian KAG blocks it

    Munich does not currently levy an Übernachtungssteuer. The Stadtrat adopted a 5% overnight-tax Satzung in March 2023, but the Freistaat Bayern forbids municipal overnight taxes in Art. 3 Abs. 3 Satz 1 of the Bayerisches Kommunalabgabengesetz. The Bayerischer Verfassungsgerichtshof rejected the city's Popularklage (decision of 14 November 2025); in March 2026 the city resolved to file a Kommunalverfassungsbeschwerde at the Bundesverfassungsgericht. Until that changes, do not invent a Munich City Tax line for guests — Zweckentfremdung registration and Meldeschein remain the operative local duties.

    [11][10]
  4. 04

    Federal Umsatzsteuer — 7% on short-term lodging

    Where short-term lodging is a taxable supply, §12 Abs. 2 Nr. 11 UStG applies the reduced 7% rate to the letting of living and sleeping rooms an Unternehmer holds ready for short-term Beherbergung of Fremden (and short-term camping pitches). Services that do not immediately serve the letting — even if bundled into the room price — fall outside the reduced rate and take the standard 19% rate. Long-term residential letting remains a separate UStG track. Confirm Kleinunternehmer status, Vorsteuer and invoice split with the competent Finanzamt — this dossier does not invent a turnover threshold or income-tax treatment.

    [03]
  5. 05

    Other Gemeinden — confirm with the Gemeinde

    Outside Berlin, Hamburg and Munich, overnight tax names and amounts (Übernachtungsteuer, Beherbergungssteuer, Kurtaxe / Kurbeitrag in spa municipalities) are set by Land and Gemeinde. Always confirm with the competent Gemeinde, Bezirksamt or Finanzbehörde for the property address before quoting guests or automating a tax line.

    [06][14]

Chapter · EU layer

EU law that sits underneath

German federal and municipal rules sit inside the same European stack hosts meet elsewhere in Schengen — lodging purposes, GDPR, and the 2024 short-term rental data framework that Munich and Hamburg have already started transposing.

  1. 01

    Schengen Convention — Article 45(1)(b)

    Lodging providers across Schengen states are expected to be able to account for who stayed where. Germany's BMG Meldeschein duty is the national implementation of that public-security logic for foreign guests specifically.

    [18]
  2. 02

    GDPR (Regulation (EU) 2016/679)

    §30(5) BMG expressly ties electronic Meldeschein processing back to Articles 24, 25 and 32 GDPR — appropriate technical and organisational measures for the data an operator collects. Identity, document and payment-authentication data are personal data regardless of whether the route taken is paper or electronic.

    [19][02]
  3. 03

    Short-term rental data — Regulation (EU) 2024/1028

    From 20 May 2026, the Regulation requires short-term rental platforms to share standardised activity data with a single digital access point run at federal level (the Bundesnetzagentur in Germany), and with municipal enforcement bodies where a registration-number system is in place. Munich adopted its Ferienwohnung registration duty and Hamburg amended its Wohnraumschutzgesetz specifically to align with this deadline — expect the same pattern to reach other German cities on their own schedules.

    [20][13][08]

Remote arrival · Still the law

Self check-in under §29(5) BMG

Remote arrival is not banned by federal law — but the electronic alternative to a handwritten Meldeschein is narrowly defined. It is a good narrative for self check-in operators only if the actual verification method matches what §29(5) lists, and municipal tax / registration duties are already in order.

01

Document

02

E.turistas

03

Keys

  • Required data before access

    Capture the §30(2) Meldeschein fields for every individually named foreign guest — arrival/expected departure, names, date of birth, nationality, address, co-traveller counts/nationalities, and passport or substitute serial number — before door codes or lockbox instructions unlock.

    [01][02]

  • Electronic is the exception, not the default

    §29(2) requires a handwritten, signed Meldeschein from foreign guests on arrival day. §29(5) allows an electronic route instead, but only with the guest's consent and only through one of three named methods — or a time-limited BSI-approved alternative procedure.

    [01]

  • The three routes that count (+ BSI door)

    A strong-authentication card payment under the Payment Services Supervision Act (with the payment instrument's dedicated reference number captured); the electronic identity proof under the eID-Karte-Gesetz or §78(5) of the Residence Act; or on-site reading of an eID card or residence title under the eID-Karte-Gesetz. Separately, operators (and check-in vendors) may apply to the BSI for approval — up to five years — of an alternative electronic procedure at a comparable security level. A photo upload of a passport, by itself, is not one of these routes.

    [01][02]

  • Confirmation still has to happen on arrival day

    Whichever electronic route is used, the guest must confirm the accuracy and completeness of the collected data on the day of arrival — pre-arrival data collection alone does not close the loop. Retention and destruction timelines match the paper Meldeschein. City Tax / KTT remittance and registration-number display remain separate duties that a polished door-code flow does not satisfy.

    [01][02][06]

Municipal & tax layers

BMG is federal. Berlin, Munich and Hamburg each run their own registration-number regime on top, and Berlin and Hamburg collect overnight tax through a separate track again — Munich currently cannot.

  • Berlin — Zweckentfremdung and City Tax territory

    Berlin — Übernachtungsteuer 7.5%

    01

    Berlin's City Tax is 7.5% of the net overnight charge (excl. breakfast and similar ancillaries). Business travel has been in scope since 1 April 2024. From 1 January 2026 filings are quarterly only, electronic Anmeldung is mandatory, and the former <10-bed exemption is gone — file and pay by the 10th day after each quarter at Finanzamt Marzahn-Hellersdorf. Separately, Zweckentfremdung needs a Registriernummer (and often Bezirksamt approval) before advertising.

    [06][07][04]
  • Munich — Zweckentfremdungssatzung territory

    Munich — 8-week rule, no overnight tax yet

    02

    Self-occupied housing can be let as a holiday rental for up to 8 weeks a year without a Zweckentfremdung permit. Every apartment advertised on an online portal is now formally subject to a registration-number duty administered by the Sozialreferat — but as of this review the online registration IT system had not gone live, pending the federal Bundesnetzagentur data link. Bavarian KAG still blocks a municipal Übernachtungssteuer; the city's March 2026 BVerfG complaint does not create a live tax line for guests today.

    [08][09][11]
  • Hamburg — Wohnraumschutzgesetz and Kultur- und Tourismustaxe territory

    Hamburg — Wohnraumschutznummer and KTT scale

    03

    The Wohnraumschutznummer (required since 2019, via the Hamburg Serviceportal) is unaffected by tax status. From 20 May 2026, the old floor-area exemption was replaced by an 8-week-per-year cap for self-used housing, aligned to Regulation (EU) 2024/1028. Separately, Kultur- und Tourismustaxe uses the official staggered per-person net scale (Bagatellgrenze €10 = €0; then €0.60 / €1.20 / €2.40 / €3.60 / €4.80 … for bookings from 1 January 2025), with quarterly filing — and a Senate-approved further increase from 1 January 2027 whose exact euro steps should be confirmed with the Finanzbehörde before quoting.

    [12][13][15][16]

This is the law · Here is the reference

Sources & references

Primary statutes, EU instruments and competent authorities. Open the link when your property is at stake.

  1. [01]Local law
    §29 BMG — besondere Meldepflicht in Beherbergungsstätten

    Primary federal duty: handwritten Meldeschein for foreign guests, identity document check, and the §29(5) electronic alternative.

  2. [02]Local law
    §30 BMG — besondere Meldescheine für Beherbergungsstätten

    Operator duties, the closed list of Meldeschein data fields, retention / destruction timelines, and GDPR tie-in for electronic processing.

  3. [03]Local law
    §12 UStG — Steuersätze (Abs. 2 Nr. 11 Beherbergung)

    Reduced 7% VAT on short-term lodging of living/sleeping rooms; ancillary services outside the letting take the standard rate.

  4. [04]Authority
    Berlin.de — Zweckentfremdungsverbot

    Registriernummer duty, ~90-day Nebenwohnung permit route, and the Hauptwohnung self-use rules.

  5. [05]Authority
    Service Berlin — Zweckentfremdung von Wohnraum, Anzeige und Genehmigung

    Registration-number issuance process and the 49%-of-floor-area notification-only route.

  6. [06]Authority
    Service Berlin — Übernachtungsteuer (City Tax)

    Official 7.5% rate, business-travel scope from Apr 2024, and 2026 quarterly / electronic filing changes; FA Marzahn-Hellersdorf.

  7. [07]Authority
    Senatsverwaltung für Finanzen — FAQ Übernachtungsteuer

    Primary FAQ: 7.5% from 1 Jan 2025, end of 21-day exemption, and 2026 quarterly-only / e-filing / end of 10-bed rule.

  8. [08]Authority
    Landeshauptstadt München — Registrierungspflicht für Ferienwohnungen

    Sozialreferat registration-number duty adopted alongside the EU 2024/1028-aligned Zweckentfremdungsgesetz amendment.

  9. [09]Authority
    Landeshauptstadt München — Vollzug der Zweckentfremdungssatzung (FAQ)

    8-week self-use allowance and confirmation that the registration IT system was not yet active as of this review.

  10. [10]Authority
    Landeshauptstadt München — BayVerfGH decision on overnight-tax ban

    14 Nov 2025: Bavarian Verfassungsgerichtshof upheld the Land ban on municipal Übernachtungssteuer.

  11. [11]Authority
    Landeshauptstadt München — BVerfG complaint planned (Mar 2026)

    City confirms no live overnight tax while Art. 3 Abs. 3 KAG blocks collection; Stadtrat resolved to petition the Bundesverfassungsgericht.

  12. [12]Authority
    hamburg.de — Wohnraumschutznummer registrieren

    Registration-number duty via the Hamburg Serviceportal, and its independence from Kultur- und Tourismustaxe duties.

  13. [13]Authority
    hamburg.de — Neue Regeln für die Kurzzeit- und Ferienvermietung

    20 May 2026 Wohnraumschutzgesetz amendment: EU 2024/1028 alignment, 8-week cap replacing the floor-area exemption.

  14. [14]Authority
    hamburg.de — Bettensteuer / KTT allgemeine Information

    Who must register, quarterly filing deadlines, and Steuerschuldner status for Beherbergungsbetriebe.

  15. [15]Authority
    hamburg.de — KTT Merkblatt (Steuerpauschalsätze ab 01.01.2025)

    Official staggered per-person net scale and €10 Bagatellgrenze for bookings from 1 January 2025.

  16. [16]Authority
    hamburg.de — Überprüfung der Hamburger Kommunalabgaben

    Senate-approved further KTT rate increase from 1 January 2027 — confirm live euro steps with Finanzbehörde.

  17. [17]Local law
    Hamburgisches Kultur- und Tourismustaxengesetz (HmbKTTG)

    Primary Land statute for the Kultur- und Tourismustaxe.

  18. [18]EU law
    Convention Implementing the Schengen Agreement — Art. 45

    EU-layer lodging / guest-record purpose underneath national registration duties.

  19. [19]EU law
    GDPR — Regulation (EU) 2016/679

    Personal-data rules referenced directly by §30(5) BMG for electronic Meldeschein processing.

  20. [20]EU law
    Regulation (EU) 2024/1028 — short-term rental data

    EU framework for STR registration data and platform sharing, applicable from 20 May 2026.

After the law · The product

Where NextStay fits

After the law is clear: we structure verification before access — so German hosts across three different city rulebooks can run remote-friendly arrivals without skipping the BMG Meldeschein duty or the local registration number.

  • 01

    Verification before the key

    Online check-in captures the guest data a Meldeschein needs and holds door instructions until arrival-day confirmation is complete — aligned with §29 BMG rather than a generic document upload.

  • 02

    Every named guest, not just the booker

    Flows capture the individually-named foreign guests §29(2) requires, with co-traveller counts handled the way the statute expects for spouses, partners and minor children.

  • 03

    Host visibility across city rulebooks

    Hosts running listings in Berlin, Munich and Hamburg see which registration number applies to which property, and where a self-use day count is running against a permit ceiling.

  • 04

    Destination guidance in the workspace

    This Germany dossier stays attached to the market — federal Meldeschein duty, three city registration regimes, overnight-tax clocks, and the EU 2024/1028 timeline — not a generic EU footnote.

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Cities in Germany

NextStay provides operational tools and general regulatory information, not legal advice. Hosts remain responsible for confirming the rules that apply to their accommodation in Germany. Research last verified .