Other Important Formalities & Registrations

Broadcasting Fee (GEZ)

This license fee is a legally prescribed contribution for citizens, companies and institutions as well as for public interest bodies in Germany. For private households, the current fee is 18.36 [2023] Euros per month. Sometimes this fee is already included in the rent of your accommodation, if you live in student accommodations or shared flats (ask your Landlord).

If this is not the case, you need to register for the Broadcasting fee here.

Drivers License

At the Federal Ministry for Digital and Transport, you can check if your foreign drivers license is valid in Germany.

If you hold an International Driving Permit, you do not have to have it translated.

You must carry a translation of your domestic driving licence if:

it was not issued in a Member State of the European Union (EU) or a state party to the Agreement on the European Economic Area (EEA) (Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway),
it is not in German
it does not comply with the provisions of the Convention on Road Traffic of 8 November 1968 (Annex 6).

You can find out whether your driving licence complies with the provisions of Annex 6 by enquiring at the appropriate authorities of the issuing state.

German translations may be prepared by, inter alia, German motoring organizations or internationally recognized motoring organizations in the state that issued the driving licence, official agencies of the state that issued the driving licence and court-appointed and certified interpreters and translators.

The Federal Republic of Germany does not require a translation of licences issued by the following states:

Andorra
Hong Kong
Monaco
New Zealand
San Marino
Switzerland
Senegal