For every child born in Germany, the birth must be recorded in the birth registry. After this registration, you can also apply for a birth certificate. This document certifies the person’s birth and contains information about the place and date of birth, as well as the person’s first and last names. It usually also includes information about the person’s gender and parents.

You will need a birth certificate for various purposes throughout your life. For use abroad, it can also be issued on a multilingual form. You can use this form in many countries without a translation.

You can have an (international) birth certificate issued at the civil registry office that registered your birth. In states where there is a centralized registry network, you can also obtain the birth certificate at any other civil registry office within that network.