FAQ
What if the person I'm looking for has since married and his/her name is different or if the person changed his name for some other reason?
A change of name represents no problem at all.
Apart from the address, you also receive an update on both the first and last name of the person in question, provided he or she has changed it.
What if the person has deceased?
In this case you receive information about the decease, together with the date of death, provided the latter is available.
What if you can't find the person? Do I still have to pay the fee?
In the unlikely event that we cannot find the person in any of our databases and cannot obtain information from the registration office (for example if the person in question has not been registered there), you will receive a "Negativbescheid" from us.
This is however, seldom the case.
Still, because the registration office also charges a fee for the Negativbescheid, we also unfortunately have to bill you a lump-sum of 12,--€.
Is there a public database with the data of the registry offices?
No. There are 5500 registry offices in Germany and all of them manage their data independently.
How long does an inquiry take?
This depends on whether we make a find in our computer databases (if so, generally less than 24 hours) or have to send a written request to the registry office responsible. The duration a process can have in the registration offices strongly varies (from 3 days to 3 weeks, but generally less than 1 week).
Germany only has a population of 82 million people. Why does your data pool include over 100 million people?
Because we also access the personal data of citizens (both Germans and foreigners) that do not live in Germany anymore, yet have at some point in the past 20 years. Apart from that we have access to the data on over 10 million deaths.
What kind of people can I obtain information about?
Any person (no matter if German or foreigner) that has at least temporarily been registered in Germany provided the state does not block his data.
Said people include in part politicians, celebrities, judges, police officers, people in witness protection programs and so called “stalking victims”.
Information about juristic personnel (firms, clubs) can be obtained at handelsregister-online.de.
What if the person has moved to a foreign country?
No problem. No matter if it's the EU, the USA or Africa, you will receive the currently registered address of the person you inquired about, provided they are available to the registration authorities.
What if the person has moved to an "unknown address"?
You may receive notice of an “unknown address” at the post office, but according to the German registration law, a person is obligated to report his current residence at the registry office. Not complying with this law is an administrative offence and can, in some cases (for instance the case of creditor discrimination) be considered a crime.
Why is the inquiry so costly?
In contrast to other providers, we make direct inquiries with the registration offices and not only with the removals databases. The registration offices require a fee for the information.
But in addition to the registry office inquiries, we also scan the data of the fee-required services, to guarantee the best possible address search result. We also partly try to make a find on our own. And, starting with the second inquiry, we offer a 5,--€ discount.
I’m looking for addresses for a class reunion, but have only got the parents’ addresses? A lot of classmates have married and changed their last names.
Because minors had also been registered at their parents’ address, this does not present a problem. But if the people you inquired about switched their residency over 20 years ago, most registration offices unfortunately do not store any of their information. If possible, add further data to the “Hints” section, for example the presumed residence.
Can you give me a 100% guarantee that I will always receive the correct and most current address?
No. We do not check the address on site. We only forward you the data that we receive from the German Federal Post Office and registration office. But, in general, it is the correct and most current address! In the event of multiple removals to different towns or federal states, a renewed inquiry with a new registry office is necessary: info@suche-nach-personen.de
A change of name represents no problem at all.
Apart from the address, you also receive an update on both the first and last name of the person in question, provided he or she has changed it.
What if the person has deceased?
In this case you receive information about the decease, together with the date of death, provided the latter is available.
What if you can't find the person? Do I still have to pay the fee?
In the unlikely event that we cannot find the person in any of our databases and cannot obtain information from the registration office (for example if the person in question has not been registered there), you will receive a "Negativbescheid" from us.
This is however, seldom the case.
Still, because the registration office also charges a fee for the Negativbescheid, we also unfortunately have to bill you a lump-sum of 12,--€.
Is there a public database with the data of the registry offices?
No. There are 5500 registry offices in Germany and all of them manage their data independently.
How long does an inquiry take?
This depends on whether we make a find in our computer databases (if so, generally less than 24 hours) or have to send a written request to the registry office responsible. The duration a process can have in the registration offices strongly varies (from 3 days to 3 weeks, but generally less than 1 week).
Germany only has a population of 82 million people. Why does your data pool include over 100 million people?
Because we also access the personal data of citizens (both Germans and foreigners) that do not live in Germany anymore, yet have at some point in the past 20 years. Apart from that we have access to the data on over 10 million deaths.
What kind of people can I obtain information about?
Any person (no matter if German or foreigner) that has at least temporarily been registered in Germany provided the state does not block his data.
Said people include in part politicians, celebrities, judges, police officers, people in witness protection programs and so called “stalking victims”.
Information about juristic personnel (firms, clubs) can be obtained at handelsregister-online.de.
What if the person has moved to a foreign country?
No problem. No matter if it's the EU, the USA or Africa, you will receive the currently registered address of the person you inquired about, provided they are available to the registration authorities.
What if the person has moved to an "unknown address"?
You may receive notice of an “unknown address” at the post office, but according to the German registration law, a person is obligated to report his current residence at the registry office. Not complying with this law is an administrative offence and can, in some cases (for instance the case of creditor discrimination) be considered a crime.
Why is the inquiry so costly?
In contrast to other providers, we make direct inquiries with the registration offices and not only with the removals databases. The registration offices require a fee for the information.
But in addition to the registry office inquiries, we also scan the data of the fee-required services, to guarantee the best possible address search result. We also partly try to make a find on our own. And, starting with the second inquiry, we offer a 5,--€ discount.
I’m looking for addresses for a class reunion, but have only got the parents’ addresses? A lot of classmates have married and changed their last names.
Because minors had also been registered at their parents’ address, this does not present a problem. But if the people you inquired about switched their residency over 20 years ago, most registration offices unfortunately do not store any of their information. If possible, add further data to the “Hints” section, for example the presumed residence.
Can you give me a 100% guarantee that I will always receive the correct and most current address?
No. We do not check the address on site. We only forward you the data that we receive from the German Federal Post Office and registration office. But, in general, it is the correct and most current address! In the event of multiple removals to different towns or federal states, a renewed inquiry with a new registry office is necessary: info@suche-nach-personen.de