How to fill in the Rundfunkbeitrag registration (Neuanmeldung einer Wohnung)

What the form is for

With this form you register your home with the Beitragsservice, the joint office of ARD, ZDF and Deutschlandradio. The fee is currently €18.36 per month for each home (Wohnung; October 2026), no matter how many people live there or whether you own a TV or radio. It is paid every three months (€55.08), or in advance quarterly, every six months (€110.16) or yearly (€220.32).

One fee per home, not per person. All adults in the same home are jointly responsible, but only one of them has to be registered and pay. If a flatmate or family member already pays for your home, you don't register again and nobody pays twice.

The fee starts on the first day of the month in which you first have a home, so register as soon as you move in: the law requires you to register without delay ("unverzüglich"). You can also register online on the Beitragsservice website; the paper form is for sending by post.

Who needs it

Use this form if you live in a home in Germany, nobody pays the fee for it yet, and you are not registered with the Beitragsservice yet.

• Only adults (18 or older) have to pay.
• Someone else in your home already pays? Then you don't need to register. Ask your flatmates or family first.
• You already pay for another home and are moving? Don't use this form: send your new address with the online form "Daten ändern".
• Already registered with one home and now have a second home, or a holiday home you use only privately? Use the form "Zumeldung einer weiteren Wohnung" instead. It needs your Beitragsnummer.
• No registration (and no fee) for rooms or homes in shared accommodation such as boarding schools, asylum seeker accommodation or barracks, in care homes with full inpatient care, and in facilities for people with disabilities.
• When you register your address with the residents' registration office (Anmeldung), the Beitragsservice is told and writes to you. You can also register yourself before that.
• A reduction or exemption (for example with certain social benefits or BAföG, or with the disability mark RF) is not part of this form. It is a separate application, "Befreiung oder Ermäßigung", sent with proof, and it is not granted automatically.

Before you start

• Your name, date of birth, the address of the home and the month you moved in.
• For direct debit: the IBAN of the account (and its BIC and bank name), and the account holder's name if it is not you.
• A pen in blue or black, and a stamped envelope: the form is sent by post.

Section by section

Here is what each part asks, in plain words, in the order it appears.

1. 1

   How to send it

   Write in CAPITAL LETTERS in blue or black, one letter per box. Fill in the form, detach the sheet carefully (the form says "Bitte nicht heften!", please don't staple it), put it in a stamped envelope and post it to ARD ZDF Deutschlandradio, Beitragsservice, 50656 Köln. The form lists a helpline: 01806 999 555 10 (20 cents per call from a German landline, 60 cents from a German mobile).

2. 2

   1 Allgemeine Angaben (you)

   Tick Frau (woman) or Herr (man). Then your family name (with academic title, if any), first names and date of birth as day, month, year.

3. 3

   2 Anmeldung (the home)

   Anmeldung zum: the month and year from which you have the home. Then the address of the home you register: Adresszusatz (optional, for example the flat number or "Hinterhaus rechts"), Straße and Hausnummer, PLZ and Ort. A phone number for questions is optional.

4. 4

   3 Unterschrift

   By signing you confirm that the information is correct. Add your signature and the date (day, month, year). By law you must give the details needed to calculate your fee.

5. 5

   4 Angaben zur Zahlungsweise

   Tick one rhythm. In der Mitte eines Dreimonatszeitraums (zum 15.) is the legal default: every three months, on the 15th of the middle month. Or pay in advance (Vorauszahlung): vierteljährlich (1 Jan, 1 Apr, 1 Jul, 1 Oct), halbjährlich (1 Jan, 1 Jul) or jährlich (1 Jan). Then tick how you pay: durch Lastschrift (direct debit) or durch Überweisung (bank transfer).

6. 6

   5 SEPA-Lastschriftmandat

   This is the authorisation for direct debit; if you pay by bank transfer you don't need it. Give IBAN, BIC and the bank's name, and the place, date and signature of the account holder: the mandate is valid only with date and signature. Write the account holder's name and address at the top only if the account holder is not the person registered. The mandate reference is sent to you separately, and you can ask your bank to refund a debit within eight weeks.

Common mistakes

• Registering when someone already pays

  Only one person per home needs to pay. If one of your flatmates or family members is already registered for the home, you don't need this form.

• Registering again after a move

  If you already pay for another home, send your new address with "Daten ändern" instead. For an extra home, use "Zumeldung einer weiteren Wohnung".

• Writing the wrong address

  Section 2 asks for the address of the home you are registering, not your parents' address or a mailing address.

• Waiting too long

  The fee starts on the 1st of the month in which you first have the home. Register as soon as you move in.

• Missing signatures

  Sign in section 3. For direct debit, the account holder must also sign section 5 and add the date, or the mandate is not valid.

• Expecting an exemption from this form

  This form only registers your home. If you may be exempt or pay less, apply separately with proof.

• Trusting the amounts printed on the form

  The information leaflet printed on the form still shows an older amount (€5.83, one third of the old fee). Today the full fee is €18.36 and the reduced fee €6.12: check rundfunkbeitrag.de.