Eintragung in das Vereinsregister

In order to make your association a "registered association" after it has been founded, you must register it with the relevant office for entry in the register of associations.

The register of associations is public and has the purpose of making the factual and legal circumstances of associations entered in the register of associations easily ascertainable for third parties at any time, thereby increasing security in legal transactions. In order for the association to become a legally capable association within the meaning of the German Civil Code after it has been founded, you must register it with the local court for entry in the register of associations. Upon completion of this registration, the association will be listed as a registered association. In order to avoid any disputes about the effectiveness of the registration, the registration should be made by all members of the board of directors without regard to the rules of the association's articles of association. The registration must be effected by means of a publicly certified declaration. This means that the declaration must be in writing and the signatures of the board members must be certified by a notary public. You can easily search the register of associations via the Internet.

For further concerns, please contact the local court responsible for the association's registered office. You can search for this court via the justice portal below.

• Copies of the statutes of the association
• Certificate of appointment of the board members
• Depending on your association's charter requirements, additional registration documents may need to be submitted. It is therefore recommended that you contact the local court responsible for registration.

The association must be filed for registration with the district court.

The local court charges registration fees; the notary charges certification fees; if you had engaged a lawyer for the formation, he will also charge fees; associations that serve non-profit or charitable purposes within the meaning of the applicable tax law are exempt from payments in certain cases. Both the tax office and the local court can provide you with information on this.

The club registration must be submitted in writing to the competent district court. The required evidence must be enclosed with the registration.

For the application and the entry in the register of associations, the usual business processing times are to be expected. These depend on the business volume of the respective court and the complexity of your articles of association.

In principle, no deadlines are to be observed.

The refusal of registration is subject to appeal.

The registration of an association shall be made in writing at the district court responsible for the registered office of the association, enclosing the necessary supporting documents. These are:

1. Copies of the association's articles of association.
2. Certificate of appointment of the board members.
3. Depending on the requirements of your association's articles of association, further registration documents may have to be submitted. It is therefore recommended that you contact the local court responsible for registration.

Contact the local court responsible for the association's registered office.

Forms/online services available: No

Written form required: Yes

Informal application possible: No

Personal appearance required: No