Service Description
German public documents and certificates intended for use abroad must be authenticated in Germany under certain conditions if the foreign state requires it.
The authenticity of the signature, the capacity in which the signatory acted, and, if applicable, the authenticity of the seal or stamp affixed to the document are hereby certified.
The authenticity of this document will be confirmed by means of a notarization followed by legalization or an apostille, depending on the country of use.
For countries that have acceded to the Hague Convention of October 5, 1961, Abolishing the Requirement of Legalisation for Foreign Public Documents (Federal Law Gazette II 1965, p. 876), an apostille is required. You can find out which countries are involved on the website of the German Federal Foreign Office.
Certificates intended for other (non-member) countries receive an apostille. This is followed by legalization by a consular official at the foreign representation of the state in which the certificate is required.
Legalization is a confirmation of the authenticity of a foreign document by a consular officer of the state in which the document is to be used. The apostille is also a confirmation of the authenticity of a document, but unlike legalization, it is issued by an authority of the state in which the document was issued.
Who should I contact?
Apostille authorities for documents from ordinary courts, administrative courts, labor courts, finance courts, judicial authorities, and notaries are the Ministry of Justice, for Integration and Europe, and the Presidents of the Regional Courts. For documents from other courts and authorities, the Darmstadt Regional Council issues the apostille. The Regional Councils are also responsible for the authentication of documents based on state treaties with Italy and Belgium.
What fees are involved?
The fee for confirming the authenticity of a German document for legalization, issuing an apostille, and certifying a document based on state treaties is €18.
What else should I know?
Certifications are usually needed on very short notice. Especially then, you should coordinate the completeness and certifiability of your documents with us by phone in advance, so that unnecessary time and travel are avoided.
The family book is a file card that was kept as a marriage registry at the registry office from 1958 to 2008.
You can obtain transcripts of these from the civil registry office.
As of January 2009, it will only be continued for spouses and no longer for children.
You are going to have a baby...
As expectant parents, you surely have many questions, some of which we would like to answer. The following information is intended to inform you about the steps you need to take now and to highlight your rights and responsibilities.
Frequently Asked Questions at a Glance
Who is responsible for registering a birth?
The registry office in whose district the child is born is responsible for registering the birth. Therefore, all children born in Gründau are registered by the Gründau registry office. If the birth takes place in the Gelnhausen hospital, the Gelnhausen registry office is responsible.
Is there a deadline to meet?
The birth must be reported within one week.
Who is reporting the birth?
The following persons are required to report a birth in the order listed below:
If your child is born in the hospital, the hospital administration will automatically handle the registration with the civil registry office for you.
If you have a home birth, the midwife will issue you a birth certificate, which you must submit to the civil registry office along with the following documents.
What documents are needed for the registration of a birth?
This question cannot be answered in a general way. The legal requirements can vary depending on ‚personal circumstances‘ and also depend on your nationality.
Under documents for the certification of a birth, we explain the necessary documents.
In individual cases, further documents may be required.
First name choice
In our legal system, first names also serve the function of unequivocally identifying the bearer's gender. Boys must therefore be given male first names and girls female first names. An exception is the first name Maria, which can also be given to boys, but only in conjunction with another first name that indicates gender.
If you wish to give your child multiple given names, please only use a hyphen between at most two given names if they are to be combined into a single given name.
The naming is irreversible!
General Information After Birth Registration:
In addition to the certificates you requested, you will receive free certificates for applying for maternity benefits, child benefits, parental allowance, and for baptism.
Additional notes:
The registration of the child at the residents' registration office is handled by the registry office.
Your health insurance company will pay you the maternity allowance. Please contact them as soon as possible.
Child benefit and parental allowance must be applied for in writing. Please use the forms available at the Gründau residents' registration office.
If you are already receiving child benefit and another child is born, a written notification to the family benefits office with the attached birth certificate is sufficient. Should this not be sufficient in exceptional cases, the family benefits office will contact you. For civil servants, public sector employees, and recipients of service pensions under civil servant or military legal regulations or principles, the employer, the employer, or the pension provider is responsible. These offices will also provide the requested information.
International certificates can also be issued on a multilingual form. An international certificate is particularly suitable for presentation abroad.
Multilingual ‚International Certificates‘:
Are you living in a same-sex partnership and want to seal your happiness and enter into a lifelong union?
On June 30, 2017, the German Bundestag passed the „Act to Introduce the Right to Marriage for Persons of the Same Sex.“.
The law was published in the Federal Law Gazette on July 28, 2017. It will therefore come into effect on October 1, 2017.
From this day (01.10.2017) on, the following can:
no new partnerships will be established.
Same-sex couples can only marry.
existing civil partnerships that in Germany
were justified, converted into a marriage upon request
to become.
Same-sex marriage
The marriage of same-sex couples is possible from October 1, 2017. You can find more information in our article „Marriage Registration.“.
Ethnic Germans, late ethnic Germans, and naturalized citizens can make name changes by declaration.
The registry office of the current place of residence or the Federal Office of Administration is responsible for accepting name declarations according to the Federal Expellees Act.
Documents to bring:
Spousal Name – Resumption of a Former Surname
The declaration to re-adopt a former name after the dissolution of a marriage can be made at any registry office in Germany as well as at German missions abroad.
For example, after a marriage is dissolved, such as through divorce or the death of a spouse, the birth name or a former name can be readopted by declaration.
Documents to bring:
ID card or passport; either a certified copy of the family book (for marriages after January 1, 1958, in the Federal Republic of Germany and West Berlin) with a note about the dissolution of the marriage or a marriage certificate with such a note.
Spousal Name Management – Revocation of Addition
The declaration regarding the addition of the birth name or the name held at the time of determining the married name may be revoked. However, a new declaration for the addition will then no longer be possible.
Documents to bring:
The ID or passport must be presented, along with either a certified copy of the family record book (for marriages concluded on or after January 1, 1958, in the Federal Republic of Germany and West Berlin) or a marriage certificate.
Death certificates
contain the name of the deceased, the date of birth, the place of birth, the date and time of death, and the place of death.
You can obtain a death certificate years later at the registry office where it was issued, meaning at the registry office of the place of death.
Birth certificates
contain the child's name, birthday, place of birth, as well as information about the parents.
Certified copy from the birth register
contain not only all details at the time of birth, but also marginal notes or subsequent records.
Marriage certificates
The marriage certificate only proves the fact of the marriage. However, it does not indicate whether the marriage still exists or which surnames the spouses bear – this is only stated in the excerpt from the family register.
Certified copy from the family register
Since January 1, 1958, a family record book has been created for every marriage concluded in the old federal states, and since October 3, 1990, also in the new federal states. No new family record books have been created since January 1, 2009.
This family book is not to be confused with the family register that is normally kept at home.
The family book is generally kept and continuously updated at the registry office of the place where the spouses married. It contains information about the spouses and their parents, their common children, the choice of name, and entries regarding the dissolution of the marriage due to death or divorce.
No family record book is kept for registered partnerships.
Partnership Certificates
The civil partnership certificate proves the establishment of the civil partnership. It contains information about the name at the time of the establishment and, if applicable, a note about the dissolution of the civil partnership.
Death certificates
contain the name of the deceased, the date of birth, the place of birth, the date and time of death, and the place of death.
Multilingual ‚International Certificates‘
can also be issued on a multilingual template. An International Certificate is particularly suitable for presentation abroad.
International Birth Certificates
International Marriage Certificates
International Death Certificates
The requirements for having something officially documented are often as diverse as people's life situations.
For example, citizens need certificates to get married, settle inheritance matters, or receive insurance benefits.
On these pages, we present some certificates that fall within the purview of the registry office.
Frequently Asked Questions at a Glance
Where can I get certificates?
The decisive factor for the issuance of a civil status certificate (birth, marriage, civil partnership, and death certificate) is always the actual ‚place of occurrence‘.
If this is not Gründau, please contact the responsible registry office.
We would like to inform you that the registry offices do not cooperate with commercial providers such as „standesamt.com“ or „standesamt24.de“.
These pages are operated privately and are in no way affiliated with the Gründau registry office or any other registry offices. If you have received a payment request from them, it solely concerns the contractual relationship between you and the operator of the respective internet page. Please note that multiple certificate orders will also be invoiced multiple times.
Who receives certificates?
Civil status registers contain personal data that is subject to data protection. The issuance of civil status certificates and information may only be requested pursuant to Section 61 of the Civil Status Act by persons to whom the entry relates, as well as their spouses, ancestors, and descendants.
Other persons—that is, siblings, uncles, aunts, nephews, nieces, and other relatives—only have a right if they can credibly demonstrate a legal interest.
If you do not belong to the group mentioned above, you must provide a written power of attorney from an authorized person.
How do I get a certificate?
You can apply for the documents in person at the Gründau registry office, Rathaus, Am Bürgerzentrum 1, Lieblos district, Room 1 during our opening hours, and you can usually take them with you immediately. Please bring your valid ID card or passport, as well as, if available, your family register or relevant old certificates.
If you wish to apply for certificates online, please click on the respective link on the right side.
How current is a deed?
The civil status registers are always kept up to date. Changes, e.g. first and last name changes, paternity determinations, adoptions, marriages, divorces, deaths, are added to the respective ‚original entry‘.
Now it also becomes clear why transcripts or certificates from civil status registers should be of current date in order to truly ensure that they reflect the current status.
If the mother is not married, the father can still be registered on the child's birth certificate immediately. The prerequisite for this is that the mother and father come to the registry office in person for paternity acknowledgment.
Paternity acknowledgement and the mother's consent are also possible before the birth of the child or before the registration of the birth.
A telephone appointment is required for this. Recognition can also be made at the Youth Welfare Office (Department 51.30) of the Main-Kinzig district in Gelnhausen. There, you can also declare joint custody of the child, if you wish.
In special cases, such as when a parent is a minor or when the mother is still married, please consult with us for details.
In our legal system, first names also serve the function of making the bearer's gender unequivocally identifiable.
Boys must therefore receive masculine first names, and girls feminine first names. An exception is the first name Maria, which can also be given to boys, but only in conjunction with another first name that indicates the gender.
If you wish to give your child multiple given names, please only use a hyphen between at most two given names if they are to be combined into a single given name.
The naming is irreversible!
