What does this German letter mean?
New arrivals typically receive their registration confirmation in person at their Anmeldung appointment, then a Tax ID letter from the BZSt and an automatic Rundfunkbeitrag registration letter within weeks after — in roughly that order, none of them a scam even though most look like plain, unbranded official mail.
Meldebescheinigung (also called Anmeldebestätigung)
Registration confirmation
- Who sends it:
- Your local Bürgeramt / Einwohnermeldeamt
- What it means:
- Proof that you're officially registered at your address. The Anmeldebestätigung is the original certificate you're handed at your Anmeldung appointment; a Meldebescheinigung is a later copy/extract from the same registration record, issued on request.
- What to do:
- Keep the original safe and keep digital copies — you'll be asked to show it (or its details) when opening a bank account, applying for a Tax ID, enrolling in health insurance, and applying for a residence permit. It's the single document that unlocks most of the others on this page.
Mitteilung der steuerlichen Identifikationsnummer
Tax ID (Steuer-ID) notification letter
- Who sends it:
- Bundeszentralamt für Steuern (BZSt) — sent automatically, you don't apply for it
- What it means:
- Confirms your permanent, 11-digit German tax identification number, generated automatically after your Anmeldung and mailed to your registered address for data-protection reasons (it's never emailed).
- What to do:
- Don't discard it as junk mail — it looks like plain official correspondence. Your employer needs the number for payroll. If it hasn't arrived, see the recovery options on the Tax ID guide before assuming it's lost.
Schreiben vom Beitragsservice (Rundfunkbeitrag)
Broadcasting-fee (Rundfunkbeitrag) registration letter
- Who sends it:
- Der Beitragsservice von ARD, ZDF und Deutschlandradio
- What it means:
- Registration offices periodically pass registered residents' names, dates of birth, and addresses to the Beitragsservice under a legal data-sharing process, so this letter typically arrives within a few weeks of your Anmeldung, unprompted — it is not a scam.
- What to do:
- Ignoring it doesn't make the fee go away: if no one responds, the Beitragsservice registers the household automatically anyway. Check first whether a flatmate already pays for the household (you're covered under their registration) before paying twice — see the Rundfunkbeitrag guide.
Mitgliedsbescheinigung
Health insurance membership confirmation
- Who sends it:
- Your public health insurer (TK, AOK, Barmer, DAK, etc.)
- What it means:
- Confirms you're enrolled with that insurer. Most German universities now require an electronic confirmation sent insurer-to-university rather than the paper certificate — the paper Mitgliedsbescheinigung is now mainly a backup for when that electronic transfer hasn't gone through yet by your enrolment deadline.
- What to do:
- If your enrolment deadline is close and the electronic confirmation hasn't landed, call your insurer and ask for a provisional Mitgliedsbescheinigung to submit manually rather than waiting — universities generally advise contacting the insurer at least 2 weeks before the semester starts specifically so this has time to process.
Fiktionsbescheinigung
"Fictional certificate" — provisional residence proof
- Who sends it:
- Your local Ausländerbehörde (immigration office)
- What it means:
- Not your residence permit itself — it's proof that your application for one (or an extension) is still being processed, issued under § 81 Abs. 4 Aufenthaltsgesetz when the office can't decide yet (missing documents, a backlog, your file not yet on hand). Your previous permit's conditions stay valid in the meantime.
- What to do:
- Check the expiry date on it as carefully as you would a real permit — it needs to still be valid if you travel and re-enter Germany. It is not a rejection and not unusual; processing backlogs are the most common reason it gets issued.
Every entry above is a plain-English summary built from independent secondary sources read via WebSearch this session — none was fetched directly from the sending authority's own page (bzst.de, rundfunkbeitrag.de, a city's Bürgeramt/Ausländerbehörde page, or a public insurer's page all failed with EGRESS_BLOCKED). Nothing here is an invented specific: if a source didn't say it, it isn't stated. Scoped to 5 letters, not the full set a newcomer might receive — treat this as a starting reference, not exhaustive, and always check the letter's own return address and any reference number against the authority's own site.
Frequently asked questions
What is the first official letter you receive after moving to Germany?
The first one is handed to you in person, not mailed: the Meldebestätigung/Anmeldebestätigung you receive on the spot at your Anmeldung appointment, confirming your registered address. Everything else on this page — your Tax ID, Rundfunkbeitrag registration, health insurance confirmation — follows from having that address on file.
I got a letter from the Bundeszentralamt für Steuern (BZSt) — is it a scam?
No — it's your automatic Tax ID (Steuerliche Identifikationsnummer) notification, generated after your Anmeldung and mailed by law rather than emailed, for data-protection reasons. It's genuine plain official correspondence with no promotional content, which is exactly why it's easy to mistake for junk mail. See the Tax ID guide for what to do if you didn't get one.
Related
- how to register your address (Anmeldung) — the appointment that starts the whole chain of letters on this page.
- getting your tax ID — what to do if your BZSt letter hasn’t arrived, including three ways to find the number without waiting for it.
- the Rundfunkbeitrag explained — what the broadcasting-fee letter is asking for, and when you’re already covered by a flatmate.
See sources & data policy for how the figures across this site are verified.