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Guestbud

Compliance & door access · for tenants

Meldeschein — guest registration in Germany

Foreign guests in German holiday lets fill in and sign the Meldeschein (§§ 29–30 BMG) online; print the bilingual form, deleted after the legal period.

In Germany, accommodation providers must have foreign guests fill in and sign a registration form, the besonderer Meldeschein (§§ 29–30 Bundesmeldegesetz). German citizens are exempt. The guest portal collects everything online as part of the check-in, so there is no paper at the door.

When it applies #

Per property (Settings → Properties → Settings → Meldeschein):

  • Automatic (default) — collected for properties with country DE when the lead guest is not German.
  • Always collect — for every guest.
  • Never — switched off.

What the guest fills in #

On top of the normal check-in:

  • date of birth, nationality, full home address,
  • ID document type and number,
  • co-travellers: spouse/registered partner and minor children may be given by number only; every other co-traveller needs name, date of birth, nationality and ID document,
  • a signature on the screen and the confirmation that the data is correct.

Phone and email are not part of the legal form. With the EU Digital Identity (EUDI) Wallet (myeudi.app) name, date of birth and nationality are filled in automatically and marked as verified — the signature is still given in the portal. See EUDI Wallet check-in.

The online check-in form on the guest's phone
The online check-in form on the guest's phone

Open the booking → Online check-in → Meldeschein (print / PDF). The form is bilingual (German/English) and contains the signature image. Print it or save it as PDF from the browser's print dialog. Add ?lang=de or ?lang=en to the address for a single-language version.

Retention and deletion #

The forms must be kept for one year from departure and destroyed within three months afterwards (§ 30 (4) BMG). The guest portal deletes the registration data, signature and ID photos automatically one year and seven days after departure. Name and nationality remain on the booking; the booking shows Registration data was deleted after the legal retention period.

Frequently asked questions #

Does my town also need the Kurtaxe? #

Often yes — many German towns combine the Meldeschein with the Kurtaxe or Gästebeitrag. Create the town's tax as described in Tourist taxes.

Can I send the data to the town electronically? #

Not yet. Some municipalities offer their own online systems; print or save the forms until an interface is available.