The transcripts in this pack are:

• Finanzamt
• Bauamt
• Auswärtiges Amt
• Standesamt
• Wahlamt
• Jugendamt

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It splits a town up into Wahlbezirke and sends out the postcards that tell the people who live in the town where and when they can go to vote.

The office is also the place to go if you want to apply for a postal vote, or if someone is ill on the day of the election and sends someone else to collect their ballot paper.

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The transcript is a PDF file that can be printed, but not modified in any way.  To download the file, click HERE.

You can hear the podcast about the Arbeitsamt in our archive.

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The civil part of the marriage ceremony takes place at the Standesamt itself, often in a room specially decorated and set aside for this purpose.

Some towns have rooms, dedicated as a Standesamt in other buildings, such as the Kaiser-Friedrich-Bad in Bad Homburg or the Brauhaus in Oberursel.

If either the wife or husband is not a German national, or if one of the parents are not German, then the application to marry or to register the name of a child can get very complicated.  The non-German half may be required to sign away their right to use their national laws, eg. in naming their child, in order to simplify the situation.

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Currently it has offices in both Berlin and Bonn and is responsible for the 145 embassies and 59 consulates in other countries around the world.

In crisis situations such as hostage dramas, the contact to the families in Germany is maintained via this part of the German government.

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One part is responsible for the maintenance of public buildings, but the part that most people will come into contact with is the part for giving planning permision (“Baugenehmigung”) to new buildings or changes to existing ones.

They also make sure that buildings are built to plan – and within the time allowed.

On arrival in Germany you are less likely to come into contact with this office, unless you are building a new house or extending an existing property.

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Normally, you only contact with the Finanzamt will be your annual tax return – the Einkommenssteuererklärung.

However, if you are self-employed then you will come into close contact with it as you are involved in Umsatzsteuer (VAT) for your business and taxes such as Lohnsteuer for your employees.

The Finanzamt also collects Church Tax on behalf of the churches and if you buy a flat or a house in Germany then they will also send you a bill for Grunderwerbssteuer (land purchase tax).

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It is responsible for helping unemployed people find jobs and processing their claims for unemployment benefit (Arbeitslosengeld).  It is also possible to go there for career advice.

A separate part of the agency deals with employers, for example when they apply for an employer number in order to take on employees.

Finally, the agency also carries out research into the job market.

The head office is situated in Nuremberg but there are branches in most larger towns.  It is the largest Government agency in Germany, and is mainly funded by social security contributions (Arbeitslosenversicherung).

To hear a simple explanation and a short discussion in German, listen to the podcast:

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Subscribe to the podcast | Listen by telephone