Before you start

Passport or national ID for verification
A German address, for postpaid contracts
A German bank account, for postpaid direct debit

Step-by-step

1
Buy a prepaid SIM and verify your identity
Available from supermarkets, phone shops and online. Activation requires identity verification — in shop with your passport, by video call, or through the Post's identification service.
In personWho: YouWeek 1
2
Do not attempt a postpaid contract in your first weeks
Contracts run a Schufa check and require a German bank account and registered address. With no credit history you will be declined or asked for a deposit.
OnlineWho: You
3
Order home internet the day you sign the lease
German broadband provisioning routinely takes several weeks and can require an engineer visit. Ordering on move-in day means a month of tethering.
OnlineWho: You
4
Check your employer's staff tariff
Deutsche Telekom, DHL and several of the federal bodies negotiate staff or framework tariffs that are materially cheaper than the retail equivalents. In a Telekom town a surprising number of people are on one without newcomers ever hearing about it. Ask HR.
Via employerWho: You
5
Check what is physically in the building
Fibre has reached much of the centre and the Bundesviertel; older stock in the Altstadt and Beuel is patchier. A provider's postcode checker will happily sell you a speed the line cannot deliver — ask the landlord or the previous tenant what they actually got.
OnlineWho: You
6
Know the cancellation rules
Since 1 December 2021, when the reformed Telekommunikationsgesetz took effect, a telecoms contract continuing past its minimum term can be cancelled at any point with one month's notice rather than auto-renewing for a full year. Check your specific terms — older contracts may still run on the old basis.
OnlineWho: You

Documents you’ll need

Passport or national ID for SIM registration
Meldebescheinigung, for postpaid contracts
German bank details, for direct debit
Schufa report, which some providers request

Things most newcomers don’t know

Ask your employer about a framework tariff before you sign a retail contract.

Deutsche Telekom's headquarters is in this city and several large local employers negotiate staff or framework rates with it and with other operators. These are rarely advertised internally and almost never mentioned to new joiners, but they can halve a monthly bill. It costs one email to HR.

Source: community-reported

Even prepaid SIMs require identity verification in Germany.

Every SIM must be registered to an identified person, so a supermarket prepaid card still needs a passport check. Arriving expecting to buy an anonymous SIM off a shelf wastes an afternoon of your first week.

Source: Bundesnetzagentur

Home internet takes weeks, so order at lease signing.

German broadband provisioning routinely takes several weeks and can require an engineer visit. Order the day the lease is signed, using the future address.

Source: community-reported

The reformed telecoms law fixed a real contract trap, and it dates from 1 December 2021.

German telecom contracts historically rolled over for another full year if you missed the cancellation window. Since the Telekommunikationsmodernisierungsgesetz took effect on 1 December 2021, §56 TKG caps the initial term at 24 months and lets you cancel at any time with one month's notice thereafter.

Source: Bundesnetzagentur / §56 TKG

Common mistakes to avoid

Signing a retail contract without checking whether your employer has a framework tariff.
Expecting to buy an unregistered prepaid SIM off a shelf.
Applying for postpaid before you have any Schufa record.
Ordering home internet on move-in day rather than at lease signing.
Believing a postcode checker over what is physically in the building.

Some of this may be out of date. Spotted something inaccurate? Help us keep it right for the next newcomer.