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
Ask what the previous tenant actually got
Much of inner Bremen is Altbremer Haus terraces — narrow, tall, subdivided and connected building by building. A provider's postcode checker will sell you a speed the line into your specific house cannot deliver. Ask the landlord or the outgoing tenant what they measured, not what was advertised.
In personWho: You
5
Check your employer's framework tariff
The large Bremen employers negotiate staff or framework tariffs that can be materially cheaper than retail. They are rarely mentioned to new joiners. It costs one email to HR.
Via employerWho: 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

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

In Bremen the street's connectivity and your house's connectivity are different questions.

The inner districts are made of Altbremer Haus terraces — individually owned, individually connected, frequently subdivided into two or three flats. Fibre reaching the street does not mean fibre reaching your floor, and the postcode checkers do not know the difference. Ask the outgoing tenant.

Source: community-reported

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

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

Some of this may be out of date.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