BundID at a glance

In accordance with the Online Access Act, Germany is making government services available in digital format, both for private individuals and businesses. To be able to use these online services, you normally need a user account which serves to confirm your identity. BundID is the central component provided by the Federal Government to enable secure, easy and flexible identification and authentication for users of digital government services. 

Once you have set up your account, you can use digital government services and have forms automatically filled in with your personal data, for example. This saves you time and helps to avoid typing errors. BundID manages your data in accordance with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), making them available for any applications you may wish to submit. You can find further information on how your data are processed here. 

In addition, BundID features an electronic inbox which you can use to receive final decisions from government authorities. On the whole, BundID offers a secure way to submit applications and supports online communication between individuals and government authorities.

You can find more useful information about BundID here: Frequently Asked Questions. 

How to create an account 

You can create a BundID account here. There are four options for creating an account: you can register using a user name and password, an ELSTER certificate, the eID function of your national identity card or a European eID. The level of assurance required for registration or log-in increases with the level of confidentiality of the data contained in an online application.

BundID offers three different assurance levels: “Basic registration” with user name and password, “substantial” and “high”. Registration with your ELSTER certificate meets the “substantial” assurance level. To meet the highest assurance level, you will need to register using the eID function of your national identity card or a European eID. Your national identity card is the recommended means of identification because it gives you access to all available online services. 

How to use digital government services securely, easily and flexibly with BundID

• The security of your data is guaranteed at all times.
• The principle of data minimisation applies when you use BundID to access online services, and data will be shared only with your explicit consent.
• BundID makes it easier for you to use government services, for example by automatically completing forms with your personal data.
• With BundID, you can access government services conveniently and at any time from the comfort of your home.

Where you can access BundID

Currently, BundID is integrated in more than 75 online services. It benefits families in particular, with online services such as digital parental allowance (available in German), as well as people in education with digital BAföG and people in professional training with digital AFBG. In addition to these nationwide services, the federal states of Baden-Württemberg, Hesse and Saxony offer state-level services that you can also access with BundID. At the end of April 2023, the first higher education institutions started using BundID to manage the enrolment procedures for their study courses.

Furthermore, the federal states of Berlin, Brandenburg, Hesse, Lower Saxony, North Rhine-Westphalia, Rhineland-Palatinate, Saxony-Anhalt and Thuringia have decided to give up their service accounts, migrating to BundID. Saarland, which does not yet have a user account, also plans to integrate BundID. In future, people living in these federal states will be able to use BundID to access state-level services.