Registering as job-seeking/unemployed and unemployment benefit

If your job will end soon or has already ended, you should first register as job-seeking (arbeitsuchend) and then register as unemployed (arbeitslos). These two registrations are separate, and the unemployment registration is a condition for receiving unemployment benefit (Arbeitslosengeld). 123

Who needs this

• If your employment will end soon, for example because you were dismissed or your fixed-term contract will not be extended, you should register as job-seeking early. 1
• If you have already lost your job, you must register as unemployed, even if you already registered as job-seeking. 23
• You are considered unemployed if you do not work or work less than 15 hours per week, are available to the employment services of the Federal Employment Agency, and actively look for insured employment yourself. 23
• To receive unemployment benefit, you generally need to be registered as unemployed and meet the insurance periods required for entitlement. 23

Step by step

1. Register as job-seeking as soon as you know your job will end. If your employment is still ongoing, do this immediately, and at the latest 3 months before it ends. If you learn of a possible job loss at short notice, register within 3 days. 1
2. Register as unemployed separately. This can be done online or in person at your local Agentur für Arbeit. 23
3. If you register online as unemployed, enter the expected date of unemployment and identify yourself online. 2
4. If you register in person, go to the Agentur für Arbeit responsible for your place of residence and bring an identity document with your current address. 23
5. After the unemployment registration, you can submit the unemployment benefit application online. If you register as unemployed, this counts as the application date unless you state otherwise. 3

Documents

• For online unemployment registration, you need an activated online ID function on a German identity card, an electronic residence permit (Elektronischer Aufenthaltstitel), or an eID card under the eID Act. 2
• For in-person unemployment registration, bring your identity card with current address. Instead of an identity card, you can also bring your passport or a replacement document together with a current registration certificate (Meldebescheinigung). 2
• For the unemployment benefit application, additional documents are required, including the application itself. 3
• If you use online services, a release code (Freischaltcode) may be needed for some e-services or to create a profile. 12

Cost and time

• The telephone job-seeking registration hotline is free of charge: 0800 4 555500. 1
• You can activate the online ID function or set a new PIN free of charge at the responsible citizens’ office (Bürgerservice/Bürgeramt/Einwohnermeldeamt). 2
• Unemployment benefit can be paid at the earliest from the day you registered as unemployed, if all other conditions are met. 2
• For many cases, the unemployment benefit application can be sent about 2 weeks before unemployment starts. 3

Deadlines

• Register as job-seeking at the latest 3 months before your employment ends. If you learn about possible job loss only shortly before it happens, register within 3 days. 1
• Register as unemployed at the earliest 3 months before unemployment starts and at the latest on the first day without employment. 23
• If your first day of unemployment is a day when the Agentur für Arbeit is closed, register on the next opening day. 2
• If you are ill when unemployment begins, you are generally considered unemployed on the day you recover; if the Agentur für Arbeit is closed that day, register on the last day of your incapacity. 2
• If your unemployment is interrupted for more than 6 weeks, you must register again. 2

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