Social security number (pension insurance number)

The insurance number (Versicherungsnummer) is the key personal number used in German pension insurance. Every employee, including marginal employees (geringfügig Beschäftigte), receives the insurance number notice (Versicherungsnummernachweis, formerly Sozialversicherungsausweis), which is issued automatically when they first start a job. 123

Who needs this

• Every employee, including marginal employees (geringfügig Beschäftigte), receives an insurance number notice (Versicherungsnummernachweis). 3
• The insurance number is normally assigned when a person first starts work and generally does not change. 2
• Employees must give their insurance number to a new employer when they change jobs. 1
• The insurance number is also used when applying for social benefits, for example unemployment benefit (Arbeitslosengeld). 1

Step by step

1. When you start your first job, the Deutsche Rentenversicherung issues the insurance number notice (Versicherungsnummernachweis). 13
2. Your employer can retrieve the insurance number automatically from the Data Collection Office of the Pension Insurance Institutions (Datenstelle der Rentenversicherung, DSRV). 13
3. If no insurance number can be transmitted, you must present the insurance number notice without delay, or your employer must request that an insurance number be assigned. 13
4. If your name changes or if the notice is lost or unusable, you can apply for a new one from Deutsche Rentenversicherung or from the responsible statutory health insurance fund (Krankenkasse). 13
5. If you are not statutorily insured with a health insurance fund, the application is accepted by a health insurance fund that you could choose if you were insured by law. 3
6. You must be at least 15 years old to apply. 3

Documents

• The insurance number notice (Versicherungsnummernachweis) contains the insurance number, family name, first name, and date of issue. 3
• If the notice becomes unusable, it must be returned to the responsible health insurance fund or pension insurance institution. 3

Cost and time

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Deadlines

• The obligation to carry and present the old social insurance card (Sozialversicherungsausweis) ended on 1 January 2023. 13
• Since 1 January 2023, employers normally retrieve the insurance number electronically. 13
• If no number can be transmitted, the employee must present the notice without delay. 1

City by city

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