Short Answer
A standard postal forwarding subscription does not redirect high-security government letters to your new address.
Official authorities mark critical correspondence with a strict non-forwarding instruction that forces an immediate return to sender.
What Most Expats Don't Realize
You paid €32.90 for a six-month mail forwarding service (Nachsendeservice) and assumed your transition to a new city was completely covered. The tax office mailed an assessment notice to your old apartment, but because the envelope carried a "Do Not Forward" label, the post office returned it while your forwarding log stayed empty. Your bank account was frozen due to the unacknowledged tax debt, costing you €300 in court enforcement fees.
What To Do
- Email your new registration certificate to every individual government authority, bank, and insurance provider manually.
- Buy the Nachsendeservice directly from the Deutsche Post online portal as a secondary backup measure.
- "Gibt es für dieses Dokument ein Nachsendeverbot?" (Is there a forwarding prohibition for this document?) — ask the issuing authority if you expect sensitive legal mail during a move.
The Truth
The system limits forwarding services to standard commercial mail to prevent identity theft. Germany expects you to proactively notify every state apparatus of an address change, rendering automated forwarding useless for your most critical legal obligations.