Appointment-System of the German Foreign Office — Washington
Please choose an area
The Embassy serves the following U.S. States: District of Columbia, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia and West Virginia.
If you live outside the Embassy’s jurisdiction, please contact the German Consulate which serves your U.S. State.
If you are a US citizen and intend to move to Germany for studying or family reunion, please be aware that you are still allowed to enter Germany visa free and apply for your residence permit at your place of residence. A visa process is not necessary.
Information about the visa process can be found on our website. There is also information available if a visa is required. Please read the information provided thoroughly before you book an appointment.
Please note that a visa is not a guarantee that you will be allowed to enter Germany as this is at the discretion of the German border police.
Please be aware that appointments at the visa section are usually well booked in advance. Special appointments can usually not be granted. If you are not able to attend your appointment, please cancel it to allow other customers to submit their application. Once you cancelled your appointment, you will be able to book a new one.
For detailed information on the German passport and ID card application procedures as well as a list of required documents, visit our website. Please familiarize yourself with the procedures before making an appointment for your passport application.
During each appointment only one application can be processed. Therefore, an individual appointment is required for every family member. Should you wish to apply for a passport and an ID card at the same time, please book two successive appointments. Due to high demand for passport application appointments, waiting times for an appointment may be increased. Please consider this while arranging your personal travel plans.
ATTENTION: Applicants who would like to declare German citizenship acc. to Sec. 5 German Citizenship Law can only apply for a passport after receipt of their „naturalization-certificate“.
Due to high demand, appointment wait times may be longer than usual. Appointments are being released three months in advance.
We recommend checking the appointment system regularly for cancellations, as new slots may become available.
Thank you for your unterstanding.
Passport application for Adults:
If you are applying for a German passport for the first time, or if your previous German passport expired more than 15 years ago, kindly review the following information:
Your application must undergo pre-screening before you can schedule an appointment to apply for a passport. This process helps us serve you more efficiently.
Please contact us by sending an email to konsulat@wash.auswaertiges-amt.de and include "First Passport" in the subject line. In your email, please mention your name, date of birth and the date and reason of your acquisition of German citizenship.
Further information on the process will then be sent to your email address. Please also check your spam folder regularly.
The same applies to children of the relevant persons.
- Name declarations
- Registration of a marriage abroad
- Registration of a birth abroad
- Recognition of a foreign divorce decree
Please note: This is not an appointment for applying for a German passport!
Citizenship Matters
The Embassy serves the following U.S. States: District of Columbia, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia and West Virginia.
If you live outside the Embassy’s jurisdiction, please contact the German Consulate which serves your U.S. State.
Before booking an appointment, we recommend using the extensive information on our Website and the possibility to contact us konsulat@wash.auswaertiges-amt.de.
Please make an appointment in this category if you wish to
- submit an application for naturalization
- renounce your German citizenship
- apply for a certificate of citizenship
Certified copies
Please be advised that copies for applications in citizenship matters will be notarized during your appointment. Please make sure you bring the originals of all relevant documents.
It is therefore not necessary to book a separate appointment for certifications or obtain certified copies by an US notary public in advance.
Maybe you are already a German citizen?
German citizenship is usually automatically acquired through descent (especially when a child is born to a German parent) unless the German parent was born outside of Germany after Dec 31st 1999. Therefore, there is usually no separate application needed to confirm German citizenship when a child is born to proven German parents in the US. The acquisition of German citizenship can usually be confirmed when applying for a passport for the child. In these cases you can book an appointment for a passport application.
Due to a constantly high demand, appointments at the German Embassy in Washington DC are booked fast.
We kindly ask you to continue checking our website and apologize for the inconvenience!
For all Consular Services other than those in the categories I to V, kindly book an appointment in this category:
- Notarizations of signature on powers of attorney and declarations of consent
- Notarizations of signature for the purpose of renunciation of an inheritance
- Notarizations of signature for a certificate of good conduct
- Notarizations of signature for opening a blocked account
- Life Certificates
- Notarization of Copies -> NOT FOR CITIZENSHIP MATTERS
- Export declaration for VAT