How Does a U.S. Citizen Born in Germany Get a Birth Certificate?

A child born in Germany to an American parent needs two separate documents: a German birth certificate (Geburtsurkunde) from the local civil registry, and a Consular Report of Birth Abroad (CRBA, Form FS-240) from a U.S. embassy or consulate. The German certificate records the birth under German law. The CRBA is what proves your child is a U.S. citizen and functions as the American equivalent of a birth certificate for a U.S. citizen born in Germany. You must apply for the CRBA before the child turns 18.¹

The Two Documents and What Each One Does

The Geburtsurkunde is issued by the Standesamt (civil registry office) in the city or town where the birth took place.² It is the German record of the birth and the source document you will present later to U.S. authorities.

The CRBA is the official U.S. government record certifying that a child born outside the country acquired American citizenship at birth.³ It works the same way a domestic U.S. birth certificate does: your child will use it to get a U.S. passport, enroll in school, and prove eligibility for federal benefits.¹

The State Department only issues CRBAs to applicants under 18.¹ Missing that deadline does not take away the child’s citizenship, but it closes this route for documenting it. An adult who was never issued a CRBA can still establish U.S. citizenship, but the process runs through a first-time passport application and a consular interview, and it is considerably more burdensome.⁴ Apply while the child is young.

Getting the German Birth Certificate

The hospital typically handles the initial registration with the Standesamt after the birth, but you request the actual certificate from the Standesamt yourself.²

Ask for the international version. Germany participates in international conventions that produce multilingual civil-status documents, and the international version includes English text, so no separate translation is needed.⁵ If you end up with a standard German-language certificate, you will need a certified English translation before the U.S. embassy will accept it. Make sure the certificate shows both parents’ names. Shorter-form extracts that omit parentage are not sufficient for the CRBA application.

Births in U.S. Military Hospitals

A child born in a U.S. military hospital in Germany is not registered with German authorities. The Standesamt has no record, and Germany cannot issue a birth certificate for that child.² The birth documentation in that situation comes from the military facility and the State Department. Contact the embassy about what to substitute for the Geburtsurkunde when filing the CRBA application.

Whether Your Child Qualifies for the CRBA

A child born abroad does not automatically become a U.S. citizen just because a parent holds a U.S. passport. Federal law requires the American parent to have lived in the United States for a minimum period before the child’s birth. The requirement depends on whether both parents are citizens, whether the parents are married, and when the child was born.

Both Parents Are U.S. Citizens

If both parents are U.S. citizens and were married at the time of the birth, only one of them needs to have resided in the United States at any point before the child was born.⁶ There is no minimum number of years. A single period of residence is enough.

One U.S. Citizen Parent, Married

When one parent is a U.S. citizen and the other is not, and the parents are married, the citizen parent must have been physically present in the United States for at least five years before the child’s birth, with at least two of those years after age 14.⁷ The years do not need to be consecutive. School attendance, military service, and time simply spent living at home as a teenager all count.

Certain time abroad also counts as U.S. physical presence: honorable military service, employment by the U.S. government, and employment with a qualifying international organization. The same credit applies if the citizen parent lived abroad as the dependent unmarried child of someone in one of those roles.⁷ This matters in Germany, where many American families are stationed with the military.

Unmarried U.S. Citizen Mother

For a child born between December 24, 1952, and June 11, 2017, an unmarried U.S. citizen mother only needed one continuous year of physical presence in the United States before the birth.⁸ For children born on or after June 12, 2017, the one-year rule no longer applies. An unmarried U.S. citizen mother must now meet the same five-year, two-after-14 standard.⁶

Unmarried U.S. Citizen Father

An unmarried U.S. citizen father must meet the five-year physical presence rule, with two of those years after age 14. He must also establish paternity by clear and convincing evidence, agree in writing to financially support the child until age 18, and either legitimate the child, acknowledge paternity in writing under oath, or have paternity established by a court before the child turns 18.⁸ Fathers document these on Form DS-5507, the Affidavit of Physical Presence or Residence, Parentage, and Support.⁹

What to Bring to the Appointment

The CRBA application asks you to prove three things: the facts of the birth, the parent’s U.S. citizenship, and the parent’s physical presence in the United States.

For the birth:

The German birth certificate (international version, or standard version with certified English translation).
Marriage certificate if the parents are married, along with divorce decrees from any prior marriages.
For unmarried parents, the father’s written acknowledgment of paternity or a paternity statement from the Standesamt.

For the parent’s citizenship:

A valid U.S. passport, U.S. birth certificate, Certificate of Naturalization, or prior CRBA for the citizen parent.

For physical presence, this is the part families underestimate. The consular officer needs to piece together a timeline of the parent’s life in the United States. Useful evidence includes:

School and university transcripts showing enrollment at U.S. institutions.
Military service records showing stateside stationing or qualifying overseas service.
Old passports with U.S. entry and exit stamps.
Tax returns, W-2 forms, and pay stubs from U.S.-based employment.
Leases, utility bills, and medical records tying the parent to a U.S. address in specific years.

Start gathering these well before the appointment. Parents who moved abroad young sometimes struggle to prove enough years, especially the two that must fall after age 14.

Applying at the Embassy or a Consulate

Create an account on the State Department’s MyTravelGov portal and complete the application (Form DS-2029) online.¹⁰ Once submitted, schedule an in-person appointment at the U.S. Embassy in Berlin or a consulate in Frankfurt, Munich, Düsseldorf, or Hamburg.

Both parents and the child should attend. The consular officer reviews the original documents, verifies the birth facts, and assesses whether the physical presence requirement is met. The fee is $100 and is non-refundable.¹¹

Most families also apply for the child’s first U.S. passport at the same appointment, which is a separate application and a separate fee. Processing typically takes several weeks after the interview. The CRBA and passport are mailed separately.

Getting a Social Security Number

A Social Security number is not issued automatically for a child born abroad, even to U.S. citizen parents. The U.S. Embassy in Germany directs families to the Social Security Administration’s Federal Benefits Unit at the U.S. Consulate General in Frankfurt.¹² The form is SS-5-FS, the overseas version of the standard Social Security card application.¹³

The Federal Benefits Unit requires an appointment, booked through the Frankfurt FBU Navigator on the embassy website. Bring original documents proving the child’s citizenship and identity; the FBU makes certified copies and returns the originals. Do not mail original documents to Baltimore.¹³

Getting the SSN early matters for U.S. tax filing. Without it, you cannot claim the child as a dependent on your federal return.¹⁴

Replacing a Lost or Damaged CRBA

If the original CRBA is later lost, stolen, or damaged, request a replacement from the State Department’s Passport Vital Records Section. Submit a notarized Form DS-5542 with a copy of your photo ID and a $50 check or money order payable to the U.S. Department of State. Processing takes four to eight weeks after receipt, and expedited service is not available. CRBAs issued before November 1990 may require a manual search at the National Archives, which can take 14 to 16 weeks.³

1
Travel.State.Gov. Birth of U.S. Citizens and Non-Citizen Nationals Abroad
2
German Missions in the United States. Obtaining a Birth Certificate if Born in Germany
3
U.S. Department of State. How to Replace or Amend a Consular Report of Birth Abroad (CRBA)
4
U.S. Embassy & Consulates in the Netherlands. Claiming Citizenship (Age 18+) – Born Outside the United States
5
Federal Foreign Office. Obtaining a Birth Certificate for a Person Born in Germany
6
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Policy Manual – U.S. Citizens at Birth (INA 301 and 309)
7
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 8 USC 1401 – Nationals and Citizens of United States at Birth
8
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 8 USC 1409 – Children Born Out of Wedlock
9
U.S. Department of State. Affidavit of Physical Presence or Residence, Parentage, and Support
10
U.S. Embassy & Consulates in Germany. Birth Abroad and Eligibility for U.S. Citizenship
11
eCFR. 22 CFR Part 22 – Schedule of Fees for Consular Services
12
U.S. Embassy & Consulates in Germany. Social Security
13
Social Security Administration. Application for a Social Security Card (Form SS-5-FS)
14
Internal Revenue Service. Dependents 9