A Nachsendeauftrag is Deutsche Post's official mail forwarding order: letters sent to your old German address get redirected to a new one — including abroad. It's the right first step when you move, but it's temporary, slow across borders, and doesn't catch everything. Here's how it works and how to set up a permanent solution.
You order it online at deutschepost.de (search 'Nachsendeservice'), choosing your old address, the new destination, and a duration — typically 6 or 12 months. From the start date, Deutsche Post intercepts letters addressed to your old address and forwards them. International forwarding costs noticeably more than domestic.
International forwarding adds one to several weeks of transit per letter — dangerous for anything with a deadline (Finanzamt, insurance, court mail: German law often treats a letter as 'delivered' when it reaches the mailbox, not when you read it). Parcels and mail carried by other delivery companies are generally not forwarded. And when the order expires, senders who still have your old address simply get lost.
Point your Nachsendeauftrag at a German Mailbox address in Berlin instead of your foreign address. Every forwarded letter is scanned within 24 hours and appears in your online mailbox — no international transit at all. Meanwhile, you update banks, insurers, and authorities to the Berlin address directly. By the time the forwarding order expires, nothing depends on it anymore.
Your Berlin address stays valid no matter how often you move abroad. Letters are readable online within 24 hours, AI detects deadlines in official mail and translates German letters to English, and originals can be forwarded worldwide or shredded on request.
Typically 6 or 12 months, extendable. After that, mail goes to your old address again or back to the sender.
Generally no — it covers Deutsche Post letter mail. Parcels and other carriers' deliveries are usually not forwarded internationally.
The Deutsche Post site is largely German-only. Setting it up before you leave is easier; the forwarding destination can be any address, including a scan address.
Senders with your old address lose you. That's why the durable fix is giving key senders a permanent German address they can always reach.
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