Enquiries to the Federal Archive 

Step 1: Send an Informal E-Mail, Letter or Use the Contact Form

To receive written information, please send an informal enquiry to the Federal Archives by e-mail, post or by using the contact form. The enquiry must include the subject and purpose of your enquiry. The relevant e-mail and contact addresses can be found on our contact page.

Step 2: Complete the Request Form

For legal reasons, you may be asked to complete, sign and return a formal request form. In doing so, you agree to comply with the provisions of the Federal Archives Act, the User Regulations and the Special Fee Ordinance (BKM).

If you are looking for personal information on German military personnel, it is best to complete the ‘Request for research on military personnel (PDF, 0.93 MB, File does not meet accessibility standards)’. Please sign and scan it and return it by email or post to the Federal Archives. The contact address depends on what military member you are looking for. The relevant addresses are listed here: Personal documents of military provenance up to 1945.

If you are looking for personal information on German civilians who resided in the former East German or Eastern European settlement regions before 1946, visit the page of the Bayreuth branch office (Equalisation of Burdens Archive) of the Federal Archives. The e-mail address is: laa@bundesarchiv.de.

If you would like to view the documents of the State Security Service of the former GDR, please submit a request to the Stasi Records Archive. Request forms and other information is available here: Access to Stasi Records.

Step 3: Viewing Documents

It is often necessary to visit the Federal Archives in person to determine which documents are important. Alternatively, you can hire a private research service to conduct the investigation for you. Information on preparing a visit to one of our reading rooms can be found here: Visiting the Archives Facility. It is possible to have duplicates of archive material made.

You will be invited to view Stasi documents at the location of the Stasi Records Archive that you specified in your request. If you cannot or do not wish to travel to view the files in person, please apply for duplicates (copies) by ticking the appropriate box on the request form. You’ll find further information here: Access to Stasi Records.

Step 4: Notification of Fees

Charges are generally incurred when the Federal Archives carries out minor research tasks at your request. Details on fees can be found in the Special Fee Ordinance (BKM) under Section 1 of the Federal Archives Act of the Schedule of Fees and Expenses. A notification of fees will be sent to you by post.

Persons concerned, third parties and near relatives are exempted from normal fees and expenses for viewing files. A fee is charged for creating duplicates. Details can be found in the Fee Ordinance regulations and Schedule of Fees and Expenses.