Before you start

Passport and residence permit or visa
Meldebescheinigung, for most traditional banks
Steuer-ID, or an undertaking to supply it when issued
A German address for the card and PIN to be posted to

Step-by-step

1
Open a digital account before you arrive if you can
Several German and EU digital banks open a German IBAN without a registered address, which breaks the chicken-and-egg problem of needing an account to pay a deposit and a lease to open an account. Keep it as a bridge rather than as your only account.
Mobile appWho: YouBefore arrival
2
Add a traditional account once you are registered
A Sparkasse, Volksbank or established direct bank account is worth having alongside. Some landlords, older employers and public bodies remain uneasy with fintech IBANs, and refusing a German IBAN on that basis is actually unlawful under EU rules — but arguing the point in the middle of a rental application is not a fight you want.
In personWho: You
3
Request your free Schufa data copy in your first month
You are entitled to one full copy of your data per year at no charge under data protection law. Landlords ask for a Schufa-Auskunft with every application. Request it early so the document exists when a viewing appears, and expect it to be nearly empty rather than negative.
OnlineWho: YouMonth 1
4
Build the file deliberately and slowly
A registered address, a mobile contract paid by direct debit and an account in good standing all populate the file over a few months. Opening several accounts and credit products at once has the opposite effect. There is no way to accelerate this, only ways to damage it.
OnlineWho: You
5
Know the deposit rules before a landlord quotes you a figure
German law caps the rental deposit at three months' cold rent, requires it to be held separately from the landlord's own assets in an interest-bearing form, and gives you the right to pay it in three monthly instalments alongside the first three rents. Landlords rarely mention the instalment right.
In personWho: You
6
Set up the SEPA direct debits early
Rent, health insurance, the Rundfunkbeitrag, electricity and your phone all collect by direct debit here. Germany runs on Lastschrift rather than on cards. Getting the mandates in place in the first weeks avoids a cascade of Mahnungen, which German institutions issue promptly and add fees to.
Mobile appWho: You

Documents you’ll need

Passport and residence permit
Meldebescheinigung
Steuer-ID once issued
Employment contract, which some banks request
Schufa data copy, for rental applications

Things most newcomers don’t know

The deposit is capped at three months and you may legally pay it in three instalments.

Section 551 of the Bürgerliches Gesetzbuch limits a residential security deposit to three months' cold rent, requires the landlord to hold it apart from their own assets so it survives their insolvency, and gives the tenant an unconditional right to pay it in three monthly instalments with the first three rents. Landlords very rarely volunteer the instalment right, and in Düsseldorf three months' rent is a large sum to find in your first month.

Source: Bürgerliches Gesetzbuch §551

An empty Schufa file is normal, and an employer letter is the counterweight.

Arriving with no credit record is expected rather than a black mark, but a landlord choosing between applicants reads a blank file as an unknown. A letter from your employer confirming an unlimited contract and gross salary substitutes for it surprisingly well, and Düsseldorf's large corporate employers issue them routinely. Ask HR in your first week rather than when a viewing comes up.

Source: community-reported

Refusing your German IBAN because it starts with a fintech's prefix is unlawful — and still happens.

EU Regulation 260/2012 requires that any euro-area IBAN be accepted for a euro payment, so an employer or landlord insisting on a 'proper' German bank is in the wrong. Knowing that is useful; relying on it is not. Keep a second account at an established institution so a rejected IBAN never delays a salary payment or a rental application while you are making the legal argument.

Source: EU Regulation 260/2012

Germany collects by direct debit, and missing one escalates faster than you expect.

Rent, insurance, utilities and the broadcasting fee all run on SEPA Lastschrift, and the German response to a failed collection is a formal Mahnung with a fee attached, then a second, then a collection agency. There is little of the informal grace period common elsewhere. Set the mandates up in your first fortnight and keep a buffer in the account.

Source: community-reported

Common mistakes to avoid

Arriving with no German IBAN and being unable to transfer a deposit when a flat is offered.
Not knowing the deposit is capped at three months' cold rent and payable in three instalments.
Turning up to a viewing without a Schufa data copy already in the folder.
Opening several accounts and credit products in the same month on a thin file.
Relying solely on a fintech IBAN that a landlord or payroll department then refuses.

Some of this may be out of date. Spotted something inaccurate? Help us keep it right for the next newcomer.