Leaving the church online

In Germany, you can leave the church via an online procedure. You can conveniently complete your withdrawal from the church online today.

In this article you will learn:

1. What you have to do if you want to leave the church and why it makes sense to do it online.
2. Which documents you need for this. You can obtain these documents free of charge here.
3. How to have your resignation application notarised today. In a 100% online procedure.

1. What do you have to do if you want to leave the church?

Anyone in Germany who wishes to leave the church can do so at a local authority office. Depending on the federal state, you will need to make an appointment at either the registry office, the residents’ registration office or the local court. However, there is often a waiting period of several months for such appointments, during which you will still be required to pay church tax. You must also attend the appointment in person.

Alternatively, you can also declare your withdrawal from the church at a notary’s office. If you want to save time and money, you can complete the process entirely online. This is because signatures can also be certified online by notaries. On notarity, you can have your signature certified online today by one of our partner notaries.

2. What documents are needed to leave the church?

To leave the Church, the intention to do so must be certified by a notary. The document must contain the following information:

• First name and surname of the exiting person
• Date and place of birth and address of the withdrawing person
• Indication of the church or religious or ideological community of the withdrawing person

It is not necessary for you to give a reason for your withdrawal.

We provide a free template for you to fill in yourself if you wish to leave the Church. You will receive this template by email once you have completed the form below.

3. Online certification of the withdrawal

Once you have completed the sample, you can have your application notarised online by our partner notaries.

Online appointments are available with our partner notaries on weekdays between 7 and 9 pm available.

The online certification of your signature takes place during a video call with a partner notary from notarity. Before the appointment, you must register on the notarity Webplattform and verify your identity. This will take around 15 minutes. All you need for the entire process is a valid ID card or passport and a smartphone. A qualified electronic signature will be issued to you as part of the registration process.