Apply for a house number

House numbers are allocated by the relevant local authorities in connection with planning applications, notifications of building works or at the request of the owners. In order to integrate new buildings into an existing sequence of house numbers, it may be necessary to change existing house numbers.

House numbers help people find their way around a town or local area – including visitors, emergency services and public authorities – and serve to organise all data relating to individuals or locations.

In principle, it is possible to apply for additional house numbers for garden plots and holiday homes.

Property owners are obliged to display the house number assigned by the local authority on their property. This obligation includes procuring, fitting and maintaining the number plate, as well as bearing the costs thereof. In the event of a change of number, the owner must also bear the costs of the new number plate. The numbering requirement applies to both developed and undeveloped plots of land.

It is the responsibility of the local authorities, in their capacity as local regulatory bodies, to check whether a house number has been displayed by the property owner. House number signage is also checked in the event of complaints. The property owner is required to ensure that the house number is visible from the public highway.

• Section 126(3) of the Building Code (BauGB)
• Section 13(1) of the OBG

  The KAG does not apply, as this is a mandatory task to be carried out in accordance with instructions

• Application for a house number
• Official site plan for the plot
• Planning permission number

You are the owner of a plot of land for which no house number has yet been assigned.

Contradiction

There are two equivalent systems in use for the arrangement of house numbers:

• The so-called Paris system, which uses a sort of ‘zipper’ system (numbering begins at the end of the street facing the city centre, starting with 1 on the left-hand side and 2 on the right-hand side, and then continues separately for even and odd numbers to the other end of the street, although, due to the varying sizes of the individual plots, it is often the case that numbers which are adjacent in sequence do not in fact face each other).
   
• The so-called Berlin system, with continuous house numbering (the sequence of numbers starts at 1 on one side of the street, continues without interruption to the end of the street, and then carries on in the same sequence on the other side).

Administrative districts, municipalities not belonging to an administrative district, cities independent of a district