Your social security number (Sozialversicherungsnummer)
The social security number, called the Sozialversicherungsnummer or, in modern usage, the Rentenversicherungsnummer (RVNR), is a permanent identifier issued by the German pension insurance system (Deutsche Rentenversicherung). It links you to the pension, health, long-term care, accident and unemployment insurance systems and follows you for life. For most expats it appears automatically: when you start your first job subject to social-insurance contributions, your employer reports the hire and the pension insurer assigns the number, then sends you a Versicherungsnummernachweis (the document that replaced the old social-insurance card). You usually do not have to apply yourself. Freelancers and self-employed people who are not in compulsory pension insurance may never receive one until they take up insurable work.
What it is and what it is for
The Sozialversicherungsnummer is your lifelong identifier within the German social-insurance system. It is also called the Rentenversicherungsnummer, the newer official term; both refer to the same number. The number encodes details such as your date of birth and is used to track your pension contributions and entitlements across your entire working life.
It is essential for any employment that is subject to social-insurance contributions. Employers use it to report your wages and pay contributions toward pension, health, long-term care, unemployment and accident insurance on your behalf. You will be asked for it when you start a new job.
How it is issued, usually automatically
If you have never worked in Germany before, you normally do not apply for the number yourself. When you begin your first insurable job, your employer reports you to your statutory health insurer, which triggers the Deutsche Rentenversicherung to assign a social-security number. You then receive a Versicherungsnummernachweis, a free certificate that replaced the old physical Sozialversicherungsausweis.
People born or already insured in Germany may have been allocated a number earlier (numbers have been assigned at birth since 2005), but it is typically only communicated to you when you take up your first employment. If you have worked in Germany before, you keep the same number for the rest of your life; do not let a new employer create a second one.
Freelancers, the self-employed, and special cases
Many freelancers and self-employed people are not subject to compulsory pension insurance and therefore may not be issued a Sozialversicherungsnummer until they take up insurable employment or opt into the system. Certain professions (such as artists and publicists via the Kuenstlersozialkasse, or some craftspeople and teachers) are exceptions and are covered, so they will have a number.
If you need the number but have not been assigned one, or you want to obtain your certificate proactively, you can request it directly from the Deutsche Rentenversicherung. You can also order a replacement Versicherungsnummernachweis from them free of charge if you lose yours.
- 1When starting your first German job, give your employer your personal and bank details so they can register you.
- 2Let the employer report the hire; this triggers assignment of your social-security number.
- 3Watch for your Versicherungsnummernachweis to arrive by post and store it safely.
- 4Reuse the same number for every future employer; never request a second one.
- 5If you are self-employed and need a number, or you lost your certificate, request it from Deutsche Rentenversicherung.
- Deutsche Rentenversicherung: Versicherungsnummernachweis
- Handbook Germany: social insurance in Germany
- Make it in Germany: social security
General information for expats in Germany, not individual advice. Rules and figures change; verify against the official sources above and your own situation.