Registering Your Address in Austria in 2026: Meldezettel, Deadlines and Main or Secondary Residence

If you move into accommodation in Austria, you must generally register your address within a short period. This is one of the most important official steps after moving, as many other administrative matters depend on it.

Key points

• Address registration is required within three days of moving in.
• The maximum fine for failing to register is 726 euros; in repeated cases, it is 2,180 euros.
• Registration is free of charge.
• You may register only where you actually live. A fictitious registration (Scheinmeldung) is punishable.
• You can have only one main residence (Hauptwohnsitz), but any number of secondary residences (Nebenwohnsitz).

Who must register?

Anyone who takes accommodation in an Austrian dwelling (Unterkunft nimmt) must register. The obligation applies regardless of citizenship.

Registration is required, for example, when you:

• move into accommodation in Austria for the first time,
• move within Austria and establish a new main residence, or
• establish an additional address as a secondary residence.

Minors living in the same household must be registered by the person entitled to care for or raise them. If there is no such person, or the child does not live with them, the accommodation provider (Unterkunftgeber) must register the child.

When you register a new main residence, the authority responsible for the new address can also arrange the deregistration or transfer of the previous address.

Deadlines and penalties

• Address registration: within three days of moving in
• Fine for failing to register: up to 726 euros
• Fine in repeated cases: up to 2,180 euros
• Deadline for appealing an authority decision: four weeks
• Official fee: none

An offence may also be committed by someone who registers at an address without having moved in, or deregisters without having left the accommodation. An appeal (Beschwerde) against the authority’s decision must be addressed to the provincial administrative court but submitted to the authority that issued the decision.

Where and how can you register?

Registration is handled by the registration authority (Meldebehörde) responsible for the new address:

• in municipalities, the municipal office (Gemeindeamt),
• in statutory cities (Statutarstädte), the city office (Magistrat),
• in Vienna, the district office (Magistratisches Bezirksamt).

You can register in the following ways:

1. In person at the relevant office.
2. By post, using the completed form and required documents. The sender bears the risk associated with delivery.
3. Through an authorised messenger (Bote).
4. Online through the “Meldewesen” service on oesterreich.gv.at, using ID Austria or EU Login.

Registration by fax or email is currently not legally possible.

The online service may be used only by people who have previously been registered in Austria. You can also register your own minor children living at the same address if they are listed in the Central Civil Status Register (ZPR). This applies to children born in Austria on or after 1 November 2014.

You receive written confirmation of registration (Meldebestätigung). In the past, this was also called a Meldezettel.

The Meldezettel form and required documents

For registration in person or by post, you need the Meldezettel form. Each person must complete a separate form in full and legibly, and each form must also be signed by the accommodation provider. Your own signature confirms that the information is correct.

The accommodation provider is the person who actually provides the accommodation. This may be the owner of a house or privately owned apartment, including when registering themselves; the main tenant registering a subtenant or flatmate; or a subtenant registering their flatmate.

The section concerning religious affiliation may be completed after the accommodation provider has signed the form, or it may be left blank.

The required documents include:

• an official document showing your name, surname before your first marriage or registered partnership, any other names, date and place of birth, and citizenship, such as a passport and birth certificate,
• a travel document, such as a passport, if you are not an Austrian citizen,
• proof of an academic degree, where applicable,
• the child’s birth certificate for a newborn.

If you do not register in person, you must include the original documents or notarised or court-certified copies.

Main residence or secondary residence?

Main residence (Hauptwohnsitz)

Your main residence is the accommodation that you intend to make the centre of your life and where you actually stay. Relevant factors include the length of your stay, the location of your workplace or place of education, the residence of family members—especially children—and the location of a school or kindergarten.

What matters is not what you call the address, but the overall picture of your professional, economic and social connections. Not every factor has to apply.

Secondary residence (Nebenwohnsitz)

A secondary residence is sufficient when only some aspects of your life are connected to the address—for example, because you study, work or regularly spend your free time there.

The main residence can matter in several areas:

• Elections: a main residence in the relevant province is required for most provincial and municipal elections. As an EU citizen, you can vote in European Parliament elections in Austria if you have a main residence there.
• Schools and kindergartens: in Vienna, a child and at least one parent must have a main residence in Vienna throughout the entire kindergarten period to qualify for a free kindergarten place.
• Parking: in Vienna, the residents’ parking permit (Parkpickerl) is linked to the main residence.
• Benefits: provincial benefits are often linked to the main residence.

If the centre of your life changes over time, you must transfer your registration (Ummeldung).

Exceptions to the registration requirement

You do not have to register if you stay in a dwelling for no more than three days. Someone who is already registered elsewhere in Austria also does not need to register when staying free of charge somewhere for no more than two months—for example, while visiting grandparents—or when receiving hospital treatment.

In a hotel or guesthouse, registration takes place through an entry in the guest register.

Frequently asked questions

Do I have to pay to register my address?

No. Address registration is free of charge.

What happens when a child is born?

If the Meldezettel is completed at the hospital, the address registration takes place together with the registration of the birth. You do not need to visit the authority separately.

Do I need to register again after changing my name?

Changes of name, marital status, gender or citizenship that take place in Austria are entered directly into the Central Residence Register (ZMR) by the civil status offices. A separate registration is not required.

How many secondary residences can I have?

You may have any number of secondary residences, but only one main residence.

Practical steps

1. Confirm the date on which you moved into the accommodation.
2. Decide whether the address is your main residence or a secondary residence based on the centre of your professional, economic and social life.
3. Complete a separate Meldezettel for every person being registered.
4. Ask the accommodation provider (Unterkunftgeber) to sign each form.
5. Prepare the required original documents or certified copies if you are registering by post or through a messenger.
6. Submit the registration to the relevant Meldebehörde within three days, in person, by post, through a Bote or online if eligible.
7. Keep the written Meldebestätigung as proof of registration.

This information is based on sources available online and does not constitute legal advice. If you need professional advice, consult a lawyer or another relevant qualified professional.

Source: oesterreich.gv.at