What is SCHUFA: all about your credit rating in Germany and how to keep it high.
Among all the hurdles I had to conquer when moving to Germany, I never thought one of the tallest ones would be a credit rating institution. Yes, the first time I heard of it, I also asked myself: what is SCHUFA? And why does it represent such a challenge for newcomers to Germany?
This post aims at answering all that, based on personal experience and additional research.
What is SCHUFA: a somewhat intrusive credit record
SCHUFA Holding AG is a company acting as a central place where information about you (as a consumer) is sourced from utility suppliers, banks, internet providers & more. The company will track all bills or fines over time. Using this raw data and parsing it through an algorithm of their own, they create and record a credit rating score for all German residents. That’s why people say “SCHUFA”, they mean the record held by the company.
The company is basically rating your ability to pay bills. This record (called SCHUFA Auskunft) will follow you everywhere as consumer in your everyday life, you‘d better keep it clean. Otherwise, consequences could be serious.
SCHUFA receives data from virtually every company in Germany, with around 10 000 cooperating partners in every industry (finance, insurance, Telco, shopping, etc). When you make a contract with one of those, that’s when your record is created. Usually for newcomers, it starts with the bank.
Its impact on everyday life
Your SCHUFA record will play a role at almost every major step of way in your new life in Germany. Your record will be checked by companies like Deutsche Telekom when opening a phone line or by your bank when you apply for a loan. They will then be able to tell if you have debts or not and if you can be trusted as a customer.
Most crucially for newcomers; landlords will require to see your SCHUFA score to be able to sign the lease. This can be challenging because newcomers often don’t have a SCHUFA score to start with! This often why we tend to move into flat share, sublets or short-term accomodation first.
It can also be a lot more trivial: I was not able to buy my phone as part of my mobile phone contract because my SCHUFA score was non-existent at the time.
That sounds awful, but is it really all that bad?
What is SCHUFA: an efficient way to limit your debts
The cleanest SCHUFA score (called “Basisscore” you get at the beginning is rated at 100%, in theory however. If you don’t pay your bills, this score will decrease accordingly to how much you have been naughty. If it does, it can limit your ability to undertake other contracts which can be frustrating. However, this system is preventing that you become overwhelmed by debts overtime. However, even if you pay all your debts, your score will go down a few percents for some reason. It is completely fine to have score down to 95% for example.
To give you perspective, here are the different “Basisscore” tiers and what they mean. It measure the probability with which you will honor your bills, credits, contracts, etc.
| Score value | Risk assessment – Level of risk |
|---|---|
| > 97,5 % | Very low |
| 95 % – 97,5 % | Low to negligible |
| 90 % – 95 % | Satisfactory to elevated |
| 80 % – 90 % | Fairly elevated |
| 50 % – 80 % | Very elevated |
| < 50 % | Critical |
That’s not all bad you see. Schufa actually stands for : “Schutzorganisation für Allgemeine Kreditsicherung” which roughly translates to “Organisation for general credit safety protection”
How to get a free SCHUFA record
Any German resident has a legal right to review the data contained in their SCHUFA score, as per defined by law (§ 34 Bundesdatenschutzgesetz (BDSG)) This is why you can request at least one free copy once a year. SCHUFA calls it “Datenübersicht” (Data overview) or “Datenkopie“. This free record contains all the necessary information for landlords.
This is how you get a free SCHUFA record:
- Browse to SCHUFA’s website and find this page.
- Look for the right column titled “”Datenkopie (nach Art. 15 DS-GVO)“” and click “Jetzt bestellen”.
- The next screen contains several fields to input your personal information. Fill them in. You can also upload a copy of your ID card, passport & Meldebescheinigung (residence registration certificate).
- Once you have submitted a request, you will receive a paper copy by mail after several days.
How to get a SCHUFA record fast
You might need your SCHUFA record faster than what the free method allows. In this case you can turn to another option.
You can order a BonitätsAuskunft record for a 29,95€ fee, directly from SCHUFA’s website on this page.
- Click on “Jetzt bestellen” and follow the screens, requesting your personal information.
- Fill in the payment method/information.
- Download your SCHUFA report right away.
Alternatively, you can also queue at one of the Postbank branches to obtain a printed copy for the same price.
FAQ
Your SCHUFA record is the German credit score. It contains all the data you generate as a consumer, together with an overall rating.
As a credit rating institution, SCHUFA receives data from its approximately 10,000 cooperation partners, including banks, insurance companies, energy suppliers, leasing and mobile phone companies.
As soon as you have concluded a contract with one of the cooperation partners the consent to the data transmission to SCHUFA is usually given.
You can order a record from the company directly on the following website. It costs 29,95€. (click on Bonitätauskunft on the homepage) : https://www.meineschufa.de/. Some Postbank centers do offer to print one for you on the spot as well for the same fee. No need to be a Postbank customer. This report is the preferred by landlords, because it contains all the details.
However, you are entitled to a few free requests per year that you can also get from the same website here. On this page, click “Jetzt bestellen” on the right “Datenkopie (nach Art. 15 DS-GVO)“ column. Enter your data on the page that follows. You will be able to upload a copy of your passport (“Dokumentupload” > “Kopie des Reisepasses”) and a copy your Meldebescheinigung with it.
This is typical chicken-&-egg situation for many foreigners moving to Germany: landlords ask for a SCHUFA record for you to rent their flat, but you don’t have one since you are not registered (Anmeldung) and can’t open a bank account… because you don’t have a place yet. If you are in this situation, you might want to go for a flat share (WG) and register there until you find your own place. You can also turn to services like Wunderflats, which lets you rent furnished flats without a SCHUFA record.
To keep a good SCHUFA score (above 95%), those are the few recommended things:
Don’t open too many bank accounts in different banks and limit the amount of credit cards you own.
Don’t switch bank account too often.
If possible, try to keep healthy reserve in the accounts you own.
Pay your bills on time.
Check your SCHUFA-score once a year and correct any mistakes you might see.
Not at all. Your current employment situation is not relevant for your SCHUFA score. Making use of unemployment benefits is also not relevant.
However, if through that loss of income, you run into trouble paying your expenses on time, this will be reflected negatively and lower your score.
As it turns out, there are several. SCHUFA remains the most important and influential one but other ones can hold data about you. That is a bit scary i know, and quite unexpected from a country so strict about data privacy. You can find out about them and request a record from each via this website for free.
It’s not possible to use foreign sources to influence your current rating unfortunately.
As a newcomer, it will be automatically created when you have completed your Anmeldung at the Bürgeramt, opened a bank account, and paid a few bills with an internet access provider for example.
Their FAQs on the matter is not giving any magic formula unfortunately. The only thing you can do is try to resolve the cause of that negative entry as soon as possible and keep the rest of your financial related affairs in order. This mainly means paying all your bills and credits in time, and never use your overdraft possibilities if possible.
Negative records are impacting your score up to 3 years after you resolved your unpaid bills case and it can be kept as a “FYI side note” for up to 6 years overall. See a detailed table hereafter.
If you go for the paid version in the form of a subscription, you have access to your data at any time. If you want to order the free version, you can request it a few times per year. There is no clear number on this, only that it should be “appropriate”, as per EU law. I guess 2-3 times a year is all you will need anyway.
| Information entry | How long it stays in your record |
|---|---|
| Entries about credits / loans | 3 years after paying it back |
| Credit / loan requests | 12 months after request |
| Entries about your current bank accounts and credit cards | When closing the account |
| Requests from third-party companies | 12 months after request at the latest. |
| Entries about paying your bills late | 3 years or 4 years in case of unresolved disputes or longer sometimes. |
| Entries coming from the Amtsgericht concerning your possible debts | 3 years or sooner if debt has been declared resolved by the Amtsgericht. |
| Customer accounts with third-party companies | 3 years |
2 more important things
The SCHUFA will hold information about you long after you leave Germany and at a European level too. If you plan to leave unpaid bills behind and then come back to Germany, you might have to think twice before doing it. It could become harsh back fire in the near future.
This system makes that your personal wealth, your personal property or yearly income doesn’t have any influence on your record ! You could be the richest man in the world but still have the worst record if you didn’t pay your bills. Just bear that in mind.
I hope this introduction to a very German institution cleared things up fro you. Feel free to ask questions in the comments.
Thank you for this website and for your time to respond to comments and queries. I am in a rather unusual situation. In 2017 I was offered the EU Blue Card for work as a pilot with a long-term contract (Unbefristeter Arbeitsvertrag). In preparation for moving to Germany I opened a bank account with the German online bank DKB. They quickly approved it and I got their credit card too and the Miles & More credit card followed a few weeks later. Unfortunately because of internal issues, the airline (Germanwings) ceased operations before I moved to Germany and the contract was recalled. Since then I extended my contract with Air Asia. Now to the Schufa-related aspect of this story: my DKB account is still active. I informed the bank about the Germanwings situation and they said I can keep the account and credit cards. To this day, I maintain a healthy balance on those accounts and the two cards have credit limits which the bank calculated based on the salary mentioned on the Arbeitsvertrag. Despite informing the bank about the change of plans, they let me keep the accounts and cards, along with the dispolimit and credit card limits. This is quite strange as I have never even set foot yet in Germany. In fact, I’ve never lived in Germany and have no Anmeldebescheinigung.
Sorry for the rather long story above. My questions are: is it possible for someone who never lived in Germany to have a Schufa record? I’m asking because I’m assuming there might be a score or entry for the existing credit products attached to my bank and card accounts. Without an Anmeldebescheinigung, can I apply to see my Schufa report with an address outside Germany?
Thank you again, Bastien, for this helpful website.
Hey Thomas. Long story, good story. That’s a little bit of a grey area because in theory, the DKB should have asked for a Meldebescheinigung first, connecting you to an address in Germany. I’m as puzzled as you. In theory, you should have a SCHUFA record because DKB has passed on your data to SCHUFA indeed. But I can’t see how you can request one, since you are not a resident. Sorry can’t really help further.
Thank you for your response and for finding the time to read my story above. Yes it’s quite strange that DKB opened an account for me without the Meldebescheinigung indeed but this bank offers accounts to non-resident foreigners. I believe they now rarely do this and only open accounts in exceptional cases for such persons. I do however want to keep the accounts and cards because it is a privilege to have a German IBAN account with credit facilities attached to it. It is however very strange, yes, because in my country it is impossible to open a bank account, let alone get credit cards, without having a long-term visa. Thank you again, Bastien. Schoene Gruesse aus Kambodscha!
How much money can make someone go to shufa?
Hello Nurud. What do you mean? I don’t understand the question.
Hello, my girlfriend, whom lives in Germany has a bad schufa. Does this stop her from leaving the country? What would happen should she move to the UK?
Hey Danny. I don’t know about the UK side, if there are any local credit rating companies exchanging information with SCHUFA. On the German side, I can tell you that a bad schufa score doesn’t prevent you from leaving the country.
Hello,
Thanks for the explanation.
I have 3 questions:
1- I have bad scores in 2021 due to rejection of requests for credit cards. As I didn’t know this may affect my SCHUFA, it happened multiple times.
My question: Is there anything to do remove this bad history and enhance my score ? How long it takes to be removed ?
2- In the report, some entries are repeated with the same data and dates, why I am having this?
3- If the bad scores can’t be removed, will that affect issuing a permanent residence or granting the citizenship on long-term, assuming no debt or credit problems and its just the multiple applications issue?
Hey Ramy. You can refer to the table in the post to see how long entries stay on your record. If you have questions about the data on the record, I can’t really answer them. It’s best to ask the relevant companies about it. 3- No, a bad SCHUFA score doesn’t impact residence permit applications.
Hello, as a French citizen, i use my french bank for my salary, but i live and work in Berlin, does it effect my schufa?
Hello there. I’m unsure what the question is exactly? Can you elaborate?
Thank you man. The information is really useful.
“3. Download your SCHUFA report right away.”
Maybe things have changed but I just paid €30 and there is no way to download anything… you might want to update this page accordingly.
Moreover I just spoke with SCHUFA and they were very insistent that it is never possible to download the report. This kind of information:
https://n26.com/en-eu/blog/how-to-get-shufa-score
is apparently just wrong.
Hey Bob. It is possible but only if you order at a physical branch somewhere. You still need an intermediate though, you are right.
I went in to a Postbank branch today and had a report printed then and there. But the Berater had also never heard of anyone being able to download a report. And the lady on the phone at Schufa made it very clear it wasn’t possible… ♂️
So weird, the SCHUFA does mention downloading right here and there via Immoscout.
can i get a criminal record for not paying my bills?
Hey John. Depends on how much bills left unpaid you leave behind 😉 Are you organizing a Ponzi scheme?
Hey, thank you for all the information! my question is can I get a SCHUFA if my bank account is not german? I live in Germany but have an online bank account named Monese and having difficulty filling in my bank info to receive my SCHUFA (the form I’m filling in doesn’t except my bankes name)
Hey Maayan. If I’m correct, Monese is based in the UK with a UK or Belgian IBAN too as stated there. I don’t think that will work.
Hi Bastien,
I left Germany after my studies, i have a bad debt(Credit card).
Now i am planning to move back to germany on my new job. I want to clear the credit card bill at one go. if i clear full amount at one go. after paying how many days it takes to remove it from my bad debts?
Thank you!
Hey Rajendra. Please refer to the table in the post for this information.
Does the SCHUFA apply to U.S. Military Members stationed in Germany?
Hey there. I could not find any reliable for this in German or English. I only found this thread. I would imagine you would have a SCHUFA record yes, as you are a German resident.
Hi I received a bill saying that if I not pay it will receive legal action, silly me I just pay one of them and now I don’t know what to do. The date already pass by 5 days.
Hii brother ,
Thanks for the information , actually i am also facing the same problem , i had corona virus when i was travelling to West Germany , i cought corona virus , when i went to the hospital for test ,they supposed send me the bill of that test as a invoice , which was of 152 euro , I didn’t pay that money because didn’t receive any letter’s it has been 4 months , according to them the bill was increased 5 % every month , now i am facing problems to getting mobile contracts , and credit as well , so my question is if i pay my debts immediately , is this possible to get mobile contracts or any other services as soon as possible or it takes time to fix itself .
Hey Yudhister. Sorry to hear about your troubles. You can look into the table again, it shows how it takes for the score to improve again. You may want to contact the hospital finance departement as well, to try to resolve this asap.
Hei!
Thanks for sharing your knowledge with us! With my partner, we are currently in the process of moving to Koln. My boyfriend is moving a few months before me as I’m still in the recruitment process. We were checking on flats to rent and got a bit surprised with Schufa. The concept of this kind of database is familiar however I’ve never expected the rating to be used in such a wide range (I’m used to the customer-bank relationship). Anyway, thanks again! Cheers!
Hello,
Thanks for the nice information. Actually, now I am getting problem with Broadcasting fees. I have not enough money to pay because they added lots of charges. I did not received before, but I received invoices with high fines now. So, I am planing to pay in installments even I am not using their services. If I could not pay whole amount of invoices and left Germany, what will happen? How long my record would be here? If I wanted to come back after 5 years, record will be erased?
Hey Sharukh. You can refer to the table in the post to get an indication on how long records are held. I cannot give you a precise duration for your case.
Hi,10 years ago I take mobile phone contract, and left the country not paying bills, I decided to go back in Germany, should I be ready for big bill to pay now!
Thanks for answer
¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Hi, i have doubts on Germany and currently iam not living on Germany, if i came to Germany do i get in trouble with law, police or anything or just have bad records on schufa?
And can I pay monthly my debts on schufa?
Thank you.
Hey Ardian. Do you mean, you have debts in Germany? The SCHUFA is not involved in paying back debts. Unless you have done a criminal offense, you won’t be in trouble with the law.
Hey Bastien,
Thank you for all this! I have a short question: when it comes to one SCHUFA per year free of charge, are we talking about January-December kind of year or are we talking about 12 months from the request?
For example, if i request it in November, will it be available for free in January, as part of next year, or will it be in 12 months, therefor next November?
Thank you in advance!
Hey Nicole. Thanks for your comment. It made me research the topic and provided me with a valuable update on this post. You can now order a copy of your record several times a year, thanks to a EU ruling. Source.
Hi, thanks for the information. After paying for my Schufa, how often can i request a copy? I need a flat and every landlord is requesting for a Schufa. Is this information possible to be gotten online?
Hey Stanley. You can request one original record. You can then submit copies of that to each landlord.
Hey, PLEASE HELP.
My friend ordered a gift for me (ordering using my name and address) on zalando and paid with SEPA-directdebit. The payment declined but she doesnt wanna pay it. Will it affect my SCHUFA?
Hey Gabriella. I don’t get it. If it was declined then the story ends there. What is the worry?
Hi and thanks for the informative website. I have an outstanding postpaid mobile bill from my previous stay with work permit in Germany. An year later Now, I have applied for work permit again. will this affect anyway in getting my Visa?
Hey Peggy. From my knowledge, only criminal offenses may impact your chances.
Hi, you run an amazing website. Your article taught me a lot today. I have one question though. In countries like the US you can add someone as an authorized user in order to speed up their credit score and history but since Germans use schufa, is there a way you can add someone e.g (foreigner new in berlin) as an authorized user in order to help their history also? If so how? Thank you.
Hey Nonso. This doesn’t exist in Germany, afaik.
Hi, I left Germany about 8 years ago.
I recently wanted get my Schufa however appears you can only pay from a German bank account, is that correct ? How would I go about getting from overseas ?
Hey Kendell. It seems that only bank accounts supporting SEPA can purchase a record. That would be the case of all EU based bank accounts.
My boyfriend bought something online as a loan and forgot to return it and was therefore charged for the purchasing of the item. I now got my SCHUFA and it has been negatively effected because of this one thing. If i claim that i did not make this purchase will my boyfriend be charged with fraud or will the overdue credit just be switched to his SCHUFA report? THanks!
Hey Marcel. I have no idea what’s going on: your boyfriend made a mistake and your SCHUFA score suffers for it? Why would that be?
Hello Bastien,
Thanks for running this website. Very helpful!
My current situation is that I want to leave Germany for couple of months and work from my home country for a while.
I have already informed landlord (living in WG) about my leave. What I am concerned of it, whether “paying rent” is absolutely necessary for the Schufa? Do they check those kind of payments? I will still remain my Anmeldung, already agreed with landlord and flatmates to still get post on this address and not to cause any issues in future. Hope this approach works 🙂 Thanks in advance
Hey Sophie. Not paying rent in Germany does not lead to a negative penalty on your SCHUFA score, if this is what you ask.
Thanks for this wonderful information.
My question, am in schufa and I don’t even no how come, though I have printed out a copy from post bank, but seriously I don’t know wat to do next.
Please were can I go?
I really want to clear my debt
Hey Victor. This is a bit vague. Can you clarify what your problem is?
Hi, does SCHUFA checks the ‘ARD Radio’ bill?
Hey Sai. If you don’t pay them, yes it will impact your SCHUFA score negatively.
Hi . I have question: I moved from Netherlands in April. And when I ask my Schufa score for the first time was like 400 hight risk . And when I contact the Schufa they told me this score because I’m new in Germany and they don’t know about my kredit history . How that possible?? And why ?
Hey Marwan. Yes, that is not unheard of. This is why you need to populate your SCHUFA record as fast as possible.
Hi actually I want to ask a question I just buy a mobile from Vodafone on contract but I go back to my country and can’t come back to Germany now I am planning to apply for another Eu country does this Schufa have any effect on my visa because due to pandemic I can’t pay my installments
Hey Yousaf. Do you mean that you want to leave the country without paying for the phone fully? Not sure i understand…
Hi , If we pay minimum dues of the credit card properly on time, will it the scufa score will be reduced. Will that also be considered as payment missed? or will it be considered as payment paid?
Hey Pavithra. What do you mean by “dues”, you mean bills?
Hey, I was wondering if there is a standard “starting rate” for everyone?
I am in Berlin from a bit more than 2 years now, I have a good Job and always paid bills/rent on time, never had any trouble and my actual score is 257… is that good? Is this going to be better with time? I see the best score is below 200, do I have any chance to jump in the best class? How long it usually takes?
Thanks for any reply!
F.
Hey Francesco. Where do you take those values from? The one i am aware of in expressed in %.
Hey!
I have a question, I just got my Schufa check as I am planning to rent an apartment. However, they did not give me a score but only “Es liegen uns zum
ausschließlich positive Vertragsinformationen vor.” had this, and no score in terms of number. What does this mean, is it normal? Am I still able to use this to rent an apartment?
Thank you very much!
Hey Grace. Yes, this is normal. It only means that there is no data yes. You can still use this in my opinion. At least, it shows the landlord that you don’t have negative entries.
Hi! Thanks for providing all this helpful info!
Mine is a tough one to ask. I lived in Stuttgart for a period of 7 months. My 3 last months there i rented a small apartment. Having difficulties with the language at the beginning i ignored some letters from the TV licence company & the garbage service. On te 7th month i had a tragedy back home and i had to leave the country. Prior to that i got to de-register myself from the City council. I sent an email to my apartment agency to let them know i’m leaving & i closed my bank account. Unfortunately i didn’t think of taking care of the TV licence letters, the garbage service, i also left the electricity account on my name for the apartment, and didn’t close the health insurance (gesundheitkasse) neither. As i said it was a tough period of my life and i wasn’t making the right decisions. Do you think my debt is accumulated further more & if i want to return to Germany some day, will my credit score be on rock-bottom? Thanks a lot 🙂
Hey Bobby. Life’s not easy sometimes but there is no telling how the different companies reacted. As far as they can tell, you just stopped paying/replying so yes, there is a good chance there might be a debt mountain pilling up. That is unless those companies took steps to recover money and in the process realized you left the country and stopped there. There is no way to know for sure. Your SCHUFA score is probably going to impacted negatively either way though.
Hi,
I have a case where I received a Balif letter asking for 125 euros. Basically myself and my partner live in Switzerland and purchased an apartment in Leipzig but unfortunately they sent the land tax bill/document to the wrong address. We realised in March and called them and payment was done immediately. The Office in Leipzig confirmed everything was paid over the phone and quoted a reference.
Unfortunately the Balif letter received this month was for another identical amount to the one paid as they had split the original payment between myself and my partner. The bill was paid (including additional 40 euro for Balif) just in time so no court action is needed (would have been required to appear in person if not paid) but now I wonder if we can have this removed from the Shufa or if it even appears as we do not live In Germany?
Seems very unfair as they had sent all other letters to Switzerland.. would we need to contact the local Leipzig office to ask them to have this removed?
Many thanks,
Adam
Hey Adam. You can check your SCHUFA records first to see if it’s showing at all, then call an office to get it corrected if needed.
What about past slip ups before I’ve even received a Schufa score? I had a prepaid sim card ….I thought it deactivated with no debts owed. When I came back to German and use it again it shows unpaid debts. Will this factor into my Schufa score once I get one?
Hey Constance. That’s a great question and i simply don’t know. The best would be to call them and ask directly?
Myself and two friends are looking for an apartment in Berlin. I will be arriving before them and finding a flat for all of us. Do landlords require SCHUFA from all tenants or would they be satisfied with just one from me? If this is the case is it still possible for my two friends to register with that landlord?
Hey Caoimhe. As a rule, they want to see the SCHUFA record of everybody that will be on the contract. Some landlords maybe more flexible. Your friends can register of course, provided they are either hauptmieter with you, or untermieter.
Hi, Is it possible that I get my Schufa in English?It is needed for a firm in the Caribbean. I ordered it recently with a mobile option for one year however the firm is unable to understand the details. What can I do? To translate the entire thing is quite expensive.
Hey NOS. Yeah, not an English version around sorry.
Hello Mr. Bastien. I think I have a complicated problem with SCHUFA and I would like to have your opinion. It’s a long story and complicated. Can you please contact me to talk. Thank you
No. I am not a consultant.
haha awesome !
Hi,
I took a credit card loan of 2000€. actually, I am unemployed from last 6 months. i suppose to repay the money by end of March 2020. due to financial problems, I didn’t. Now bank proceeds to close the credit card contract. Now, they trying to reclaim the debt with a collection agency. i would like to know what option available to have a good schufa rating. I am ready to pay full amount. But I want to keep a good schufa score.
please suggest me.
Hey Mohana. Contact the collection agency and pay what you owe asap. There is no other way unfortunately.
Hey! When do I need to get a new SCHUFA? My last one is from April 18 when applying for my current place. Now I am applying for new apartments, does that mean I need to get a new one?
Hey Ava. Depends on the landlord really. The most recent it is, the best i suppose.
Hi there, thanks for this article! I am going for a viewing at a WG, and have been asked to provide Schufa. I have just arrived in Berlin and have not got Anmeldung yet, so am I not able to get Schufa? The current flatmate has told me that I can get it if someone with a German bank card pays for it for me. Any insight appreciated!
Hey Jessica. You have fallen in the typical issues of newcomers in Germany. You don’t have SCHUFA record yet and therefore can’t produce one. The best you can provide at this point is a so called “Mietschuldenfreiheitsbescheinigung“, which a paper filled in by your former landlord stating you haven’t left the contract with unpaid rent.
Hello Bastien,
I realise you might not be the best resource for these questions but maybe you can provide some guidance.
What happens when someone is unable to make credit card payments if they are unemployed? Here is a hypothetical example: say someone has 3.000 EURO of credit card debt that they are unable to pay and the bank proceeds to close the credit card contract. I assume that they would then try and reclaim the debt with a collection agency but what happens if the person no longer lives in Germany and has not registered German address? You talk about their being fines should the person return to Germany and have to but in the case the person is not to return is a negative SCHUFA score a problem after 3 or even 6 years.
In this instance do you think the bank might be willing to close the matter if the person is to offer a settlement amount (albeit much less than the total amount owed) and then consider the matter resolved as opposed to going to a collection agency?
You also talk about SCHUFA having an impact on a European level but should the person leave Germany how does a negative SCHUFA score impact their credit worthiness elsewhere (either within or outside of Europe).
Otherwise might you know who someone could talk to if they have problems of this nature and no do not speak German.
Thanks
F
Hey Fritz. I cant really comment on this matter as the SCHUFA logic is not disclosed to anybody. If this person would leave Germany and only return after a long while, then yes, in theory the SCHUFA would not impacted anymore. In theory. The settlement option is a possibility but i believe you’d rather negotiate installments to repay the whole sum than negotiation the sum down. I can’t really direct you to anybody else. Maybe try a lawyer?
Hey Bastien,
Unfortunately the bank doesn’t want to negotiate a payment plan and insists that the debt go to a collections agency despite repeated attempts to resolve. Since the person in question has already moved away from Germany and doesn’t plan on ever returning so what do you think makes the most sense? A lawyer would certainly be an expense that is not financially feasible. Plus how would the debt collection agency know where this person is now located?
Hi,
I have missed the payment of 1800 euro of credit card and radio bill of 550 euro but recently i have paid the bills and cleared the matter. I settled in 2-3 months after I got notice.
How much impact will this have on my schufa score? And can I get personal loan from a bank. ?
Best Regards,
Krishna
Hi! Can I still ask for Schufa in case I already did Abmeldung to a foreign country? I was with registered address for several months. I can still access the mail there though. Thanks!
Hey Mememe. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ . You can always try, it’s for free.
I am living in a WG and in two months I am going to another apartment due to the family reunion. And I need to cancel the previous rent. Is that a bad point?
Hey Gent. Not necessarily, if you respect the cancellation notice time and terms.
Thanks so much for sharing this article … stumbled upon your wonderful website in my search for flats to rent in Germany ….the more research I do, the more confused i get … so this SCHUFA can’t be applied for unless you have a registered address ( Anmeldung) am I right ? and are there any other platforms ( housing websites ) to rent a 1 BR flat ( not shared ) without having to provide a SCHUFA ? ( aside from Wunderflats which are CRAZY EXPENSIVE btw ) Thanks in advance.
Hey Gabs. Another way would be get into a WG first, to register an address.
Hi ! Thanks a lot for your reply. Do you have more info on this pls ( website, etc …) ? Thanks a lot !
Also, not all landlords ask for Schufa. I survived without Schufa in Germany for 3 years and 4 temporary flats (i.e. fully furnished flats, but you live in them on your own). Most do want to see it though, especially if you get the flat though Immobilien Welt.
Thanks so much ! That’s kind of a relief to know lol 🙂 May i ask which websites did you use to find your flats through ?
Hello, i got already a positive schufa rating and i am planning to apply for a loan in my bank . I am just afraid if i applied for a loan , will it automatically affect my score because i have an existing loan even if i paid it on time?
Hey Noel. Just make sure you ask for the conditions of a loan first, and not make a loan application in itself. This way, just asking for information won’t affect your score.
Hi! Thanks for this article, it’s of great help. I do have a question. I understand the Schufa is possible only once per year. Once I register, can I order it even if I haven’t paid any bills (i.e. I register within the first week of arrival to Berlin and immediately take the Schufa)? What would be the score then?
Hey Maria. Not exactly. You can order it as many times as you want, it’s free once per year. Your Schufa report might simply state there is nothing about you yet.
This SCHUFA thing blows my mind! I thought that Germany was the most strict country in EU in terms of GDPR, but here you go- a private company gets all your personal information and no one ever ask if you are ok with it.
Do you think I can demand to delete all the information related to me basing on Global Data Protection Regulation?
Great article by the way!
Hey Alex. Haha i know, Germany is very logical on this point. I don’t know regarding your question. Here is a very long article about the topic.
Hey Luca !
According to your tip 1 you can ask for a shufa without sending it to the place your angemeldet and take it directly at postbank or ?
Thanks in advance !
Hey. You can get one at a Postbank yes.
Hi, and thanks for sharing this info! I paid my bill late and the collecting agency(Inkasso) got involved, but in the end I paid all the Bills. Will I have a negative Schufa entry? What’s the impact on the Schufa record?
Hey Trish. It depends on multiple factors so i can’t really reply on this one. The best way to check is to order a record once bills have been paid to see the impact.
Hi, and thanks for running this amazing website! Does paying your rent late impact your Schufa score? In my case it is a private renter (so I’m not sure if or how they would communicate that information to the relevant info-gathering place), and the rent was payed a day or two late on several occasions. Thanks!
Hey Luca. Can’t be sure about anything but only a few days late is probably not having any impact on your score.
Hi,
i have moved to Germany since March2019, i have done my registration in burgeramt, berlin. But two months later my bank commerz bank couldn’t deliver me my credit card, cause they don’t find my address in schufa. it is empty. What am i suppose to do now?
Hey Manoj. same thing happened to me when i moved here. Your Schufa needs record to be populated with data before. Do you have power, phone bills already?
Hi,
I left Germany 13 years ago, the fitness studio I used to be a member of kept doing direct debit even after canceling my membership. I knew about this years later from some letters that were kept by my landlord. In the end, a debt collections firm sent me mail saying that I owed them money. I sent them a Cease and Desist letter with copies of all the documents proving I did the right thing.
Now, I will probably relocate to Germany, how can I know if this issue was settled or if my Schufa looks negative. (I don´t have my anmeldung anymore)
Thanks so much for your kind advise.
Hey Mauricio. Only one way: order yourself a Schufa record.
Hello.
I want to own two credit card, one I already have but one I am planning to have, I am not going to spend anything but I am an international traveler and would want to have just for safety in case I run sort of money out of the country. Will that affect my Schufa score if I pay on the time.
Hey Rohinngya. Hard to say. It depends on the contract attached to the credit card.
Is there any Impact on my shufa Score everytime i enquire about it? Lets say on a quartely Basis to keep myself ahead of any issued.
Hey Varun. No.
Hi Bastien,
I got negative Schufa due to ZDF bill and already paid the amount. I understand the financial boundaries with negative Schufa. But i want to ask you if does it affect my chances when i apply for Permanent residence permit or Citizenship?
Thank you
Hey Jignesh. You will need to speak to an immigration lawyer about this.
Hi, i am living since few years in German, last year i had a problem with vodafone and they put my name in negative Schufa. I got two letters in yellow envelop in german languag on last january which i dont understand. Then my bank transaction was closed and i was jnformed that vodafone put my name in negative schufa. I already paid half of the claimed amount and now i can put 1200 euro from my bank every month. I would like to go to my home country for one month in June in Asia. My question is whether it can be a problem for me to cross,the immigratio from airport in berlin?
Hey Rahman. You may want to talk to a specialist but as long as you are not in any criminal record, you can cross the border.
Hi Bastien!
Quick question re Schufa: I’ve been in Berlin since January and was living in a WG. That contract has finished and now I (along with 2 of my flatmates from that WG) am looking for somewhere else to live. My flatmates said that I’ll most likely need a Schufa report in order to be considered for the new place but even though I registered as living in that flat I haven’t really paid any bills (aside from the rent) and my income to date has been from the UK (as a freelancer). Is it still best for me to register with Schufa or would a few years of tax returns &/or a credit rating from the UK be acceptable?
Thank you!
Hey Lucy. I doubt that a landlord would spend time and effort trying to understand what foreign credit rating report looks like, in my opinion. You should get your SCHUFA record ready or maybe offer to pay several months rent in advance. Good luck on the flat hunt.
Hi bastion
I want to ask I am applying for German citizenship and I have till this day positive Schufa and before that i lived in Austria I doubt may b if I forget to pay anything there or I have negative schufa there is my citizenships will b rejected because till now I have now everything positive…if I have German Schufa positive does that mean all over Europe also positive or what can u please explain
Than you
Hey Eman. Your comment is not very clear. If your Schufa score is good, then what is the worry?
Than you for your reply bastien..
My question was I am applying for my German nationality and where you have to mention that have you ever been to another place I have lived in austria before so my Schufa in Germany is positive and i have no idea about Austrian Schufa and i wanted to know if German Schufa clear means everything is clear or what??? Because I think they check everywhere or???
I am sorry it’s complicated question i am asking but I hope you will understand what i mean
Hey Sonam. SCHUFA can use data from other European countries yes. So if your score is good, now that you live in Germany, it’s highly likely that it will stay that way.
Hey Bastian. Thank you for creating this resource it has been so helpful. I have just received my current SCHUFA – we are moving out of our current flat and into a new one hopefully. But this new SCHUFA has our very first address on it and NOT our current address? Why is that? Is this normal for a SCHUFA to only show your very first address in Berlin and not your current address? My Bank Account is registered to our current address and we registered/Anmeldung again once we moved into our current address but it still shows the first address we lived at when first moving to Berlin. Does this matter to a Rental Company or is their main priority just to see if it is negative or positive, would you know that?
Hey Page. That is weird. You could contact SCHUFA directly to rectify this if you wanted. I think a rental company only cares about the score.
HI Bastien,
I am living in Germany for 2.5 years now, with a completely clean Financial Record. Very recently, my Electricity provider gave me a bill for payment on account of excess usage in the last year. I checked the invoice and had some doubts about the correctness of their calculations. According to my calculations, I did not overuse at all – compared to my original estimate. So I called up their customer care and spoke to one of their executives. He to was unable to answer my question satisfactorily. So he took down a request to recalculate my invoice. He said I would get the new invoice in 5-10 days. I am still waiting for the new invoice.
But meanwhile, the due date of the original Invoice went by and I am still waiting for the new invoice to know the correct amount that I have to pay. However, yesterday I received a reminder (“Mahnung”) from the electricity company that my due date is over. Once I realized that they we still expecting a payment as per the old invoice (while they work on a new one), I immediately cleared the payment (5 days late).
My question to you is – could this have any impact on my Schufa? If so, is it correct? If I have doubts about their calculations, and have requested a re-calculation, shouldn’t I get the chance to wait till the new invoice is ready?
Secondly, if it does impact my Schufa, how to correct it and how long does it take?
Any advice on this would be really appreciated.
Regards
PB
Hey PB. I can’t really answer those questions. It’s all up to SCHUFA and your provider’s internal processes. Only way to know is to check your record. How to correct it is indicated in this post.
Hi Bastien,
I have a low credit score for not paying ZDF. I got a letter from bailiff which I ignored as some friends suggested. I am ready to pay it and fix my score.
I have all the information from bailiff and government law portal.
Could you provide or redirect me to someone who will handle this matter? If you can do it for me, could you also write me the price?
Regards
Hey there. Sorry, i cannot provide any legal or representation services at this point, nor can i recommend one. Good luck with this!
I am looking to settle in Berlin and have myself registered(Anmeldung) at a temporary place. I have got a German mobile number, bank account, job contract and a letter from the company HR confirming the source of funds and employment. Is this information sufficient in the beginning to rent a flat in Berlin. Since, I have relocated few days back only the SCHUFA will not be there.
Hy Abhishek, you are right. Your SCHUFA record won’t show much i’m afraid. So it basically depends on the landlord/Hausverwaltung, how they do about it.
Hi,
I was living in Germany as a student between 2002 and 2006, I left in 2006, for couple of weeks while there was an unpaid balance in my American express card of 350 euros. I had the money in my sparkasse bank account. My plan was to pay the money when I get back. The problem is that I could not get back to Germany again. I send the transfer form to my bank by mail to pay the credit card balance but never follow up with my bank nor with amerivpcan express to see if everything was done perfectly.
My question is what is the situation if something wrong happened with this transfer and the money did not move from my bank account to my American express credit card account??
Does it still exist in the Shufa record ?
And should I expect troubles in my certificate of conduct or getting visa to Germany??
I’m currently living out of Germany and couldn’t get Shufa record online because it allows only payment by German banks.
Hey Tito. In short, maybe, maybe not. There are too many parameters in this story. Only way is to check your record. unfortunately. Good luck with this!
Hi! I’ll be moving to Berlin sometime in March and I’ve got a question regarding the SCHUFA. If I share an apartment, even if I had a job contract and my Anmeldung, I might not have any other contract (internet, phone – I just might use my Spanish number, or any other bills). In this case, will a SCHUFA be automatically created as well? Thanks a lot for your help!
Hey Damian. When you request your SCHUFA record, it might then just say that there is nothing on you then. Have you opened a bank account here at least?
Hi, Sir, if incase my schufa Scorer is Bad in Germany, will it still show if i move to other European country like Britian or France?
Hello Georges. SCHUFA is only really used in German speaking countries (= Austria, Germany, some parts of Switzerland), so no one cares about Schufa score in the UK or in France.
I had a Schufa entry stating I cleared the credit card balance amount this January and I have a job that pays decent salary. I believe I won’t have any Schufa score for the next 3 years and from that point Schufa start at a minimum score and gradually increase. Am I right?
If I take a bank loan and repay correctly will that have a good effect on my score or the payment gives some relief and the creditors will look into it.
Hey R. You have a SCHUFA record no matter what. Regarding the rest, i don’t have the insider knowledge of your bank to being able to tell. I guess it varies on your current score, the loan amount, etc…
Hallo.
I am preet Thakur living from last 3 nd half yeara in Germany. Few days ago i went to electronics shop to credit Television but shop owner refused me and said we cann’t credit you. When i asked he said your mame has been put in schufa. I cann’t leave any Bill, payment pending. Few months ago i got letter fom Amtgericht for payment of pending ARD Deutschland radion. I had paid all pending dues but i don’t know why. My names has been put in Schufa.
How long i have to wait for credit anything new item? If my name still lying in schufa. List but no bill is due then bank can finanace me any item? Reply me soon.
Hey Preet. You can refer to the table in the post giving you an idea of how long can bad entries stay on your record, if you don’t fix them before manually.
Hi Bastien,
I was living and working in Germany for 2 years, but unfortunately I had to return home for a while.
I had an internet contract with Telecom.
I wanted to close my account before I leave, but for some reason they refused to let me pay in advance the rest of the months.
I didn’t really had the time or the energy to deal with the unprofessionalism of Telekom so I moved and I didn’t plan to pay them until it was time to close my account.
And sure enough few days ago I received a letter from a debt collectos company and after I confirmed with Telekom that my account is closed, I payed my dept.
The amount was 325€.
Since I’m not registered in Germany any more I guess that I can’t request a Schufa.
But recently I was accepted for a master, so I plan to return.
Other than that my Schufa should be completely clean, I never asked for credits or loans or left any bills unpaid, always paid in time.
So how negative is the 325€?
(I payed before the “expiration” date it was set by the collectors company).
Can this really prevent me from finding a Wege or a home?
Just a rugh answer will be fine.
Best regards
Eran
Hey Eran. The only way to find out is really just to order a SCHUFA record copy so you can see for yourself. I can only assume that it should be fine since you paid on time but better check yourself.
Please I want to know if I am on schufa for 12 years now, I have not clear all my debt, will it still there unsolve
Hi, if i did not clear my debts with a bank, for how long will it appear on schufa? Does it show in other European countries too? Thanks
Hey Diazsil. Read the post again, it has answers to your questions.
Hi,
Does the TV tax show / affect your Schufa?
Yes probably.
My son, a music student, recently moved to Berlin from the US. He bought a prepaid SIM card from O2 soon after arriving. After a few weeks he went to open a contract for mobile phone service but was denied with no explanation. I’m thinking it is because he has not yet established a credit history. He is renting an apartment, which I signed on as guarantor for, and has ~6K€ in an N26 bank account solely in his name, which the rent is debited from. He is not currently working, improving his German with intensive language schooling and practicing his instrument in preparation for university auditions instead. He is considering taking a job with Foodora or similar food delivery service. Does anyone know if this would improve his Schufa and chances of getting approved for a phone contract? Danke.
Hi William. As mentioned in the post, income doesn’t really impact the credit score as such.
Hi, i need a bit of advice. I am a British citizen and moved to Hamburg nearly 2 years ago, had my Anmeldung, bank account with
Sparkasse and 1 month after living here, took 3 mobile phones from SATURN on
Contracts to pay monthly for me and 2 younger sisters
1 week later my grandmother became terminaly ill and we had to fly back to London
I didnt inform the bank that i am going, only my landlord who said he will “sign me out” of the local town hall.
My question is: last week i came back to Germany and i am asuming understandably i will have a bad schufa
I have a new apartment with an agreement from the new landlord and a full time job
Will the situation with the 3 mobile phone contracts prevent me from getting credit or
Credit cards in the future?
I an planning to stay in Germany now and need a little financial boost.
Are there companies that give loans to persons with bad schufa?
Hey David V. It’s unfortunately not possible for me to say how you SCHUFA score looks like on such little details. One way to check: get a record! It’s free!
Hi!
I’m trying to get the ‘Schufa one free record per year’, however, the posted link is not forwarding to a certain ‘pdf with a british flag’, where can I find the link to the right page to request this Schufa?
Thanks,
Bente
Hi Bente, thanks for letting me know. It seems that the page has changed now. You can do a request directly online it seems, without sending any papers in. Can’t seem to find an English version anymore. This post will be edited. On the page, you have to click “Jetzt bestellen” in the right column and enter your info in the page that follows.
Hello, i dont know if this really belongs here but really need help. I moved a few years back to berlin as i love the city. My first month i broke my hand and had to go to a doctor regularly to change casts, x rays, etc. I had trouble keeping my job cause of it and had to leave with no money at all left, asking my father to lend me for a plane ticket home. When i was about to leave i received a bill from the doctor. The thing is i never payed that bill, and i really want to move back. Is that a problem?. Am i in huge dept there? or am i maybe prohibited from living there? really hope i can get an answer as i really dont know where to turn. I tried contacting the icelandic embassy (im from iceland btw.) in berlin and they just didnt answer back.
Hi Rooney. It’s a tough situation and i can’t really answer without knowing more details, depends on the amount, when this happened etc… I suppose there is only one way to find out, move back here and get a hand of your SCHUFA score.
The amount wasnt that high. I think maybe around 2 – 300 euro and it was about 4 years ago.
It’s just an opinion; there will be probably little to no consequences then.
Hi, Bastien!
I live in Germany (Berlin) from three months now. The first month I had a registration at an address, but for the last two months I am on another address (and I am not registered, i.e. the old registration still stays in the german Burgeramt).
From my first address I have the SCHUFA document, but it is expired now (they sent me a letter that after two months I have to renew the SCHUFA). I would like to ask you — How do I renew it? – I am not at the old address – so can I renew it only electronically and receive these Schufa pdfs – electronically. Or do I have to make an anmeldung for this new address in order to have a renewed Schufa?
Thank in advance!
without anmeldungen and i live in germany with france visa .can i still get a schufa .and where and how?
Hi Jason. If i understand your question correctly, if you are not registered in Germany, the answer is most likely no.
Hello
my SCHUFA is positive but my score is 79.9% mainly because I was trying to get a phone by installment and I tried different banks but the didn’t accept it so it basically just credit request.
how can I improve my score?
thank you for helping so much
Hi Ahmed. As mentioned in the post, there are no miracles except pay your bills on time and don’t do too many credit requests. If you have wrong entries in your SCHUFA record, you can also contact the companies to try to correct it.
Hi, is this schufa cheking only in germany or worldwide.? I’m working in germany from 4 months and yesterday tring to get a finance for a car and they said i have schufa..! Can’t get the credit?
Hi Sandor. Everyone living in Germany gets a schufa score eventually. I think SCHUFA works with other countries like Switzerland, Austria and a few others. Can’t find the source anymore,
Hi Bastein,
I’m living in Germany since 2015 as a student and I have American Express credit card due to some reasons I used excess of credit (3.5k) and now I’m unable to pay completely. So I spoke with American Express customer service to negotiate the payment in installments, they said if I’m not able to pay in 90 days then my account will be handed over to schufa and they said that it will become problem for me in sense that my bank account might get cancelled and I could go in to trouble like I cannot pay bills etc. what exactly schufa will do to my bank account in which I’m receiving my stipendium. Will I have to face problems in renewing my visa.
Thanks,
Har.
Hi Har. This decision is part of the your bank’s internal processes, so i can only do a wild guess: They will measure the pros and cons of having you as a client, and make a decision based on that.
Hi!just need some help, i am here inTübingen i am now 1 1/2 here,have permanent work also. i tried to avail some loans in a bank and the bank said i have some issues regarding schufa,i was in shock cuz i dont have knowledge about this schufa really 0.1% knowledge!i paid all my bills and 1 thing that reminds me is this rundfunkbeitrag i did not pay it so after that i paid this rundfunk and they told that they will inform the schufa!but i really need to have a loan in 2 days,but the bank told that once all settled i can just go to bank..can the bank allow me to have a loan?it was only 315€ i did paid for this rundfunk
Hi Mark. What the bank tells you is probably true yes.
hey!! if I am paying for an instant schufa online, and they are asking for my address, do i need to put the one i am registered at?? i am currently sub letting for a while and am registered at a different address
Hey guys if I wanna rent a flat what the lowest score a new Landloard can accept on my Schufa?
It’s up to each landlord to decide that.
Hi,
I am in Germany from past 3 years. My credit card payment was bounced only once 3 months back due to insufficient funds. But later I fixed it immediately. If I request for Schufa report, will it show negative in my report ? Please advise
Thanks,
Neera
Hi Neera. I cannot tell you what SCHUFA does with your score. The only way to check is to indeed order a SCHUFA record.
If your SCHUFA score is really low but all your bills are paid for, will it negatively effect my chances of renewing my visa?
Hi
My bank account is still not active but I have a registered address. Can I apply for a SCHUFA ?
Hi Kirandeep. You don’t apply for a SCHUFA record, it’s created for you. If you just arrived, your file will just say something like “there is not enough data to make a score”.
Hello Bastien,
First of all, thank you for the helpful info that you posted above.
The reason that brings me here is that I ordered my SCHUFA and it shows that there is some open case against me (Verfahrensnummer given).
As far as I remember, I dont owe any money to anyone. There were a couple of transportation fines against me as I forgot to carry my monthly pass, but I resolved the issues by submitting the copies of my monthly passes on both the occasions. Thats all. Other than that I am unaware of any open issues.
Now the question is: How do I find out who I owe the money to? And who has raised the verfahrensnummer against me? And how do I get rid of it from my SCHUFA? Kindly advise. I am totally lost here as I dont know who to go to.
Thank you in advance.
Regards,
Ruchit Telrandhe
Hi Ruchit. You can submit your case to be reviewed if you think there are unfair/unaccurate entries in your report. From the documents (free yearly report) you have, you should be able to identify the company you have an issue with and ask them to clear to remove it from your SCHUFA record. Good luck.!
Hi Bastien,
I am moving to Berlin next week, I will get anmeldung at my friends flat and I will open bank account in N26 Bank.
Once I get my anmeldung and bank account can I register for Shufa right away?
Hi Zuza. You don’t register for it per say. A record is created on you after a while.
Hey 🙂
I am a British citizen moving to Berlin in 3 weeks and wanting to get a SCHUFA document for flat hunting. I’ve lived in Berlin before (in 2014) and have my Anmeldebestätigung from there (dated 17.02.2014).
Do you think it’s a good idea to apply for the SCHUFA? I’d only be able to place my last 2 English addresses on there, as I have not lived in Germany for at least two years now. In any case, I have the form, a photocopy of my passport and a photocopy of my Anmeldebestätigung ready to go 🙂
Thanks for any advice!
Amber
Hi Amber. I don’t know if you even have a SCHUFA record at this point. Best is to check yourself.
Hi all,
I have an open electricity bill which amounts to over 5k for the last year. I have involved a recognised electrician, a third party organization to look into the case and investigate, though no positive outcome for me, for the time being…it seems a household of 50sq m consumed electricity for suc an amaonut – unbelievable!! The company offered me to pay for 24 months, approx EUR200 per month, thou I cannot afford it. My monthly income does not allow it. What can I do in such situation? I also do not have a legal insurance to involve a lawyer. Any advice will be welcomed. Thanks
Hi Tatyana. I cannot give you advice on the matter. you should get in touch with a consumer association or indeed a lawyer.
Hello,
Can problems with my landlord (I did not pay the last month of rent before leaving the lease, resulting in the landlord keeping my deposit, which covered more than the rent) negatively impact my schufa? For how long?
Thank you
Hi Guy. Probably not, if the landlord is a private person and you don’t owe him any money.
Hi Bastien,
In 2007 I was studying in Germany and due to financial problems I had to leave. Unfortunately I also left an unpaid 250 euro bill for health insurance. I’m thinking of returing in 2018 for a job, but I’m concerned about my Schufa score. Do you think it’s still on my record after 10 years? Thanks.
Hi Radu, after 10 years probably not but you can only know for sure by ordering your record.
Hi basien,
I am an international student doing a master degree in berlin.
I first apply for a private insurance when i moved to berlin because it was cheap (46).
However i had not open a back account then, i paid with my international bank card.
My school adviced me to get a new public insurance, so i did and then forgot to stop the private one.
I want to know if that will after my credit score.
Now i have a bank account. And i pay my public insurance on time.
Thanks
Hi David. The only way to know is order a SCHUFA record to check by yourself. It does pretty minor though.
Hi Bastian,
I got a fine because of not buying a ticket…(my wallet has been left in my office when I went home…)
Then I paid the fine in time. For this case, my SCHUFA will get a negative entry record or not?
Thank you,
Zhen
Hi Zhen, if you payed quickly, it should not impact your score in the long-run.
Hi Bastien,
Thanks for sharing such useful information on the whole Schufa process.
One question – How long is the Schufa report valid for? For e.g. if I take the Schufa report today for renting a flat, can I use the same report 6 months down the line when applying for a bank loan?
Thanks!
Gaurav
Hi Gaurav. The person asking you for one will tell you how recent the report should be.
Hello Bastian,
I moved to Germany in january 2016 so it’s not been one year and (with my husband that has been living in Germany since 2012) , I recently (about 3-4 months ago) opened a bank account and now have a job and also a mini job. I don’t have any contract anywhere and no credit cards I pay cash for everything. In this circumstances how is my Schufa score ?
Hi Farnaz, your SCHUFA record is not populated but your SCHUFA score should be high enough. How high? Nobody knows except you if you ask for a copy of your record.
Hi!
I’ve just received my Anmeldung the other day, but have been living here for 4months and already opened a bank account with N26 for about 3.5 months. I’m now looking for a long-term flat. Can I get a SCHUFA through immobilienscout24 now, or not..how long do I have to wait before I can obtain a SCHUFA? Thank you!!! <3
Hi Lara, you should have a SCHUFA record by now yes.
Hi, i was a Gebührenfrei gold mastercard customer. Due to my lack of knowledge abour credit card system and German knowledge, i kept a 70 euro bill unpaid for 6 months. I thought there is only 2 euro interest per month so i will pay when it will be 80. I can do other things with the money now. I didnt know i had to pay a minimum amount each month. As a result they transferred my case to a cash collection company and i had to pay 150 euro to them and the canceled my card. From then i am getting rejected for other credit cards too. Is it a very big issue? Its just 70 euro and after all i paid and i didnt know the system. Can you tell me how long it can take to get back to good schufa scoring?
Hi Reza. I don’t know; it depends on many factors. You can get a general idea from the table in the article.
Hello,
Great website. How could I complain or challenge a Schufa entry because they’ve incorrectly given me a rating for something I haven’t done? Bear in mind I don’t speak German.
Who would I contact? Can I send an email with evidence?
Regards
Hi Bobby, i would contact them directly by phone with the help of a German speaking friend. You have their hotline details on this page (last question).
Hi,
Is there a chance of doing the SCHUFA online without being in Germany?
Thanks,
Erla
Hi Erla. Yes it is possible if you already registered your residency in Germany and fulfilled all requirements already. If you have never lived in Germany before; no it’s not possible.
Hi Bastien,
First of all, thanks for your information.
Here I am writing to get more information about the process of SCHUFA in Germany.
I am a refugee and I have Meldebescheinigung and blue Passport and I am under Jobcenter, so can I also get the Schufa in Germany ? because whenever I want to rent a Flat, then I will be asked for Schufa.
I would appreciate if you could give me details in this matter.
LG
Shadan
Hi Shadan, your current situation as a refugee does not change anything, you will also have a SCHUFA report on you, since you did all the right steps. This post is also valid for you.
Hi Bastien,
I’m italian, to get the record is it a problem if i don’t have a passport?
Only my ID.
Thank you
The SCHUFA website specifically mentions a passport together with a Meldebescheinigung, sorry.
Hi Bastien,
Is it possible to get the schufa at the Postbank without the Anmeldung paper? For some reason I cannot find it and I urgently need the Schufa. I know i can get another copy if i go to the burgeramt but I’m afraid that can take a while, so that’s why I’m asking.
Thanks!
Maria
Hey Maria. You get a copy of your Meldebescheinigung at the Bürgeramt. You might need to get up a little bit early to be early in the queue, that’s all.
Hi Bastien,
A few months ago I was traveling in Germany for the first time as a tourist with a French residence permit, and I forgot to validate my train ticket before getting on it. the controller wrote down my passport info and said I need to pay a 60 euros fine. I asked him where and how cuz I didn’t have enough cash on me. he said I would receive a letter soon and he left without giving me a receipt or ticket , and I waited for a month but the letter never came. after that I went to an officer at the train station asking how I can pay the fine since I didn’t receive anything and he said since I’m a foreigner I don’t have to worry about it .
At the moment I’m applying for an internship visa in Germany and I am really worried about the whole SCHUFA system which would potentially cause some trouble.
But in your article you wrote”As a foreigner, it will be automatically created when you have completed your Anmeldung at the Bürgeramt, opened a bank account, and subscribed to a first contract like for an internet line for example.”
so my question is , does this mean if I was just traveling in Germany as a foreigner without opening any bank account nor complete my Anmeldung, I don’t even have a schufa number ? because I’m worried this would affect my visa application since I never paid the fine.
Best regards,
Z
Hi Z. I think you will be fine as you were not a German resident at the time yes.
Hi Z, I was in the same situation. There was my first time at Germany so I didnot notice about that machine. I ran to catch the train after getting luggage and thought I can buy ticket on train. 2 years later, I moved to Germany for work and worried it was recorded in my good conduct documment which I need to submit to my working place. But nothing was record. So dont worry about that.