Empfangsbevollmächtigter

An Empfangsbevollmächtigter is a party inside Germany authorised to receive official correspondence on behalf of someone resident abroad in German vehicle registration matters. It gives the authorities a domestic address that legally counts as reaching you. German administrative practice needs to be able to serve documents — tax assessments, penalty notices, HU reminders, correspondence from the Zulassungsstelle — at an address within Germany. A person living outside the country cannot normally satisfy that requirement, so the Zulassungsstelle may require an Empfangsbevollmächtigter to be named before registering a vehicle to a non-resident. Service on that address is legally effective service on the owner, and deadlines start running from delivery there, not from the day the post is forwarded abroad. The appointment is made in writing and can be revoked. This role should not be confused with a Vollmacht for a single registration errand, which authorises one specific act at the counter, nor with residence registration: an Empfangsbevollmächtigter does not create a German residence, a tax residence or any right to live in Germany. It only fixes where official letters may lawfully be delivered.