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Checked with the tax offices

German VAT registration: current processing times

Which German tax office (Finanzamt) handles your company is fixed by your country, and each office has its own queue. This page lists what the offices are actually working on right now, from our own filings and our phone checks with them. Every figure carries the date we last checked it.

By tax office (Finanzamt)

What the offices are processing right now

The typical range for a German VAT registration is 4 to 8 weeks from submission to tax number (Steuernummer). Individual offices can run materially longer. When we learn an office's real queue position, it goes on this board with its source and check date.

Tax officeHandles companies fromLast checkedCurrent status
Finanzamt Hannover-Nord United Kingdom, Isle of Man 20 August 2026 As of 20 August 2026, this office reported it was processing applications received around 10 April 2026, a queue of roughly 19 weeks. The office told us by phone. New UK applications should currently expect several months rather than the typical 4 to 8 weeks.
All other tax offices See which office handles your country in the Finanzamt lookup Rolling Our registrations at the other offices are currently completing within the typical 4 to 8 week range. The moment we learn that an office's queue differs, it gets its own row here.

Sources: phone checks with the tax offices and our own completed registrations, never estimates. An older check date is shown rather than hidden; it means nothing newer has been confirmed with that office.

How the wait works

Three steps, one of them slow

Step 1 · Days

Application submitted

We prepare and submit your tax registration questionnaire (Fragebogen zur steuerlichen Erfassung) to the office your country routes to. This part is fast.

Step 2 · The queue

The office works its backlog

Applications are processed in the order they arrive. Typically 4 to 8 weeks; the board above shows offices we know are running longer. The queue belongs to the office, and no provider can jump it.

Step 3 · Same day

Tax number issued

The office issues your tax number (Steuernummer). We confirm it the day it reaches us, and your filings can start.

While you wait, we handle all correspondence from the office, check the status with them directly, and your dashboard shows exactly which stage your registration is in. You are never the one chasing a German authority.

The queue is the longest step. Start it early.

Every week between deciding and submitting is a week added to the calendar above. If you are still working out whether you need a German VAT number at all, the free check answers it in a minute.

Start your registration Run the 60-second check