SmartBürokratie — German bureaucracy, finally on your side.

What Büro does

Everything Germany throws at you — handled.

One calm app for students, expats, workers, and families — bureaucracy, stuck-file checklists, tax prep, contracts, and weekly savings in one place.

Spend less, every day

Cheapest fuel nearby, grocery Prospekte, Weekend Radar, Save Pulse, energy-switch checks, and calculators for salary, rent true-cost, pension, D-Ticket / Semesterticket, and Bahncard.

Tax return, calmly prepped

Scan Lohnsteuer and Belege, fill employee or light self-employed sections, then export a filing-aid PDF and Belege pack for Mein ELSTER — prep help, not Steuerberatung.

Always know your next step

A 16-step first-year journey, Tools hub with quick access, letter ladders for a silent Amt, digital ID, appointment slots, and city guides — tailored to student, worker, or family.

Contracts that don't surprise you

Scan gym, phone, or insurance contracts, get cancel-by reminders, and draft a Kündigung letter when it's time to leave.

Stay legal, stress-free

Visa finance checks, permit tracker, Fiktion kit with permit-gap travel, certified stamps, a leaving-Germany checklist, and online Anmeldung routing — including a Scheinanmeldung warning.

Decode any German letter

Snap Behörden-Post and get a plain-language summary, deadlines, scam warnings, and reply drafts you can send by email.

First year in Germany

From "where do I even start?" to settled.

Your first year, mapped into 16 clear steps — adapting to whether you're a student, worker, or family, with built-in tools for finance checks, permits, and appointments.

Student Worker Family

Housing

Find a place you can register at — avoid the Wohnungsgeberbestätigung trap.

Anmeldung

Bank account

Open a German account with your Meldebescheinigung.

Steuer-ID

Track the 2–6 week wait for your tax ID after Anmeldung.

Health insurance

Choose GKV or PKV — understand the binding rules.

Sperrkonto

Visa finance check for student blocked accounts.

Immatriculation

Enrol at your university for your student permit.

Work permit

Check working-hour rules for students and workers.

Anerkennung

Get foreign qualifications recognised — don't crop the ZAB PDF; the wait starts when fee + docs are in.

Family sponsor

Income thresholds for family reunification visas.

Spouse A1 German

Language proof checklist for family visas.

Kita & Kindergeld

Gutschein in pregnancy, Kita waitlist, and child benefit — § 24 SGB VIII is not a preferred-Kita guarantee.

Ausländerbehörde

Permit renewal prep with city-specific tips and bring lists.

Rundfunkbeitrag

Schufa housing

Build your tenant dossier as a newcomer with empty credit.

Document vault

Encrypted local storage for passport, visa, Melde, and more.

Visa finance check

Student §16b, Chancenkarte, Blue Card, and family sponsor thresholds — know if you qualify before you apply.

Permit tracker

Track permit expiry, appointment dates, and Fiktionsbescheinigung — with reminders at 14, 3, and 0 days.

Ausländerbehörde prep

City-specific tips, bring lists, and portal links for Berlin, Munich, Hamburg, Frankfurt, Cologne, and more.

Digital ID hub

BundID, eID PIN, and EUDI wallet pointers — plus online Anmeldung routes where your city supports electronic registration.

Appointment slot monitor

City Termin portals in one place, with nudges when it's time to check again for Bürgeramt or Ausländerbehörde slots.

Insurance & work rights

GKV vs PKV quiz, working-student 20-hour check, Krankmeldung basics, Probezeit rights, and key German phrases for the counter.

Fiktion kit & stamps

Permit-to-permit travel under § 81 Abs. 4 vs Abs. 3, plus Apostille vs Legalisation vs beeidigte Übersetzung — and what you show at VFS vs what you never post.

Leaving Germany

Long-absence checklist: § 51 six-month lapse, Abmeldung, closing money, § 210 Rente refund hint, and coming back.

Baby-due & family

Baby-due pack with Elterngeld facts, spouse A1 exemptions, Kita waitlist timing, and one-parent child-travel consent letters.

Checklists · v1.13

Unstick a stuck file. Stamps, exits, next letter.

Letter ladders and action packs for the moments the Amt goes silent, a card goes missing, or a stamp is wrong — drafts and checklists only, not legal advice.

Letter ladders

Each ladder is a sequence of German letters. The next rung unlocks after you mark the previous one sent and the waiting period runs out. Copy, share, or print a PDF — progress stays on your device.

Silent authority — Sachstandsanfrage → Fristsetzung → last warning before Untätigkeitsklage
Frozen bank — demand letter → Ombudsmann → BaFin
Language certificate, Namensangleichung (Art. 47 EGBGB), one-parent child travel
WG damage / deposit and ImmoScout Widerruf (Fernabsatz)

LADDER · SILENT AMT

Rung 1 of 3 · unlocks after send + wait

Sehr geehrte Damen und Herren,
hiermit bitte ich um Mitteilung des Sachstands zu meinem Antrag…

Copy German Mark sent

Action packs for the messy middle

Short checklists on the engines you already use — lost cards, stamps, visa traps, WG money, and leaving Germany. All live in the Tools hub.

Lost eAT

Police today, ABH replacement + Fiktion, § 78a sticker — do not wait for the Fundbüro.

Sperrkonto payout

First unlock docs, rent buffer, then close the provider — 20h work is KV, not visa proof.

VFS originals vs copies

What you show at the counter, what you never post, the copy set, and the appointment-day kit.

Certified docs & stamps

Apostille vs Legalisation vs beeidigte Übersetzung — stamp-then-translate, and the usual traps.

WG cost-split & Kaution

Gesamtschuldner, GEZ, § 551 instalments, move-out handover. Damage letters stay on the WG ladder.

Leaving Germany

§ 51 six-month lapse, Abmeldung, closing money, § 210 Rente refund hint, last tax year, coming back.

Late freelancer file

Self-filed 31.07 vs Steuerberater last-February date, Verspätungszuschlag + Zinsen, what to send now.

Visa / “DM me” filter

Payment-to-stranger, job-for-visa, and fake-lawyer red flags before you send money or documents.

More packs in Tools

Chancenkarte next title, Aktenabgabe, foreign birth cert, pickup & numbers, side work, POA abroad.

Letter ladders Lost eAT Certified stamps VFS originals Leaving Germany Late freelancer Drafts only — not legal advice

Save money

The app that pays for itself.

Germany is expensive. Büro finds the savings hiding in your fuel, groceries, salary, and rent — so spending smarter takes zero effort.

Never overpay at the pump

See the cheapest diesel, E5, or E10 within 5 or 10 km on a live map. Price charts and forecasts even tell you whether to fill up now or wait for tomorrow's drop.

Cheapest nearby, plus a favorites list
Price alerts when your station drops
Fill up, then snap the receipt in one tap
Spotted a wrong price? Report it instantly

FUEL · LIVE PRICES

Diesel €1.519 · Fill now

Know the numbers before you commit

Three calculators for life's biggest money decisions. Estimates only — not official Steuerberatung, so always verify with a professional.

What's my real take-home?

Turn any gross salary into net pay — factoring tax class, church tax, children, and your job role.

Rent or buy?

Compare monthly cost, equity you'd build, and the break-even point — no spreadsheet required.

Will my pension be enough?

Estimate your future statutory pension from today's income and contributions.

Snap a receipt, forget the shoebox

Photograph any receipt and AI pulls out the merchant, total, VAT, and line items in seconds. See where your money actually goes, and get nudged before a warranty quietly expires.

Library, Insights, Coverage & Deals in one place
Share a receipt straight from any iOS app
Warranty alerts before you lose your claim
Compare baskets and catch this week's deals

RECEIPTS · INSIGHTS

Library Insights Deals

Weekly radar

Your week, a little cheaper and more fun

Thursday weekend plans, Monday grocery Prospekte, and a Save Pulse checklist on Today — plus transport checkers before you subscribe.

Weekend radar

Free cultural picks plus concerts and going-out listings Fri–Sun — filter All / Free / Going out, with maps and share.

Grocery deals

Compare this week's discounter Prospekte for your staple basket — Aldi, Lidl, Penny, Netto, and more.

Save Pulse

Personalised weekly money nudges on Today — fuel timing, GEZ, tax tips, and deep links into the right tool.

Transport & rent checks

Know the numbers before you commit — estimates only, always verify on official pages.

D-Ticket / Semesterticket

Compare pay-as-you-go vs €63/month Deutschlandticket — or toggle Semesterticket if your uni already covers transit.

Rent true-cost & bank quiz

Kaltmiete + Nebenkosten + GEZ + utilities, plus a bank picker and housing dossier with scam red flags.

Tax & contracts

File smarter. Cancel on time.

Prep your Einkommensteuererklärung for Mein ELSTER, track cancel-by dates on contracts, and draft Kündigung letters — calm tools, not legal or tax advice.

Tax return workspace

Scan your Lohnsteuerbescheinigung and Belege, confirm what AI extracted, walk through personal, employment, work-expense, and light self-employed sections — then export a filing-aid PDF and Belege pack for Mein ELSTER.

Document ingest with confirm-before-apply (never silent overwrite)
Section progress + rough refund estimate
Filing-aid PDF, Belege bundle, and ELSTER step sheet
Late freelancer pack — 31.07 vs Steuerberater date, Verspätungszuschlag, what to send
Prep assistance only — you enter values in Mein ELSTER

TAX · RETURN

Rough refund estimate ~€840 Based on confirmed Lohnsteuer fields — verify in Mein ELSTER

Personal Employment Werbungskosten Bank Review ELSTER steps

Not Steuerberatung. PDF is a filing aid, not an official ELSTER upload.

Contract tracker

Snap a gym, phone, streaming, or insurance contract. Büro pulls key dates and reminds you before the cancel-by window closes — so silent renewals don't eat your budget.

AI scan of contract photos and PDFs
Cancel-by reminders on your device
Recurring cost awareness from receipts
Deep link from Save Pulse when relevant

CONTRACTS

Cancel by 12 days left

Fitness First · monthly · cancel before 28 Aug

Open contract Draft Kündigung

Kündigung letter

When it's time to leave a contract, generate a clear cancel letter from the details you already tracked — edit it, export it, and send it yourself.

Draft from scanned contract fields
Formal German wording you can edit
Export / share when you're ready
Always verify dates before you send

KÜNDIGUNG

Cancel letter draft

Sehr geehrte Damen und Herren,
hiermit kündige ich meinen Vertrag fristgerecht zum nächstmöglichen Termin…

Edit draft Export

Tax return workspace Mein ELSTER prep Contract tracker Kündigung letter Tools hub Quick access Energy switch Late freelancer pack

Everything inside

One app instead of ten browser tabs.

Guides, rights, AI, letter ladders, stamp and exit packs, tax prep, contracts, receipts, fuel, weekly radar, and newcomer tools — finally in one calm place that speaks your language.

AI legal assistant

Ask about German law — or “Where am I?” on your journey — and get a clear answer with the relevant paragraph cited. 10 free questions a day.

Tools hub & quick access

Browse every tool in one catalog, pin favorites, jump back to recent ones, and open suggested tools from AI replies.

Tax return workspace

Scan Lohnsteuer and Belege, fill sections, and export a Mein ELSTER filing aid plus Belege pack — prep only, not tax advice.

Contracts & Kündigung

Track cancel-by dates on scanned contracts and draft a Kündigung letter when you're ready to leave.

Digital ID & slots

BundID / eID / EUDI pointers, online Anmeldung city routes, and appointment slot monitors for Bürgeramt and ABH.

Your documents, locked tight

Passport, visa, Meldebescheinigung and more — encrypted on your device, with Plus cloud backup on iOS and Android.

Weekend radar

Free and going-out events Fri–Sun — filtered, mapped, and shareable, refreshed weekly from Thursday.

Grocery deals

See which discounter wins for your staple basket this week — Aldi, Lidl, Penny, Netto, and more.

Save Pulse

A weekly money checklist on Today — fuel timing, GEZ, tax tips, contracts, and hidden free perks.

Insurance & health tools

GKV vs PKV quiz, working-student 20h check, Krankmeldung basics, Hausarzt path, and Probezeit rights.

Letter decode

Photograph official mail — summary, deadlines, scam alerts, reply drafts, and send by email when you're ready.

Letter ladders

Escalate a silent Amt, a frozen bank, a language-cert fight, or WG deposit — next letter unlocks after you send and wait.

Action packs

Lost eAT, VFS originals, certified stamps, WG cost-split, leaving Germany, late freelancer file, and visa-scam filter.

In your language

Fully usable in English, Deutsch, Türkçe, العربية, and Українська — including right-to-left support.

AI assistant

Like having a lawyer friend on call.

No jargon, no €200 consultation. Ask about permits, your job, your flat, or your benefits — and get a straight answer that cites the actual German law.

Answers the moment you need them

Type your question, watch the answer stream back in real time, and pick up old conversations whenever you like. Suggested questions adapt to your language and city, so you're never staring at a blank box.

Trained on German legal system

Real-time streaming responses

Multi-language support

Your Rights library

Search and discover entitlements with our extensive database of German social benefits, employment rights, and legal protections.

Step-by-step guides

Navigate Anmeldung, residence permits, and family processes with interactive checklists and city-specific guidance.

Multilingual by design

English, German, Turkish, Arabic, and Ukrainian — with instant language switching across guides, AI, and key flows.

See it in action

A real question, answered clearly — any time, day or night

"I was fired from my company. Can you help me understand my rights?"

AI Assistant: Under German law (KSchG), employees with at least six months of service in companies with 10+ employees are protected against unfair dismissals. You have three weeks to file a claim in labour court. Would you like me to guide you through the process?

Download & try free

Guides & documents

Walk in prepared. Never miss a deadline.

Know exactly what you're entitled to, keep your papers safe, and let Büro count down to every expiry so you're never caught out.

Guides & Your Rights

Step-by-step checklists for 20+ German cities and a rights library covering employment, housing, healthcare, immigration, and family law. Everything in 5 languages and kept current with AI-verified updates.

EN DE TR AR UK

Document vault & permit tracker

Keep your passport, visa, and Meldebescheinigung encrypted on your device — exportable as PDF whenever an office asks. Büro tracks your permit, appointments, and Fiktionsbescheinigung and nudges you long before anything lapses.

5 documents free, 50 with Plus
Warnings at 14, 3, and 0 days before expiry
Ausländerbehörde bring-lists for your city
Document files stay encrypted on your device; account data is stored in an EU database

Letter decode

That Behörden letter? Decoded in seconds.

Snap or upload official mail — from a single photo to a multi-page PDF — and Büro tells you what it means, what to do, and by when, in plain language.

From intimidating post to clear next steps

Whether it's a Steuerbescheid, a payment reminder, or a letter from the Ausländerbehörde — photograph it and get an AI-powered summary in your language, with deadlines extracted automatically.

Multi-page scanning — review pages, then decode as one letter
Phone photos work reliably — including iPhone HEIC shots
Plain-language summary with sender, type, and action items
Deadline reminders at 14, 3, and 0 days before due

LETTER · DECODED

Zahlungserinnerung Low scam risk

Payment reminder for Rundfunkbeitrag — €18.36 due by 28 Jul 2026. Pay via direct debit or bank transfer to avoid late fees.

Deadline · 28 Jul 2026 · 14 days left

Reply, protect, and save — all in one flow

Need to respond? Büro drafts a formal German reply you can edit and export as PDF. Suspicious letter? Scam-risk warnings flag common traps. Done? Save the decoded letter straight to your encrypted document vault.

Auto-draft formal German replies with English translation
Scam-risk detection on payment demands and collection letters
Save decoded letters to your document vault
Clear error messages when a photo needs to be retaken

REPLY · DRAFT

Formal German reply

Sehr geehrte Damen und Herren,
hiermit teile ich Ihnen mit, dass ich die Zahlung bis zum 28.07.2026 veranlassen werde…

Edit draft Export PDF

Plain-language decode Multi-page scans Deadline extraction Auto-draft replies Scam detection Vault integration

About SmartBürokratie

We've been the confused newcomer too.

Büro was built for everyone trying to make Germany home — expats, students, the Turkish-German community, and lifelong residents alike. Our promise is simple: explain it plainly, cite the law, and never waste your time.

From your very first Anmeldung to an Elternzeit application years later, every guide is reviewed by real people, kept up to date, and available in English, Deutsch, Türkçe, العربية, and Українська.

Tax return & Mein ELSTER prep

Letter ladders & action packs

Stamps, VFS, leaving Germany

Contracts & Kündigung drafts

Tools hub & quick access

Weekend radar & grocery deals

Letter decode & email reply

16-step newcomer journey · 5 languages

Get SmartBürokratie

Start free in two minutes.

On iOS, Android, and the web — start free. Plus unlocks higher limits and vault cloud backup on the mobile apps.

Android

Available on Google Play

Get on Google Play

iOS

Available on App Store

Download free

Web app

Access from any browser

Launch free

Free

Core access

All guides & rights search
10 AI messages / day
5 receipt uploads / month
5 document vault slots
Full newcomer journey, letter ladders & action packs

Plus · €4.99/mo

Higher limits

Everything in Free
50 AI messages / day
50 receipt uploads / month
50 document vault slots
Cloud vault backup (iOS / Android)

Plus is available via in-app purchase on iOS and Android (web shows limits but purchases in the native apps). Tax and contract tools are prep aids — not Steuerberatung or legal advice. Store savings, grocery Prospekt links, and event sources open your browser for local offers; treat price hints, event listings, and transport estimates as non-binding — always verify in store or on official pages.