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Guides for expats

Understand your German official mail

German bureaucratic letters are dense, in formal German, and often come with a hard deadline. These plain-English guides explain the most common ones — what they mean, what to check, and what happens if you miss the deadline.

How to read a German Bescheid: structure, terms, deadline
An annotated sample letter, the terms expats misread, and the first letters after your Anmeldung. Deadlines (Frist): how they work & what if you miss one
The single most important thing in any German official letter. A letter from the Finanzamt (tax office), explained
Tax assessments, requests, and how to object (Einspruch). Rundfunkbeitrag: the German broadcasting fee, explained
Why you got it, how much, and when it’s actually mandatory. Mahnung: a German payment reminder, explained
Reminder vs. court order (Mahnbescheid) — and what to do. A letter from your Krankenkasse (health insurer), explained
Contributions, membership, and requests you shouldn’t ignore. Bußgeldbescheid: a German fine notice, explained
Traffic & other fines — and the two-week deadline to object. A letter from the Ausländerbehörde (immigration office), explained
Appointments, documents, and residence-permit decisions. How to appeal a German decision (Widerspruch), with letter template
The one-month deadline, how to file, and a template you can adapt. German property tax (Grundsteuer), explained
The three letters after the reform — and how to object in time.

Frequently asked

What does Mein Büro do?
Mein Büro reads German official and business mail – tax assessments, invoices and payment reminders – from a photo or PDF scan. It detects the sender, amount and deadline, sorts every case automatically and counts down the days until the deadline. On request it drafts your reply.
Is Mein Büro free?
Yes. Basic gives you 5 scans per month, free forever, no credit card. If you need more, Smart costs from 3.90 € per month (depending on the number of credits you choose) and adds more scans, reply templates and the appeal check.
Where is my data processed?
Exclusively on servers in the EU. Your documents, contacts and deadlines are stored in a database at Supabase (France), the backend runs on Railway (Amsterdam), and the AI analysis of letters runs on AWS Bedrock in the EU region Frankfurt – with no data transfer outside the EU.
Is the app available in English?
Yes. The app interface is available in English, German, French, Turkish and Ukrainian. The analysis itself (summary and next steps) and any reply letters are written in simple German — which is exactly what the German authority expects to receive.
Can I try Smart before paying?
Smart has a 3-day trial. You add a payment method up front; nothing is charged during the trial. Afterwards it continues automatically as Smart from 3.90 € per month unless you cancel before the trial ends. The trial includes 20 credits and is available in the first week after you register. Basic stays free without a card.

These guides in other languages

The same explanations of German official mail are available in these languages:

Don’t just read it — know what to do

Photograph the letter and Mein Büro picks out the sender, the amount and the deadline, with a countdown. The app is in English; the analysis comes in simple German, and it can draft your reply in German, ready for the authority.

Scan your first letter free

5 scans/month free · no credit card · EU servers · Android app available