Meldewesen (German accommodation registration framework)

Meldewesen is the German term for the registration system that governs how accommodation providers collect and report information about their guests. The federal layer is the Bundesmeldegesetz, which requires that guests from abroad complete a registration form (Meldeschein) capturing their full name, home address, date of birth, nationality and identity document on arrival. German nationals are exempt from the identity-document requirement under the Bundesmeldegesetz but can still be required to supply their details under supplementary state Beherbergungsgesetze, which many of the sixteen German states have enacted with their own rules on form layout, retention periods and the scope of guests covered. Completed registration forms must be kept for the prescribed period (currently twelve months under the federal act, though some states set longer terms) and must be produced on request by police or registration authorities. For campsites, Meldewesen defines the compliance framework around the daily Meldeschein workflow: which guests trigger the duty, what data must be captured, how long records must be kept, and what the authority can demand to see. The registration data collected under Meldewesen often overlaps with the figures required for accommodation statistics and tourist tax, so capturing it once at booking or online check-in reduces duplicate data entry at a busy reception.