German identity card

The front side shows the German Eagle and the words "BUNDESREPUBLIK DEUTSCHLAND / FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF GERMANY / RÉPUBLIQUE FÉDÉRALE D'ALLEMAGNE" and "PERSONALAUSWEIS / IDENTITY CARD / CARTE D'IDENTITÉ". It contains the following information:

• Photo of ID card holder (biometric photo)
• Document number (9 alphanumeric digits)
• Access number for RFID chip (6 decimal digits)[4]
• Surname
  • Doctorate (only if holder holds this degree)
  • Birthname (only if differing from current surname)
• Given name(s)
• Date of birth (dd.mm.yyyy)
• Nationality (DEUTSCH)
• Place of birth (Only the city/town of birth, no country)
• Date of expiry (dd.mm.yyyy)
• Signature of holder

The rear side shows the Brandenburg Gate. It contains the following information:

• Colour of eyes
• Height in cm
• Date of issue (dd.mm.yy)
• Issuing authority
• Residence (postal code, town, street, house number)
• Religious name or Pseudonym (only if holder has one)
• Machine-readable zone

The three-line machine-readable zone on the back side contains the following information:

Empty spaces are represented by "<".

• German names: German names containing umlauts (ä, ö, ü) and/or ß are spelled in the correct way in the non-machine-readable zone of the ID card, but with AE, OE, UE and/or SS in the machine-readable zone, e.g. Müller becomes MUELLER, Groß becomes GROSS, and Gößmann becomes GOESSMANN.
  • The transcription mentioned above is generally used for aircraft tickets etc., but sometimes (like in US visas) also simple vowels are used (MULLER, GOSSMANN), so passport, visa, and aircraft ticket may display different spellings of the same name.

The three possible spelling variants of the same name (e.g. Müller / Mueller / Muller) in different documents sometimes lead to confusion, and the use of two different spellings within the same document may give persons unfamiliar with German orthography the impression that the document is a forgery.

• Non-German names: In some names of naturalised citizens, some special letters that are not available may always be replaced by simple letters, also in the non-machine-readable zone. The "Bundesdruckerei AG," which prints the German passports, uses the font LA8 Passport, which includes a Latin subset of the Unicode characters (ISO 10646), so that letters such as ç and ł can be displayed at least in the non-machine-readable ID card zone. In the machine-readable zone, special characters are either replaced by simple characters (e.g., é becomes E) or transcribed according to the ICAO rules (e.g., å becomes AA, ø becomes OE, etc.).

Names originally written in a non-Latin writing system may pose another problem if there are various internationally recognised transcription standards.

For example, the Russian surname Горбачёв is transcribed
"Gorbatschow" in German,
"Gorbachev" in English (also ICAO standard),
"Gorbatchov" in French,
"Gorbachov" in Spanish,
"Gorbaczow" in Polish, and so on.

German naming law accepts umlauts and/or ß in family names as a reason for an official name change (even just the change of the spelling, e.g. from Müller to Mueller or from Weiß to Weiss is regarded as a name change).

Newer ID cards contain an ISO 18000-3 and ISO 14443 compatible 13.56 MHz RFID chip that uses the ISO 7816 protocols.[5][6] The chip stores the information given on the ID card (like name or date of birth), the holder's picture and, if the holder wishes so, also his/her fingerprints. In addition, the new ID card can be used for online authentication (e.g. for age verification or for e-government applications). An electronic signature, provided by a private company, can also be stored on the chip.

The document number, the photo, and the fingerprints can be read only by law enforcement agencies and some other authorities.[7] All ID card agencies have been supplied with reading devices that have been certified by the German Federal Office for Information Security (BSI). Agency staff can use these modules to display all of the personal data stored on the chip, including the digital passport photo and, where applicable, the stored fingerprints.[8]

To use the online authentication function, the holder needs a six-digit decimal PIN. If the holder types in the wrong PIN, he has to type in the six-digit decimal access code given on the ID card to prove he/she really possesses the ID card. If the wrong PIN is used three times, a PUK must be used to unlock the chip. The data on the chip are protected by Basic Access Control and Extended Access Control.

The identity card contains the following security features:

• multicoloured guillochés
• microprinting: BUNDESREPUBLIK DEUTSCHLAND
• fluorescent elements which luminesce in various colors under UV light:
  • UV overprint:
    • eagles and BUNDESREPUBLIK DEUTSCHLAND (in macroprinting): red-orange
    • BUNDESREPUBLIK DEUTSCHLAND BUNDESREPUBLIK DEUTSCHLAND BUNDESREPUBLIK DEUTSCHLAND (in microprinting): yellow
    • guillochés: turquoise
  • randomly distributed fluorescent fibres: red, yellow, turquoise
• tactile features:
  • access number for RFID chip and date of expire are tactile
  • surface embossing: map of Germany and microlettering BUNDESREPUBLIK DEUTSCHLAND
• security thread: colour changes when viewed under different angles; is personalized: NNNNNNNNNN<<SURNAME<<GIVEN<NAMES<<<<<<<<<< (NNNNNNNNNN is the document number including a check digit; a total of 42 digits can be found on the thread))
• changeable laser image: shows either the date of expire or the holder's portrait depending on angle
• color-changing ink: the colour of the text BUNDESREPUBLIK DEUTSCHLAND changes from black to green to blue
• 2D and 3D holographic security elements:
  • colour-changing holograms: colour changes depending on angle (violet-blue-turquoise-green-yellow-orange-red)
    • holographic portrait: holographic reproduction of the holder's picture
    • four eagles at the left side of the holographic portrait: change their colour under a different angle than the portrait itself
    • document number: NNNNNNNNN, 9 digits
    • holder's name: SURNAME<<GIVEN<NAMES<<<<<<<<<<, 30 digits
  • green kinematic structures above the conventional picture:
    • eagle: bright eagle on dark hexagon changes to dark eagle on bright hexagon to letter D in hexagon when document is tilted
    • hexagon: moves across the picture when document is tilted
    • stars: change their size when document is tilted
    • letter D: moves across the picture and turns into a star
    • text on the left side of the picture; visible only under a certain angle
      • macrolettering: BUNDESREPUBLIK DEUTSCHLAND
      • microlettering: BUNDESREPUBLIK DEUTSCHLAND BUNDESREPUBLIK DEUTSCHLAND BUNDESREPUBLIK DEUTSCHLAND
  • machine-verifiable structure: a red spot which can be checked by machines
  • 3D eagle: a red-gold eagle visible only under a certain angle