German criminal trials at the regional and higher regional courts are not recorded. The judge takes notes, and the official record is formal. It does not contain what witnesses said word for word. On November 17, 2023, the Bundestag passed a law to record such trials on audio and create automatic transcripts. The law went to the mediation committee of the Bundestag and the Bundesrat. In April 2024 it was still there. The states argued that the existing practice had proved itself.
Words for Having It in Writing
etwas schriftlich haben — to have something in writing.
Das hätte ich gern schriftlich. — I would like that in writing.
zu Protokoll geben — to put on record.
aktenkundig — on file, a matter of record.
etwas zu den Akten legen — to put something in the files. Duden: etwas als erledigt betrachten, to consider something settled.
Brief und Siegel geben — to give letter and seal. To guarantee.
lückenlos dokumentiert — documented without gaps.
The Bonus Booklet
Germans with statutory health insurance keep a small booklet for the dentist, the Bonusheft. At each yearly checkup the dentist stamps it. When a patient later needs dentures, the stamps are worth money. Without a bonus, the insurer pays a subsidy of 60 percent. After five years of stamps it pays 70 percent, after ten years 75 percent. What counts is ein Stempel pro Jahr, also ein lückenlos geführtes Bonusheft, one stamp per year, so a booklet kept without gaps.
Serviced by the Book
German used-car advertisements often carry the word scheckheftgepflegt. It means that the car has been serviced as its service booklet prescribes. At the end of each inspection the master mechanic signs the booklet and stamps it. A car with a complete record sells for more. The term itself has no clear legal definition.
The Referee’s Report
In amateur football in the Nienburg district of Lower Saxony, the referee must complete and release the online match report at the latest one hour after the end of the game. Every sending-off requires a special report within 48 hours of the final whistle. A referee who fails to file is penalized without further inquiry. A late report must give the reason for the delay.
A Receipt for Every Roll
Since January 1, 2020, every sale through an electronic cash register in Germany must produce a receipt. Customers do not have to take it. The duty came with a law against the manipulation of cash registers. The bakers’ trade objected. Wir können auch nicht nachvollziehen, wie diese Angaben eine Kassenmanipulation verhindern oder erschweren sollen. We cannot see how these details are supposed to prevent or hinder manipulation. In 2025 the new governing coalition planned to abolish the duty. The tax officials’ union warned that giving up eine bewährte Kontrollmaßnahme, a proven control measure, would send a fatal signal. In July 2026 a Finance Ministry draft kept the duty to issue a receipt. From 2028 it is to be digital, and customers may still ask for paper.
The Logbook
A German employee who also uses a company car privately pays tax on that use. The simple method is a flat rate of one percent of the car’s domestic list price. The alternative is a Fahrtenbuch, a logbook. In 2005 the Federal Fiscal Court ruled that it must be kept zeitnah und in geschlossener Form, promptly and in closed form. Loose notes are not enough. In 2012 the court added that each trip must show the date and the destination, and the business partner visited or the purpose of the trip. Missing details cannot be added later in a separate list. A logbook that fails these tests is rejected, and the flat rate applies.
No Title Before Publication
In Germany a doctorate is not complete when the oral exam is passed. The thesis must first be published. The University of Göttingen states the rule plainly: Vorher darf der Doktorgrad nicht geführt werden. Before that, the doctoral degree may not be used. Göttingen allows two years after the oral exam. At LMU Munich, a candidate who chooses conventional printing must deliver 80 copies, the Pflichtexemplare. If the final, extended deadline passes, the rights earned by the exam lapse.
Every Word on Record
Every word spoken in a plenary session of the German Bundestag goes into the Plenarprotokoll, the plenary record. The stenographers note everything from speeches to interjections, applause and objections. They relieve each other every five minutes. By the next working day the complete record of a debate is available. Members may correct the text of their speeches. Korrekturen dürfen den Sinn der Rede oder einzelner Teile nicht verändern. Corrections may not change the meaning of the speech or of any part of it.
The Deleted Phone
In 2019 and 2020 a committee of inquiry of the Bundestag examined the Defense Ministry’s use of outside consultants. In August 2019 the data on one of the official phones Ursula von der Leyen had used as defense minister was deleted. The ministry confirmed it. The Green member Tobias Lindner filed a criminal complaint on suspicion of Beweismittelvernichtung, destruction of evidence. On February 13, 2020, von der Leyen testified before the committee. She told the members that she had deleted her chats regularly.