Posting Workers to Germany: Declaration, Pay Rules, Documents and the A1

Posted workers stay employed by the foreign employer: the EU rules on the posting of workers set the frame, and Germany adds sectors, a notification portal and fines.

Five key figures apply as of 5 November 2026.

• AEntG of 20 April 2009 (BGBl. I S. 799)
• Notification before each job in listed sectors (§ 18 AEntG)
• Time records by day seven, kept two years (employers covered by § 19 AEntG or § 17 MiLoG)
• Fines up to EUR 30,000, EUR 50,000 or EUR 500,000 by breach type (§ 23 Abs. 3 AEntG)
• German A1 electronic only since 1 January 2025

Which German Rules Apply When You Post Workers to Germany

Posting to Germany is governed by the Arbeitnehmer-Entsendegesetz (AEntG) of 20 April 2009 (BGBl. I S. 799), which carries Directive 96/71/EC into German law and was last amended on 12 May 2026, together with the Mindestlohngesetz (MiLoG, Minimum Wage Act) and the customs rules on undeclared work. Directive (EU) 2018/957 entered through the act of 10 July 2020 (BGBl. I S. 1657), applying since 30 July 2020, and the driver rules of Directive (EU) 2020/1057 through the act of 28 June 2023 (BGBl. 2023 I Nr. 172).

The Directive binds Germany; employers are bound by the AEntG and the MiLoG, which the Zollverwaltung (customs administration) enforces through its Finanzkontrolle Schwarzarbeit (FKS, Financial Control of Undeclared Work) under § 16 AEntG.

The liaison office is Directorate VII of the Central Customs Authority in Köln (DVII.gzd@zoll.bund.de), and the official website is zoll.de "Mindestarbeitsbedingungen", both as listed on Your Europe (last checked by the Commission on 29 September 2026). The Posting of Workers Directive fixes the minimum list of host-country terms.

Prior Notification in Germany: Sectors, Timing and Content

A foreign employer must notify the Generalzolldirektion in writing and in German before each job or service starts, whatever its length and separately for each place of work, through the Meldeportal-Mindestlohn (minimum-wage notification portal), but only if the work falls in an AEntG sector or one of the 11 sectors of § 2a SchwarzArbG (§ 18 AEntG, § 16 MiLoG). The EU minimum in Article 9(1)(a) of Directive 2014/67/EU is a declaration "at the latest at the commencement of the service provision".

The eight content items of § 18 Abs. 1 Satz 2 AEntG appear in the table below. Changes follow unverzüglich (without delay), and fax is no longer accepted (zoll.de, checked 5 November 2026), and the acts provide for no fee.

Only the lender notifies for hired-out workers (§ 17b AÜG). The MiLoDokV pay exemption does not apply in AEntG sectors; §§ 34 and 35 AEntG carve out short initial assembly and activities without a recipient in Germany. Deployment plans and the portal steps belong to the notification procedure in Germany.

Drivers are declared through IMI or the portal, by the haulier's place of establishment.

The table below sums up the notification rules, checked 5 November 2026.

Every obligation before, during and after a posting is listed in the posting compliance checklist.

Pay and Working Conditions in Germany: What Foreign Employers Must Grant

Workers posted to Germany are entitled to the eight groups of German working conditions listed in § 2 AEntG, from pay including overtime rates to leave, working time and accommodation, to the terms of universally applicable or ordinance-extended sector agreements (§§ 3 to 8 AEntG), and at least to the statutory minimum wage (§ 20 MiLoG). Zoll.de lists the current minimum wage rates, including overtime rates, on its English page.

An undivided Entsendezulage (posting allowance) is irrebuttably presumed to reimburse expenses (§ 2b Abs. 2 AEntG), so it does not count towards pay. This applies the posted worker remuneration concept of Article 3 of Directive 96/71/EC. Employers of posted construction workers pay SOKA-BAU holiday-fund contributions (§ 5 Nr. 3, § 8 AEntG).

Extra Conditions after 12 and 18 Months in Germany

After 12 months of actual work in Germany, all German working conditions apply except the formalities of concluding and ending the contract and occupational pensions; a Mitteilung (notification) in text form and in German to the Generalzolldirektion before the 12 months end moves that point to 18 months (§ 13b AEntG).

The Mitteilung goes to mitteilung.langzeitentsendung@zoll.de; the employer keeps the notice and confirmation. No notice is needed where the employment in Germany began before 30 July 2020 (§ 41 AEntG).

Both periods run on the labour-law clock of Article 3(1a) of Directive 96/71/EC. During long-term posting the worker stays posted, and the 24-month A1 limit is a separate social security clock.

Documents, Time Records and the Representative in Germany

An employer covered by § 19 AEntG or § 17 MiLoG must record the start, end and duration of daily working time by the end of the seventh calendar day after the work day, keep the records for at least two years, and keep the documents needed for checks in Germany, in German, for the whole job.

Workers in the 11 sectors of § 2a SchwarzArbG carry a passport or identity card. The notification names a person authorised to accept service with an address in Germany (§ 18 Abs. 1 Satz 2 Nr. 5 AEntG), although Article 9(1)(f) of Directive 2014/67/EU lets the contact person stay abroad.

During a check, the A1 shows which social security law covers the worker. The guide to documents for posted workers lists what inspectors ask for.

Customs Inspections, Fines and Client Liability in Germany

The FKS of the customs administration checks posted work on site, and § 23 Abs. 3 AEntG caps fines at EUR 500,000 for breaches of the working conditions, EUR 50,000 for missing or late time records and EUR 30,000 for notification, document and other breaches.

Each cap of § 23 Abs. 3 AEntG applies to the breach type in the first column, as of 5 November 2026.

The whole-chain liability of § 14 AEntG goes further than EU law: Article 12(2) of Directive 2014/67/EU makes liability mandatory only for building work and only towards the direct contractor. Fines in other host States are compared under posting penalties in other countries.

The A1 Form from Germany: Issuing Bodies, Electronic Filing and Three Working Days

An employer in Germany obtains the A1 for a worker it sends to another EU or EEA state or Switzerland from the worker's statutory health insurance fund (Krankenkasse), from the Deutsche Rentenversicherung where the worker is not statutorily insured, or from the ABV for members of a professional pension scheme, and since 1 January 2025 only electronically, with the data sent within three working days once German law is found to apply (§ 106 SGB IV). The A1 runs on the social security clock: up to 24 months of anticipated duration under Article 12(1) of Regulation (EC) No 883/2004, provided the worker does not replace another posted person; self-employed persons fall under Article 12(2).

The Deutsche Verbindungsstelle Krankenversicherung - Ausland (DVKA, German liaison agency for health insurance abroad) issues the A1 only for multi-state work of residents of Germany and for exception agreements.

The table below shows who issues the German A1, as stated by the Deutsche Rentenversicherung and the DVKA, checked 5 November 2026.

Today the employer informs the institution "whenever possible in advance" (Article 15(1) of Regulation (EC) No 987/2009). Every covered State runs its own route to apply for an A1.

Social Security Cover for Workers Coming to Germany

A worker posted to Germany from another EU or EEA state or Switzerland stays insured at home where Article 12 of Regulation (EC) No 883/2004 applies, and the A1 issued there binds German institutions and courts until the issuing State withdraws it.

Only fraud, after a failed dialogue procedure, lets host courts set it aside (C-359/16 Altun, C-370/17 Vueling). Workers detached from the UK keep UK legislation for up to 24 months under Article SSC.11 of the TCA Protocol; the EU-UK derogation agreements proposed on 15 October 2026 (COM(2026) 550) are pending as of 5 November 2026.

Workers from the 22 agreement states and Quebec (DVKA list, 5 November 2026) carry a certificate of coverage, not an A1; other third countries fall under Einstrahlung (§ 5 SGB IV, incoming posting).

Rules Applying from 2 November 2028

Regulation (EU) 2026/2359 of 7 October 2026 has been in force since 1 November 2026, but its new Article 12 and the prior-notification rules apply only from 2 November 2028; until then today's rules apply, and persons sent before that date stay under the old Article 12 (Article 87b(4) of Regulation (EC) No 883/2004).

From that date the employer notifies before the activity, with an automatic acknowledgement where the A1 is not issued at once (Article 15(1), (1a) of Regulation (EC) No 987/2009); business trips and up to three consecutive days within 30 days, except the construction work in Annex 6, are exempt from that notification (Article 15(1b)), and the prior affiliation of a person recruited to be posted rises from one to three months (Article 14(1)). The revision of Regulation 883/2004 lists every change.

The take-over of Regulation (EU) 2026/2359 by Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein and Switzerland is pending as of 5 November 2026.

Germany Compared with Other Posting Countries

Germany asks for a notification only in listed sectors, and its maximum fine of EUR 500,000 was the highest maximum the Commission reported for national posting rules in COM(2024) 320 (as of 30 April 2024).

The posting rules by country compare 32 States, and three neighbouring host States have their own pages.

• posting workers to Austria
• posting workers to France
• posting workers to Belgium

Detail Pages on the German Rules

Four detail pages take each German procedure further.

Pending EU Changes Affecting Germany

As of 5 November 2026, the proposed regulation on an EU e-declaration for posting (COM(2024) 531, procedure 2024/0301(COD)) is pending: the European Parliament adopted its first-reading position on 20 October 2026 and the Council's first-reading position is awaited. Host States would opt in voluntarily.

Today the Meldeportal-Mindestlohn is the German route; the EU e-declaration page tracks the proposal.

Questions on Posting to Germany

Four questions recur on posting to Germany.

Does every assignment to Germany have to be reported to customs?

No. Under § 18 AEntG and § 16 MiLoG, only work in an AEntG sector or one of the 11 sectors of § 2a SchwarzArbG is notified, before each job whatever its length.

How long can a worker be sent to Germany?

German labour law sets no end date: all German working conditions apply after 12 months, or 18 with a Mitteilung (§ 13b AEntG), while A1 cover lasts for an anticipated duration of up to 24 months (Article 12(1) of Regulation (EC) No 883/2004).

Which body issues an A1 for a posting from Germany?

The worker's Krankenkasse, the Deutsche Rentenversicherung for workers not statutorily insured, or the ABV for members of a professional pension scheme; the DVKA decides multi-state cases of residents of Germany and exception agreements. The A1 certificate shows which legislation applies.

Does a UK employer need an A1 for workers in Germany?

A worker detached from the UK keeps UK legislation for up to 24 months under Article SSC.11 of the TCA Protocol on Social Security Coordination, and the UK-issued A1 is the proof German institutions accept; the German notification rules still apply.