Resume rules in Germany
What employers in Germany expect on a Lebenslauf, what the law lets them ask for, and where the two disagree.
Call it a CV for Germany, a resume for Germany, or Lebenslauf: it's the same document. Employers there usually want it written in German.
This is research, not legal advice. Employment and data protection law changes, state and provincial rules matter in federal countries, and practice varies by industry and seniority. Each entry shows when it was looked up and how confident we are. Where nothing reliable was published it says Not found rather than a guess.
Law and practice, side by side
The label on the right is what local hiring expects. The two lines under it are the law and the habit, which often disagree.
Photo: Common
Common despite legal prohibition; ~90% of recruiters expect one. Legally optional but socially expected in traditional sectors.
What the law says: AGG (Allgemeines Gleichbehandlungsgesetz) 2006: employers cannot demand photos; doing so violates the law. Applicant cannot be disadvantaged for omitting photo.
Date of birth: Optional
Optional; commonly included but not required
What the law says: AGG 2006: age-based discrimination prohibited; applicant should not be disadvantaged for omitting birth date
Marital status: Uncommon
Uncommon; not typically included
What the law says: AGG 2006: family status not relevant to job decision
Sex or gender: Avoid
Avoid unless relevant to position
What the law says: AGG 2006: gender discrimination prohibited
Nationality: Optional
Optional
What the law says: AGG 2006: ethnic origin discrimination prohibited
National ID number: Not found
Not found
The rest of the entry
- Local name of the document
- Lebenslauf
- Language to submit in
- German
- Typical length
- 1-2 pages
- Address detail expected
- Contact information (email, phone) required; full address optional
- Signature and date
- Signature and date historically common but increasingly optional
- Officially prescribed form
- None; Europass optional
- Religion, ethnicity or caste
- AGG 2006: discrimination on race, ethnic origin, religion, belief prohibited
- Health, disability or pregnancy
- AGG 2006: disability discrimination prohibited; reasonable accommodations required
- Other customary attachments
- Certificates, references sometimes attached
- Employer may not ask for
- Photo, age, ethnic origin, religion, health status (AGG 2006)
- Named statutes
- Allgemeines Gleichbehandlungsgesetz (AGG) 2006 - General Act on Equal Treatment
- Data protection regime
- GDPR (EU 2016/679) + Datenschutz-Grundverordnung implementation
- Anti-discrimination statutes
- Allgemeines Gleichbehandlungsgesetz (AGG) 2006
- Local language source
- German
Where this came from
Looked up 2026-08-15. Independently checked 2026-08-15. High confidence. Result of that check: Corrected.
Notes: AGG 2006 explicitly prohibits photo requests in job postings. Yet practice shows ~82% of recruiters expect photos, creating a significant law-practice gap. Photo is legally risky for employer but socially expected. Data protection and anti-discrimination principles conflict with convention.
Researched with AI assistants working from a written checklist, then independently checked. How we researched this