Germany
Notice periods in Germany
What the German Civil Code says about resigning: four weeks, ending on one of two possible dates; the rule that your notice can never be longer than your employer’s; the written-form requirement that a resignation by email does not satisfy; and termination for good cause.
This page describes Germany and quotes the Bürgerliches Gesetzbuch directly, in English translation with the section number attached to each point. It is not legal advice. A collective agreement or your own contract can set different periods, and where one applies it is the document that decides.
General information only. Employment rules depend on your contract and location.
Last verified: August 20, 2026
Who this covers
This is an employee resigning. The graduated periods in § 622(2), which run from one month up to seven months as service lengthens, apply to termination by the employer — but they are not irrelevant to you, because § 622(6) ties the maximum that can be agreed for the employee to the employer’s period. The two are read together below.
What the code says
Each point below is a statement of what the cited section provides, checked against the text on the date shown in the source list at the foot of this page. The German section number travels with each point so it can be looked up directly.
§ 622(1) BGB: an employment relationship may be terminated with four weeks’ notice, taking effect either on the 15th of a month or at the end of a calendar month.
The date the period has to land on matters as much as its length: four weeks from the 20th does not end on the 17th of the following month, it runs to the next permitted date.
§ 622(3) BGB: during an agreed probationary period, for a maximum of six months, the employment relationship may be terminated with two weeks’ notice.
§ 622(2) BGB: for termination by the employer the notice period lengthens with service, from one month at the end of a calendar month after two years, up to seven months after twenty years.
This is the employer’s obligation, not the employee’s — but § 622(6) makes it the ceiling on what can be agreed for the employee.
§ 622(4) BGB: provisions departing from subsections 1 to 3 may be agreed by collective agreement, and within the scope of such an agreement those provisions apply.
They also apply between an employer and employee who are not bound by the agreement, where the two of them have agreed to apply it.
§ 622(5) BGB: a shorter period than the four weeks in subsection 1 can only be agreed individually in narrow cases — temporary assistance not continuing beyond three months, or an employer with no more than twenty employees where the period is not less than four weeks. Longer individually agreed periods remain permitted.
§ 622(6) BGB: no longer notice period may be agreed for termination by the employee than for termination by the employer.
§ 623 BGB: ending an employment relationship by notice or by a termination agreement requires the written form to be effective, and the electronic form is excluded.
A resignation sent by email or messaging app does not meet this requirement.
§ 626 BGB: either party may terminate without notice for good cause, where facts exist which — weighing both parties’ interests and all the circumstances — make continuing until the end of the notice period unreasonable.
Such a termination can only be given within two weeks of the terminating party learning the decisive facts, and the reason must be given to the other party in writing on request.
Written form means paper
Section 623 requires the written form for a termination or a termination agreement to be effective, and expressly excludes the electronic form. In practice that means a signed letter. An email, a messaging app or a scanned signature does not satisfy it, which makes this the most common way a resignation in Germany fails to do what the person intended it to do.
Your notice cannot exceed your employer’s
Section 622(6) forbids agreeing a longer notice period for the employee than the one that applies to the employer. Because the employer’s statutory period lengthens with your service under § 622(2), a long contractual period for you is worth reading against the employer’s rather than accepting at face value.
A Tarifvertrag can change all of it
Section 622(4) allows collective agreements to depart from the periods in subsections 1 to 3, and within the scope of such an agreement those provisions apply — including between an employer and employee who are not themselves bound by it, where they have agreed to apply it. If a collective agreement covers your sector, its current text is the document to find.
What this page deliberately does not answer
Each of these has a real answer that this page does not hold a source for. Rather than infer one, it says so:
- Whether a particular contract term or collective agreement applies to you.
- What counts as good cause under § 626 in any specific situation.
- How a severance payment or settlement is taxed.
- What effect resigning has on unemployment benefit.
- Whether a post-contractual non-compete clause binds you, and on what terms.
Each of these depends on documents this page cannot read. A specialist employment lawyer — a Fachanwalt für Arbeitsrecht — is the right next step for any of them.
Sources
Every claim on this page links to the government source it came from, and the date it was last checked.
Run your own numbers
- Project your last working day — the statutory period ends on the 15th or the last day of a month, so the date you hand notice in changes the answer more than it does elsewhere.
- How notice periods work — the general mechanism, and how contract, statute and collective agreements interact.
- Can I quit without notice? — six questions covering your contract, your timing, and your money.
Quitting without notice in Germany — common questions
Can I quit a job in Germany without notice?
Only for good cause. § 626 BGB allows either party to terminate without notice where facts exist which, weighing both parties’ interests and all the circumstances, make continuing until the end of the notice period unreasonable. It has to be given within two weeks of learning the decisive facts, and the reason must be given in writing on request. Absent good cause, the § 622 BGB notice period applies.
What is the statutory notice period in Germany?
Four weeks, taking effect either on the 15th of a month or at the end of a calendar month (§ 622(1) BGB). The date the period has to land on matters as much as its length: four weeks from the 20th does not end on the 17th of the following month, it runs to the next permitted date. During an agreed probationary period, for a maximum of six months, it is two weeks.
Can I resign by email in Germany?
No. § 623 BGB requires the written form for ending an employment relationship by notice or by a termination agreement, and expressly excludes the electronic form. A resignation sent by email or messaging app does not meet that requirement — it needs to be on paper with a signature.
Can my German contract give me a longer notice period than my employer?
No. § 622(6) BGB provides that no longer notice period may be agreed for termination by the employee than for termination by the employer. A collective agreement can depart from the statutory periods under § 622(4), and where one applies within its scope, its provisions apply instead.