No Social Security Number Yet in Köln? Since 2023 There Is No Card to Wait For, Your Employer Gets the Number From the Pension Insurance
There is no social security card to wait for any more. Since 1 January 2023 the old Sozialversicherungsausweis has been replaced by the Versicherungsnummernachweis, and employees generally no longer have to show it to an employer. Instead, your employer retrieves your Sozialversicherungsnummer (also called Rentenversicherungsnummer) electronically from the Datenstelle der Rentenversicherung before registering you. If you have never worked in Germany, no number exists yet: your employer applies for one through the registration procedure using your personal data (birth name, date and place of birth, country of birth, gender), Deutsche Rentenversicherung (DRV) assigns it, and the Nachweis then comes to you by post. The DRV pages used here give no processing time, so there is no official deadline to measure a delay against. If you need the number itself, you have free routes: it appears on your payslip and on every DRV letter, and if you have neither, you can write to DRV with your date of birth, birth name, birthplace and postal address, use DRV's online services, or contact the pension insurance carrier directly with a valid ID. DRV does not give the number out by phone for data protection reasons. For Köln, the regional carrier is Deutsche Rentenversicherung Rheinland, which has a Service-Zentrum at Lungengasse 35. A lost Nachweis is replaced free of charge via DRV or your Krankenkasse.
The Official Rule
Waiting for a social security card that never seems to arrive is a common worry among newcomers, and the first thing to know is that the card in that picture no longer exists in the old form.
Since 1 January 2023 the Sozialversicherungsausweis has been replaced by the Versicherungsnummernachweis. Deutsche Rentenversicherung (DRV) states the change and says the former obligation to carry the document in certain sectors has lapsed. TK and AOK add that employees generally no longer have to show it to a new employer, that a loss no longer has to be reported, and that previously issued cards stay valid. The document shows your number and name. The number is what matters.
Your employer now fetches the number itself. According to TK, employers retrieve the Versicherungsnummer through their payroll software from the Datenstelle der Rentenversicherung, and the procedure is mandatory for them. Only if no number is returned does something else have to happen: the employee presents the Nachweis, or, if no number has been assigned yet, the employer starts the assignment through the registration procedure (Meldeverfahren).
If you have never worked in Germany, the number does not exist yet. AOK explains that DRV assigns the number when a person first takes up work in Germany, whether training, full-time, part-time or a mini-job, and that it then stays the same for life. If none exists, the employer applies for it with your birth name, date of birth, place of birth, country of birth and gender. DRV Baden-Württemberg’s press release of 15 December 2025 adds that employees then receive their personal number automatically by post after registration.
| Situation | What to do |
|---|---|
| You have never worked in Germany and your employer asks for the number | Give the employer your birth name, date and place of birth, country of birth and gender, it applies for the number |
| The employer's query found no number | Either you present a Nachweis you already have, or the employer applies for a new number |
| You are registered but do not know the number | Check your payslip and DRV letters, otherwise write to DRV or request it online |
| Your Nachweis is lost or never reached you | Request a free replacement from DRV online or through your Krankenkasse |
| You still have an old Sozialversicherungsausweis | It remains valid, no exchange needed |
Getting the Number Itself
Look first. DRV states that your number appears on all its letters, and its press release says that employed people find it on their payslip. If you are registered and employed, this is usually the fastest check.
Write to DRV. DRV’s FAQ on insurance documents says to write with your date of birth, birth name, birthplace and current postal address, and that the number will be sent to you by post. It also states that, for data protection reasons, the number cannot be given out by phone.
Use the online services. According to DRV’s press release, you can request information through the DRV online services, it is delivered by post, and it costs nothing. The release also warns that private companies sell this same service, and that you can get it directly and free of charge.
Ask the Krankenkasse about a lost Nachweis. AOK says you can write to your Krankenkasse, which requests the reissue from DRV, or apply through DRV online. The replacement is free. The service line is 0800 1000 4800, per DRV Monday to Thursday 08:00 to 19:00 and Friday 08:00 to 15:30, useful for general questions rather than for hearing your number.
Contact the carrier directly. DRV’s FAQ says that new employees without a number can also contact the pension insurance carrier themselves, and that a valid ID is essential for that.
In Köln
The process is federal, so nothing about it changes in Köln. The local detail is the office. DRV Rheinland is the regional carrier for the Regierungsbezirke Düsseldorf and Köln. Its Service-Zentrum Köln is at Lungengasse 35, 50676 Köln, telephone 0221 3317-01, with listed hours of Monday to Wednesday 7:30 to 15:00, Thursday 7:30 to 18:00 and Friday 7:30 to 13:00. The page does not say whether you need an appointment, so call ahead, and hours can change.
Practical Notes
The sources used here give no processing time for the Nachweis, and consumer guides disagree, so there is no reliable deadline to measure a delay against. What you can check is whether the registration happened: ask your employer whether it has registered you and whether it has your number. The number stays with you for life, so once you have it, store it with your other identification numbers (our companion page on Steuer-ID, Steuernummer and Sozialversicherungsnummer explains how they differ). If someone offers to obtain your number for a fee, remember that DRV provides it free of charge.
Step by Step
- Know that there is no card to wait for. Since 2023 the document is the Versicherungsnummernachweis, and employees generally no longer have to show it to an employer.
- If you have never worked in Germany, tell your employer. Give it your birth name, date and place of birth, country of birth and gender so it can apply for the number.
- Check your payslip and any DRV letter for the number once you are registered.
- If you do not have the number, write to DRV or use DRV’s online services. Include your date of birth, birth name, birthplace and postal address. Do not expect it by phone.
- If you prefer to go in person in Köln, call DRV Rheinland’s Service-Zentrum Köln first (0221 3317-01) and bring a valid ID.
- If your Nachweis is lost, request a free replacement via DRV online or your Krankenkasse, no report of the loss is needed.
Compliance Note
This page explains the general process around the Sozialversicherungsnummer and the Versicherungsnummernachweis, based on official and insurer sources available when it was updated. It is not legal advice, and procedures, opening hours and contact details can change. For your specific situation, confirm directly with your employer, your Krankenkasse or Deutsche Rentenversicherung.
FAQ & Common Pitfalls
Weeks have passed and no Sozialversicherungsausweis has arrived. Did something go wrong?
There is no Sozialversicherungsausweis to wait for any more. Since 1 January 2023 the document is called Versicherungsnummernachweis, DRV issues it once a number exists, and employees generally no longer have to show it to an employer. The DRV pages used here state no processing time for it, and consumer guides online contradict each other on how long it takes, so treat any figure you read with caution. What matters more is whether your employer has registered you and has your number. Ask the payroll department, check your payslip, and if the number is still unknown, use one of the routes in the next answers.
My employer asks for my social security number but I have never worked in Germany. What now?
Tell the employer that you have no German number yet and give the personal data it needs: according to AOK, your birth name, date of birth, place of birth, country of birth and gender. If the employer's electronic query to the Datenstelle finds no number, it applies for one through the registration procedure, DRV assigns it and issues the Nachweis. DRV's own FAQ says the employer reports the start of employment to your Krankenkasse, and DRV's press release says new employees then receive their personal number automatically by post after registration. You normally do not have to apply yourself.
Why won't DRV just tell me my number on the phone?
DRV states that, for data protection reasons, personal information including the Versicherungsnummer cannot be given out by phone. If you no longer have it, you write to your pension insurance carrier with your date of birth, birth name, birthplace and current postal address and they send the number by post, or you request it through DRV's online services, which DRV says costs nothing. The service line 0800 1000 4800 (Monday to Thursday 08:00 to 19:00, Friday 08:00 to 15:30, per DRV) is for general questions. DRV also points out that private companies sell this service, while you can get it directly and free of charge.
Is anything different in Köln?
The process itself is federal and the same everywhere. The Köln-specific detail is the regional carrier: Deutsche Rentenversicherung Rheinland covers the Regierungsbezirke Düsseldorf and Köln and has a Service-Zentrum Köln at Lungengasse 35, 50676 Köln, telephone 0221 3317-01. DRV Rheinland lists opening hours of Monday to Wednesday 7:30 to 15:00, Thursday 7:30 to 18:00 and Friday 7:30 to 13:00, and does not say whether an appointment is required, so call ahead. Bring a valid ID, which DRV calls essential when you contact the carrier directly.
I found my old card, or I lost my Nachweis. What should I do?
Old Sozialversicherungsausweise remain valid and do not have to be exchanged. If your Nachweis is lost, destroyed or unusable, you do not have to report it, and a replacement is free: write to your Krankenkasse, which forwards the request to DRV, or apply through DRV's online services. The number itself never changes, so a lost paper does not mean a lost number.