In brief

Not every conviction appears on the certificate of conduct. The threshold is 90 daily rates or three months’ imprisonment, provided it is the only entry. Below that you may even describe yourself as having no criminal record.

The Federal Central Criminal Register, kept by the Federal Office of Justice in Bonn, records every criminal conviction. The certificate of conduct is an extract from it, and a filtered one. Section 32(2) no. 5 BZRG excludes fines of no more than 90 daily rates and prison sentences of no more than three months, provided no other sentence is registered. This exception does not apply to sexual offences.

Anyone falling below the threshold may, under Section 53 BZRG, describe themselves as not previously convicted and need not disclose the underlying facts, for instance in a job interview. This does not apply towards courts and authorities with unrestricted access.

How long entries remain visible

Registered convictions do not appear forever either. Under Section 34 BZRG they are no longer included in the certificate after three, five or ten years, depending on the type and level of sentence. They stay in the register itself longer, until they are deleted under the periods set in Sections 45 and 46 BZRG. After that, the offence may in principle no longer be held against the person in legal dealings (Section 51 BZRG).

For work with children and young people there is the extended certificate under Section 30a BZRG, in which certain sexual offences appear regardless of the sentence. A certificate for authorities is sent directly to the requesting body.

Why this shapes the defence

In many cases the 90 daily rate threshold is the real goal of negotiation. For a teacher, a nurse or someone currently applying for jobs, it makes a great difference whether a penalty order states 90 or 100 daily rates. Better still is a dismissal under Section 153a StPO: it leads to no entry in the Federal Central Criminal Register at all. The prosecutors’ procedural registers do record it, but it never reaches the certificate of conduct.

General explanation, not advice on an individual case. As of November 2026.