Yellow letter in Germany: what it means and what to do now

Last checked: October 6, 2026 · Publisher: Postklar (Impressum)

A yellow letter (in German: gelber Brief) is a förmliche Zustellung (formal service). A court or an authority wants reliable proof that you received the letter and on which day. For this the postal carrier fills in a document, the Zustellungsurkunde (certificate of service). It goes back to the sender.

The colour says nothing about the content. The envelope can contain a claim for money, but also a Ladung (summons) as a witness, a Bescheid (official decision) or another notice. Only one thing matters: a deadline often starts with the service.

Yellow envelope: meaning and what it looks like

The yellow envelope itself means only one thing: the letter is not dropped in like normal post, it is formally served. The court or the authority hands the letter to the postal service in a sealed envelope, together with a form for the Zustellungsurkunde (§ 176 Abs. 2 ZPO, § 3 VwZG). The envelope is usually yellow, and the words „Förmliche Zustellung“ are printed on it.

Sender: for example an Amtsgericht (local court), a Mahngericht (court for payment orders), a Bußgeldstelle (fines office), the Jobcenter or another authority.
Aktenzeichen (reference number): a number on the envelope or in the letter. You need it for every reply.
Date of service: the postal carrier writes it by hand on the envelope (§ 180 ZPO). This date is the day from which your deadline runs.

Sometimes there is only a notification slip in the letterbox instead of the letter. In that case the letter has been deposited at a post office location or at the Amtsgericht. It already counts as served with this notification and is kept for collection for three months (§ 181 ZPO).

What to do now

Open the letter immediately. Waiting changes nothing, the deadline is already running.
Keep the envelope. The date on it is your proof of when the deadline started.
Read who is writing and what is being asked of you. Look for the word „Frist“ (deadline) and the „Rechtsbehelfsbelehrung“ (the paragraph that explains how to object). It says what you can do and by when.
Count the deadline from the date on the envelope and write down the last day.
If you do not understand the letter, get help quickly: at an advice centre, a migration advice service or with an app like Postklar that explains the letter in your language.
If it is about a court, about debts or about your right of residence, get advice, for example from the Verbraucherzentrale (consumer advice centre), a Schuldnerberatung (debt counselling service) or through Beratungshilfe (state-funded legal advice) at the Amtsgericht.

Which deadlines apply

The yellow envelope has no deadline of its own. The deadline is in the letter. What decides is when it starts:

If the postal carrier does not find you at home, he or she may put the letter in your letterbox. The letter counts as served when it is put in the letterbox, even if you only find it later (§ 180 ZPO).
The letter can also be handed to an adult family member or flatmate in your home (§ 178 ZPO).
If you refuse to accept the letter without a reason, it still counts as served (§ 179 ZPO).
The same rules apply to letters from federal authorities sent with a Zustellungsurkunde (§ 3 VwZG).

Typical deadlines in yellow letters: two weeks for the Widerspruch (formal objection) against a Mahnbescheid (court payment order) (§ 692 ZPO) and two weeks for the Einspruch (formal objection) against a Bußgeldbescheid (fine notice) (§ 67 OWiG). This page only explains the general rule. The date and the Rechtsbehelfsbelehrung in your own letter always apply.

Yellow letter from the Amtsgericht

Very often the yellow letter comes from an Amtsgericht. The type of document is the heading on the first page: for example Mahnbescheid, Vollstreckungsbescheid (enforcement order), Klage (lawsuit), Ladung or Strafbefehl (penalty order). For most of them you have two weeks from the day of service.

How to tell these documents apart at a glance and which deadline applies to each is explained on the German page „Gelber Brief vom Amtsgericht“.

Yellow letter about Inkasso: is that possible?

An Inkassobüro (debt collection agency) is a private company, not a court and not an authority. Its payment reminders come as normal post. Formal service in a yellow envelope is arranged by the Geschäftsstelle (registry) of a court (§ 168 ZPO) or by an authority. More about letters from an Inkassobüro: Inkasso letter: real or fake?

Still, a yellow letter can have to do with Inkasso. The creditor or its Inkassobüro can apply to the Mahngericht for a Mahnbescheid. In the Mahnverfahren (court payment order procedure) an Inkassobüro is allowed to represent the creditor (§ 79 Abs. 2 ZPO). The court then serves the Mahnbescheid (§ 693 ZPO). The sender on the yellow envelope is the court. The Inkassobüro is named in the Mahnbescheid as the representative of the applicant.

In this case a reply to the Inkassobüro is not enough. A Widerspruch goes to the court in writing, within two weeks from the day of service (§ 692 ZPO).

Common mistakes

Leaving the letter unopened for days.
Throwing away the envelope. Then the date of service is missing.
Counting the deadline from the day you read the letter and not from the date on the envelope.
Ignoring the notification about a deposited letter and not collecting the letter.
Not having the letterbox emptied when you are away for a longer time.
Only calling. For a Widerspruch or Einspruch the letter almost always requires a written reply.

Frequently asked questions

What does a yellow letter mean in Germany?

It means that a court or an authority is formally serving a document on you. The day of service is recorded in a certificate (§ 182 ZPO). The yellow envelope says nothing about the content: it can be a claim for money, but also a summons as a witness or a Bescheid from an authority. You should open it immediately.

What does a yellow letter from the Amtsgericht mean?

The Amtsgericht (local court) is serving a document on you for which the day of receipt matters. Often it is a Mahnbescheid, a Vollstreckungsbescheid, a Klage, a Ladung or a Strafbefehl. The heading on the first page shows the type, the Rechtsbehelfsbelehrung names the deadline.

What does the date on the yellow envelope mean?

It is the day of service. The postal carrier has to note it on the envelope (§ 180 ZPO). The deadline from the letter runs from this day. Your signature is not needed: if the yellow envelope is in your letterbox, it counts as served when it was put in.

Can a yellow letter come from a debt collection agency?

An Inkassobüro sends its payment reminders as normal post. What does come in a yellow envelope is the Mahnbescheid from the court that the creditor or its Inkassobüro has applied for. It is served by the court (§ 693 ZPO). For the Widerspruch you have two weeks from the day of service (§ 692 ZPO).

I was on holiday and the deadline has passed. What now?

React immediately and get advice. If you missed an important deadline through no fault of your own, you may be able to apply for Wiedereinsetzung (restoration of the deadline), in proceedings under the ZPO within two weeks after the obstacle has ended (§§ 233, 234 ZPO). Whether this is possible in your case is a question for an advice service.

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This page explains in general what such letters mean. It is not legal advice and does not replace advice on your individual case. What your own letter says always comes first.