German Mobile Contract Terms Guide

Signing a mobile contract in Germany involves specific legal obligations regarding duration, notice periods, and renewal conditions. The Telekommunikationsgesetz (TKG), significantly revised in 2021 to implement the EU Electronic Communications Code, governs these terms. This guide explains the standard contract structure for German mobile consumers.

Contract Duration Types

German mobile contracts are offered in three standard duration variants:

24-month contract (2-Jahresvertrag): The most common type. Typically offers the lowest monthly price and often includes a device subsidy.
12-month contract (1-Jahresvertrag): Less common; typically priced 10–30% higher per month than the 24-month equivalent.
Monthly contract (Monatsvertrag / monatlich kündbar): No minimum term beyond one month. The most expensive per-month option but offers maximum flexibility.

Minimum Contract Term (Mindestlaufzeit)

The Mindestlaufzeit is the initial period during which the consumer cannot ordinarily cancel. Under the revised TKG (§ 56 TKG 2021), the maximum initial contract term for new consumer contracts is 24 months. Providers may not offer longer initial terms to retail consumers.

The Mindestlaufzeit begins on the date the contract becomes effective — typically the SIM activation date or the confirmed order date for online contracts. Promotional pricing (Aktionspreis) may apply only during the first 12 months of a 24-month contract, with the standard price applying thereafter; always check whether the advertised price holds for the full term.

Key Rule

Under TKG 2021, providers must offer a monthly-cancellable contract option alongside any fixed-term contract. The monthly option may be priced higher but must exist.

Notice Periods (Kündigungsfristen)

The Kündigungsfrist is the advance notice required to cancel the contract. Under the TKG 2021 reform, the previously standard three-month notice period was abolished for consumer contracts. The new rule:

Consumers may cancel a fixed-term contract with one month's notice at the end of the minimum contract term.
After the minimum term, if the contract has rolled over to monthly extension, cancellation requires one month's notice.
Monthly contracts require one month's notice at any time.

The one-month notice period represents a significant consumer protection improvement over the pre-2021 regime, where the three-month notice period caused many consumers to unintentionally extend contracts by several months.

Check Your Contract Date

Contracts signed before the TKG reform took effect (December 2021) may still carry the old three-month notice period. If you are unsure, check your original contract document for the notice terms that apply to your specific agreement.

Automatic Renewal (Automatische Verlängerung)

Under the pre-2021 TKG, fixed-term contracts automatically renewed for 12 months if not cancelled in time. The TKG 2021 eliminated this:

After the initial minimum term expires, contracts automatically convert to monthly contracts (month-to-month), not to a new fixed term.
Providers must notify consumers in writing before the contract end date, reminding them of the upcoming expiry and their options (cancel, renew, upgrade).
This protects consumers from being locked into unintended extensions.

Price Changes During Contract

A provider wishing to increase prices during the contract term must notify the consumer in writing at least one month before the change takes effect. Upon receiving such notification, the consumer has the right to cancel the contract immediately with no penalty, effective on the date the price change would otherwise take effect.

This extraordinary right of cancellation applies when the provider unilaterally changes any material contract term, including price, data volume, or included features.

Extraordinary Termination Rights

Beyond the standard notice cancellation, German law recognises several grounds for extraordinary (fristlose) termination:

Material breach by provider: Persistent service failures, sustained coverage gaps, or billing errors may justify extraordinary cancellation after documented complaints.
Material term changes: Any unilateral change by the provider (price, data cap, speed) triggers a consumer right to cancel immediately.
Relocation abroad: Moving permanently outside Germany may constitute grounds for extraordinary cancellation, though documentation is typically required.
Death of the contract holder: The contract can be cancelled immediately with proof of death, with no obligation on heirs to continue the contract.

TKG 2021 Key Changes for Consumers

The Telekommunikationsmodernisierungsgesetz (TKMoG) of 2021, which implemented EU Directive 2018/1972, made several consumer-relevant changes:

Topic	Before TKG 2021	After TKG 2021
Max initial contract term	24 months (market practice)	24 months (now statutory maximum)
Auto-renewal after term	+12 months	Monthly, no fixed renewal
Notice period for cancellation	3 months	1 month
Monthly option required	Not mandatory	Mandatory alongside fixed term
Speed transparency	Voluntary	Mandatory speed specification tool
Contract summary document	Not required	Required before signing (Vertragsinfoblatt)

Number Portability

Switching providers while keeping your phone number is called Rufnummernmitnahme (number portability). The process in Germany:

Sign up with the new provider and request number portability during the order process.
The new provider initiates the porting request — the consumer does not need to contact the old provider separately.
Porting typically takes 1–3 business days. A brief service interruption (usually <2 hours) may occur on the porting day.
The old contract is not automatically cancelled by porting. The consumer must still formally cancel the old contract (Kündigung) in accordance with the notice period.