Land register; inspection
Inspection of the land register is permitted to anyone who demonstrates a legitimate interest in doing so.
Description
As a public register, the land register is generally open to inspection by third parties. However, since the land register contains numerous personal data relating to the owner, it is not open to inspection by anyone. Pursuant to Section 12 of the Land Register Code (GBO), inspection of the land register (and the land file) is therefore only permitted to those who demonstrate a legitimate interest to the land registry.
As a rule, inspection is to be carried out at the land registry office (local court) in whose district the property concerned is located. In the federal states which - like Bavaria - keep the land register by machine, however, it is also possible to inspect the land register at another land registry office.
Prerequisites
A "legitimate interest" in inspecting the land register is given if you can present factual reasons for the desired inspection which make the pursuit of unauthorized purposes or mere curiosity appear impossible. Therefore, for example, creditors of the property owner who intend to foreclose on the property or prospective buyers with whom the property owner is already in negotiations may inspect the land register.
In order to demonstrate the justified interest in inspection, concrete facts (and not just sweeping assertions) must be presented and supported by appropriate documents that allow the land registry to weigh them up. If there are doubts, the land registry can demand that the facts be substantiated (Section 31 of the Act on Proceedings in Family Matters and in Matters of Voluntary Jurisdiction - FamFG).
Certain inspectors who need to inspect the land register particularly frequently for professional reasons (e.g. public authorities, notaries, credit institutions) may be admitted to the so-called automated retrieval procedure, which enables online retrieval from the land register, if the legal requirements are met.
Online procedures
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Internet-Grundbucheinsicht
By using the WEB-based land register retrieval procedure, authorised participants can conveniently inspect the land register from any PC with Internet access, even outside the office hours of the Bavarian district courts. Participation in the online retrieval procedure requires the appropriate authorisation. The Director of the IT Service Centre of the Bavarian Judiciary (Faberstraße 9, 92224 Amberg) is responsible for issuing the licence. Application forms are available there and applications for admission must be submitted.
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Grundbucheinsicht andere Länder online
In every federal state, it is possible to inspect the land register electronically. The inspection is subject to a fee and is linked to the fulfillment of admission criteria.
Links to more information
Status:18.07.2023
Responsible for editing:Bayerisches Staatsministerium der Justiz
- Online transactions, Bavaria-wide
- Online transactions, locally limited
- Form, Bavaria-wide
- Form, locally limited
- Prefillable Form, Bavaria-wide
- Legal bases, Bavaria-wide
- Legal bases, locally limited
- Fees, Bavaria-wide
- Fees, locally limited
If you select a location under "Localization" the contact details of the responsible authority and, if applicable, locally valid information will be displayed.