Change of Personal Data
You can easily change your address or phone number in the Self-Service portal.
If you have legally changed your first name or last name – for example, as the result of a marriage, adoption, divorce, or gender recognition – then you can submit a request to change your name via the self-service portal. Please submit scans of any relevant documentation (e.g., marriage certificate, identification document, court order, etc.).
As soon as the change is approved, your new name will be used on all university documents (including your Campuscard and degree certificates) as well as on all electronic systems and in the university’s internal communication.
You will be automatically sent a new QR code for your Campuscard via the ZEDAT portal as soon as the change has gone through. Please note that your old Campuscard will no longer be valid.
You can then adjust your email address via the ZEDAT portal or set up another one. You can find further information on email addresses here.
The same procedure applies if you notice that the name Freie Universität Berlin has on record for you does not match the information on your official identification documents, for example, if it contains a spelling error.
Trans, intersex, and non-binary students who have officially changed their name in accordance with the German Law on Civil Status (Personenstandsrecht) may have their degree certificates reissued by the examinations office with their new name. In this case degree certificates will not be stamped with “Zweitschrift” (reissued document). If you change your name for any other reason, for example, after getting married, then we cannot reissue degree certificates with your changed name. Please refer to Berlin Higher Education Act Section 34.9.
Further information for TIN* students and about gender identity can be found on the Diversity web portal. Webportal.
If you would like to remove other name components, such as suffixes or prefixes or if it is not possible to submit your change of name or upload your documentation for technical reasons, then please send us an email at info-service@fu-berlin.de.
You can find further information for trans, intersex, and non-binary students and on gender identity on our diversity web portal.
Welcome at Freie Universität, welcome to Berlin!
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If you would like to change the name that is displayed on the online platforms of Freie Universität, you can do so by submitting a request to change your name via the self-service portal and entering a “Display Name.” Please only enter one first name and do not add pronouns.
Your preferred name (German: “Rufname”) will then be displayed on the following platforms: Webex, Blackboard, Box.FU, ZEDAT Portal, and the Outlook Exchange email server (name shown under ‘sender’ and in the address book). Please note that changing the display name may take up to 2 days due to synchronization processes.
You can register the first name you use in your everyday life, a shorter version of your first name, or one of several first names as your “Display Name” via the self-service portal. Please only enter one first name and do not enter your last name.
Please note that you cannot select individual online platforms. Your preferred name will be displayed on all of the platforms listed above.
Once the change has gone through you can also adjust your email address via the ZEDAT portal (or set up another email address). You can find further information on email addresses here.
Documents such as your Campuscard, letters, certificates, and other official documents issued by the university will not be affected by this change and will continue to use your legal first name in full.
Further information for TIN* students and about gender identity can be found on the Diversity web portal.
You would like to change your nationality or add a second nationality?
Please send an email to the Student Records and Registration Office at info-service@fu-berlin.de. Please submit a scan of your passport as documentation.
You can also change your gender marker in our data system. The options are currently female/male/non-binary (“divers”)/without specification in line with the gender markers used in German Law on Civil Status. Please also send an e-mail to the Student Records and Registration Office at info-service@fu-berlin.de.
Please note:
We strive to use gender-neutral pronouns and inclusive language in our documents so that your gender marker, as registered in the data system, should play little to no role during your studies at Freie Universität. However, for monitoring purposes it is helpful for us to have the most accurate information possible on the gender identities of our students in our data system (including when this differs from your legal gender status) so we welcome you updating your records.
You can find further information for trans, intersex, and non-binary students and on gender identity on our diversity web portal.
More than forty thousand people with many different identities and backgrounds work and study at Freie Universität Berlin. This diversity includes a wide range of gender identities, including trans, intersex and non-binary people, and cisgender women and men.
The Diversity Strategy and Action Plan approved by Freie Universität Berlin in February 2021 aims to strengthen the gender self-determination of trans, intersex, and non-binary university members.
With this in mind, the Executive Board of Freie Universität Berlin specified the decision of November 9, 2021 on December 13th, 2022 in order to make the administrative process for trans, intersex, and non-binary students who want to change their names much more straightforward. All you need to change your name is a supplemental identification card (ID) from the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Transidentität und Intersexualität.
If you do not have any form of german identification you may contact the DGTI directly at ea@dgti.org and request a supplemental identification card (ID).
Your chosen name will be used on all internal university documents, including your Campuscard as well as being displayed on all electronic systems and used in the university’s internal communication.
You can find information on the use of chosen names that differ from the official name on diplomas here!
You can change your name as follows:
Submit a change of name request via the self-service portal and enter your chosen name. Please upload your dgti supplemental identification card (ID) (front and back) together with your signed declaration of consent (in one pdf) under the “Attachments” tab.
You will be automatically sent a new QR code for your Campuscard via the ZEDAT portal as soon as the change has gone through. Please note that your old Campuscard will no longer be valid.
Then you can change your email address or set up another one via the ZEDAT portal. You can find further information on email addresses here.
If you do not want to (fully) change your name (yet), then you also have the option of changing just the name that is displayed on our online platforms (please see below).
Further information for TIN* students and about gender identity can be found on the Diversity web portal.
For information on how to use your chosen name during enrollment, click here.
Using the Self-Services Portal
Change of adress or telephone
To change your address or phone number, click on “Create request” in the Self-Service portal and select change of address or telephone number in the drop-down menu. The application form will show the personal information we currently have for you. Enter the changes and then click on “Submit.” Once you have submitted the form, your new details will be saved automatically.
If possible, please always provide an address in Berlin. If your mail is sent to an address outside of Germany, please ensure that the region (if possible the zip or postal code) and the country are entered correctly.
If you collect your mail from a mailbox/post office box, please contact us by email at info-service@fu-berlin.de.
Change of name
There are three ways of changing your name via the Student Records and Registration Self-Service portal.
1. Official change of name/ corrections
If you have legally changed your name or if it was incorrect (e.g., misspelled):
Enter your changes into the "Change of Name" self-service request form and upload an official document confirming your (new) name (e.g., marriage certificate, identification document, court order) under the "Attachments" tab. Click on “Submit.”
While your request is reviewed by the Student Records and Registration Office, its status will be “To be verified”.
Once it has been processed, you can also adjust your email address on the Zedat-Portal.
2. Display name
If you would only like to use a name on the online platforms of Freie Universität Berlin that differs from your legal first name, then please enter your preferred name in the “Display Name" field (German: “Rufname”). Please only enter one first name and not your last name. Otherwise, your last name will be displayed twice.
Your preferred name will then be displayed on the following platforms: Webex, Blackboard, Box.FU, ZEDAT portal, the Outlook Exchange email server.
While your request is reviewed by the Student Records and Registration Office, its status will be “To be verified”.
Once it has been processed, you can also adjust your email address on the Zedat-Portal.
3. Change of name for Trans, Intersex an Non-Binary Students
If you would like to change the first name that is used on all university documents and online platforms – without having legally changed it (if you are trans, intersex, or non-binary):
On the “Change of Name” self-service request form, enter your chosen name in the “First Name” field. Then upload a scan of your dgti supplemental identification card (ID) (both sides) together with this Declaration of Consent (PDF) under the “Attachments” tab. Please combine the documents into one file.
Then click on “Send.”
While your request is reviewed by the Student Records and Registration Office, its status will be “To be verified”.
Once it has been processed, you can also adjust your email address on the Zedat-Portal.
Note concerning the validity of your dgti supplemental identification card
If your identity card/or passport and accordingly, your dgti card expire, please send us a copy of the new card immediately. You can simply send an email to info-service@fu-berlin.de.
For further information on the terms and conditions please take a look at the website of the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Transidentität und Intersexualität e.V. (dgti).
„Der Ergänzungsausweis ist nur gültig in Kombination mit einem amtlichen Personaldokument und enthält deshalb beispielsweise die Nummer des Personalausweises. Da er somit an diese Nummer gekoppelt ist, fällt die Geltungsdauer mit der des amtlichen Dokuments zusammen, das heißt, wenn ein neuer Personalausweis benötigt wird, muss auch ein neuer Ergänzungsausweises beantragt werden.“
You can find further information on changing your name here.
