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✍️ Petition, citizens' petition for a referendum, referendum

Requests and complaints to parliament, signatures for the municipality: you can have a say between elections too.

petition Petitions Committee citizens' petition for a referendum (Bürgerbegehren) local referendum (Bürgerentscheid) referendum (Volksentscheid) signatures quorum

In brief

Anyone may turn to elected representative bodies with requests and complaints. This is the petition (Art. 17 GG).

The Bundestag has public petitions that you can co-sign. With 30,000 co-signatures within six weeks, the person who submitted the petition will usually get a public hearing.

At municipal level there is the citizens' petition for a referendum (Bürgerbegehren). You collect signatures. A local referendum (Bürgerentscheid) can then follow. The rules differ from state to state.

Step by step

  1. Clarify the aim and who to addressBundestag, state parliament or municipality? This determines the form and the rules.
  2. Submit a petitionTo the Bundestag online via the petitions platform, or in writing.
  3. Citizens' petition: read the municipal codeYour state sets the number of signatures, topics and deadlines.
  4. Collect and submit signaturesTo the municipality. Pay attention to formal requirements.

Deadlines

30,000 co-signatures in 6 weeks
Quorum for a public hearing of a Bundestag petition (since 1 July 2024; previously 50,000 in 4 weeks).Petitions Committee of the Bundestag, Textarchiv 2024/kw26
2% to 15%
Range of signatures required for citizens' petitions, by state or municipality.KommunalWiki / Mehr Demokratie, secondary source
Watch out – common mistakes
  • Strict deadlines often apply to citizens' petitions, especially against council decisions.
  • Not every topic is admissible; the budget and urban land-use planning are often excluded (state law, not checked state by state).
  • There is no general referendum at federal level. This has not been checked here against a primary source.
  • A petition is a request, not a right to a particular outcome.
In depth · legal basis, figures and practice – for advisers and professionals

Right of petition

Art. 17 GG grants the right to turn to the competent bodies and the elected representative body with requests or complaints. On 1 July 2024, the Petitions Committee of the Bundestag lowered the quorum for public deliberation from 50,000 to 30,000 supporters, and the co-signing period was extended from four to six weeks. State parliaments have their own petition procedures.

Local citizens' petitions

Citizens' petitions and local referendums are regulated by the states' municipal codes. According to KommunalWiki (Boell), the signature quorum ranges from 2% in some Hamburg districts to 15% in many municipalities in Saarland; the approval quorum ranges from none to 30% (Saarland). Deadlines apply especially to petitions against council decisions. For state-specific rules, please read the municipal code.

Who is responsible
  • Petitions Committee of the German Bundestag, state parliaments
  • Municipality (citizens' petition for a referendum)
  • Mehr Demokratie e. V. as a source of information
Further reading
Right to vote and voting (postal vote, voting age)Freedom of information: information from authorities

Quick questions

Worum geht es bei „Petition, citizens' petition for a referendum, referendum“?
Requests and complaints to parliament, signatures for the municipality: you can have a say between elections too.
Which deadlines and figures matter?
  • 30,000 co-signatures in 6 weeks: Quorum for a public hearing of a Bundestag petition (since 1 July 2024; previously 50,000 in 4 weeks). (Petitions Committee of the Bundestag, Textarchiv 2024/kw26)
  • 2% to 15%: Range of signatures required for citizens' petitions, by state or municipality. (KommunalWiki / Mehr Demokratie, secondary source)
What should I do first?
  • Clarify the aim and who to address: Bundestag, state parliament or municipality? This determines the form and the rules.
  • Submit a petition: To the Bundestag online via the petitions platform, or in writing.
  • Citizens' petition: read the municipal code: Your state sets the number of signatures, topics and deadlines.
What do I need to watch out for?
  • Strict deadlines often apply to citizens' petitions, especially against council decisions.
  • Not every topic is admissible; the budget and urban land-use planning are often excluded (state law, not checked state by state).
  • There is no general referendum at federal level. This has not been checked here against a primary source.
Evidence
  • Deutscher Bundestag, Petitionsausschuss senkt Quorum auf 30.000, Textarchiv 2024/kw26, retrieved 20 September 2026
  • KommunalWiki, Bürgerbegehren und Bürgerentscheide in Deutschland – Ein Überblick (secondary source), retrieved 20 September 2026
  • Wegweiser Bürgergesellschaft, Bürgerbegehren und Bürgerentscheid, retrieved 20 September 2026
As of

September 2026 · Sources and method

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