Sources and method – People with a criminal record

Where the information in this section comes from, why prison law in Germany is a matter for the federal states, and where information is explicitly marked as uncertain or as differing by state.

Why prison law is a matter for the federal states

Since the federalism reform of 2006, the legislative competence for prison law lies with the 16 federal states (Art. 70, 74, 125a GG). All states have meanwhile enacted their own prison laws; the federal StVollzG remains relevant as a historical reference norm and as the model for many state rules, but applies directly only where a state has not enacted its own law – which is currently the case in no federal state any more. By contrast, the StGB, StPO and BZRG as well as the Social Codes continue to apply nationwide. Wherever the states differ in their rules, these pages therefore explicitly point to "differs by state" instead of tacitly generalising a single state rule.

Sources

1. Strafgesetzbuch (StGB, Criminal Code), in particular §§ 45, 46a, 49, 56–58, 57a (gesetze-im-internet.de)
2. Strafprozessordnung (StPO, Code of Criminal Procedure), in particular §§ 112, 454 (gesetze-im-internet.de)
3. Bundeszentralregistergesetz (BZRG, Federal Central Criminal Register Act), §§ 30, 30a, 31, 32, 41, 46, 47, 51, 53 (gesetze-im-internet.de)
4. Betäubungsmittelgesetz (BtMG, Narcotics Act), §§ 35, 36 (gesetze-im-internet.de)
5. Sozialgesetzbuch Zweites Buch (SGB II, Social Code Book II), §§ 7 para. 4, 16a, 22, 24, 37 (gesetze-im-internet.de)
6. Bürgerliches Gesetzbuch (BGB, Civil Code), §§ 1626, 1666, 1684 (gesetze-im-internet.de)
7. Insolvenzordnung (InsO, Insolvency Code), §§ 287, 287a, 302 (gesetze-im-internet.de)
8. Strafvollzugsgesetz (StVollzG, federal), in particular §§ 7, 11, 109, 190–193 – as a historical reference norm under Art. 125a para. 1 GG (gesetze-im-internet.de)
9. Grundgesetz (GG, Basic Law), Art. 2, 10, 13, 19 para. 4, 70, 74, 125a (gesetze-im-internet.de)
10. Example of a state prison law: Justizvollzugsgesetzbuch or Strafvollzugsgesetz NRW, as of 1 April 2026 (recht.nrw.de) – representative of the 16 state laws, which differ in content
11. dbh-online.de – self-description of the DBH-Fachverband für Soziale Arbeit, Strafrecht und Kriminalpolitik e. V. (DBH professional association for social work, criminal law and criminal policy)
12. toa-servicebuero.de – service office for victim-offender mediation (Täter-Opfer-Ausgleich) (DBH-Fachverband)

Where information is explicitly marked as uncertain

• Minimum visiting time per month in prison – regulated differently between the 16 federal states and partly between institutions; deliberately given without a blanket number of hours (page "Rights in prison").
• Timing of the first sentence plan (Vollzugsplan) and how often it is updated – differs by state (pages "Overview" and "Release preparation").
• Intensity and organisation of transition management before release – no nationwide concept, depends on the state and the institution (page "Release preparation").
• Child-friendly visiting arrangements in prisons – not developed uniformly across the country (page "Family and contact").
• Whether and how private landlords may ask about previous convictions – not conclusively settled by the highest courts; explicitly named as an open question rather than a fixed rule (page "Housing after release").
• Extent of municipal help for people facing homelessness and of transitional housing – no nationwide statutory requirement, varies by municipality (page "Housing after release").
• Whether and when an employer may demand a certificate of good conduct outside cases required by law – depends on the individual case, not conclusively unified by the highest courts (page "Work after release").
• Exact classification of individual sub-cases in the BZRG deletion-period matrix (§ 46 BZRG) – shown here only in simplified form and in groups of periods, not a complete individual case calculation (page "Criminal record and deletion").
• Scope and quality of addiction counselling within individual prisons – not designed uniformly nationwide (page "Addiction during and after prison").
• Capacity and waiting times of municipal debt counselling (Schuldnerberatung) – vary by municipality, despite a statutory entitlement as a mandatory service (page "Debts after release").

What this platform does – and what it does not

• It offers a first, generally understandable orientation on rights in prison, release preparation, probation, the certificate of good conduct and a fresh start in housing, work and money.
• It does not replace legal advice in an individual case – in particular because many prison law rules are designed differently between the 16 federal states.
• Figures, deadlines and responsibilities were researched as of September 2026 and may have changed since; always check important information with the responsible office or an advice centre.
• Where a uniform nationwide figure could not be reliably determined, this was explicitly stated as "differs by state" or "uncertain" instead of presenting an invented number or rule.