Bundestag election 2025

Dates and deadlines

Das Bundesministerium des Innern und für Heimat ist ermächtigt, im Falle einer Auflösung des Deutschen Bundestages die in dem Bundeswahlgesetz und in der Bundeswahlordnung bestimmten Fristen und Termine durch Rechtsverordnung ohne Zustimmung des Bundesrates abzukürzen.

Gemäß Mitteilung des Bundesministeriums des Innern und für Heimat ist der Entwurf der Rechtsverordnung auf seiner Internetseite veröffentlicht. Im Falle einer Auflösung des Deutschen Bundestages ist beabsichtigt, dass die Verkündung der Verordnung zeitgleich mit der Bekanntgabe der Auflösung des Deutschen Bundestages sowie der Anordnung des Wahltages durch den Bundespräsidenten erfolgt.

Der untenstehende Fristenkalender zeigt – ausgehend von einem voraussichtlichen Wahltag 23. Februar 2025 – die Fristen im Falle des Inkrafttretens des oben verlinkten Entwurfes einer Rechtsverordnung durch das Bundesministerium des Innern und für Heimat.

Date Event
Tue, 07.01.2025 18:00
(47th day before the election)  

Last day – 6 p.m. – for the notice of participation in the election to be submitted to the Federal Returning Officer by parties which have not been continuously represented in the German Bundestag or in a Land parliament since the last election to the relevant assembly by at least five deputies on the basis of nominations made by the party itself

Sun, 12.01.2025
(42nd day before the election)  

Date for entering in the register of voters all persons eligible to vote who are registered at the registration office on that very day

Tue, 14.01.2025
(40th day before the election)  

Last day for establishing and announcing

  1. which parties have been represented in the German Bundestag or in a Land parliament since the last election to the relevant assembly by at least five deputies on the basis of nominations made by the parties themselves
  2. which associations, having given notice of their participation, have to be recognized by the Federal Electoral Committee as parties for the election
Sat, 18.01.2025
(36th day before the election)  

Last day for lodging a complaint with the Federal Constitutional Court against a confirmation of the Federal Electoral Committee, which prevents a party or association from submitting nominations

Mon, 20.01.2025 18:00
(34th day before the election)  

Last day – 6 p.m. – for filing

  1. the constituency nominations with the constituency returning officer and
  2. the Land lists with the Land returning officer
Thu, 23.01.2025
(31st day before the election)  

Last day for decisions to be taken by the Federal Constitutional Court on complaints against a confirmation of the Federal Electoral Committee

Fri, 24.01.2025
(30th day before the election)  
  1. Deadline
  1. for withdrawing or modifying a nomination
  2. for remedying defects of the nomination which do not affect its validity
  1. Decision on admission
  1. by the constituency electoral committee on constituency nominations
  2. by the Land electoral committee on Land lists
Mon, 27.01.2025
(27th day before the election)  

Last day for lodging complaints

  1. with the Land electoral committee about a constituency nomination having been rejected or admitted
  2. with the Federal Electoral Committee about a Land list having been rejected or admitted
Tue, 28.01.2025
(26th day before the election)  

Earliest date for issuing polling cards

Thu, 30.01.2025
(24th day before the election)  

Last day for decisions to be taken on complaints

  1. by the Land electoral committee, about a constituency nomination having been rejected or admitted
  2. by the Federal Electoral Committee, about a Land list having been rejected or admitted
Sun, 02.02.2025
(21st day before the election)  

Last day for

  1. notifying the persons eligible to vote about their having been entered in the voters’ register
  2. filing an application for entry in the voters’ register by persons entitled to vote who are entered only upon application (German expatriates)
Mon, 03.02.2025
(20th day before the election)  

Last day for the public announcement on

  1. the admitted constituency nominations to be made by the constituency returning officers
  2. the admitted Land nominations to be made by the Land returning officers
Mon, 03.02.2025 till Fri, 07.02.2025
(20th till 16th day before the election)  

Opportunity to inspect the voters’ register and to object on account of incorrectness or incompleteness of the voters’ register

Thu, 13.02.2025
(10th day before the election)  
Last day for delivering a decision on objections against the correctness of the voters’ register
Sat, 15.02.2025
(8th day before the election)  
Last day for filing a complaint with the constituency returning officer about the decision taken by the local authority on objections against the correctness of the voters’ registers; the complaint has to be lodged with the local authority
Mon, 17.02.2025
(6th day before the election)  
Deadline for information to be released by the local authority on the beginning and end of voting hours, on polling districts, polling stations, ballot papers and the election procedure
Wed, 19.02.2025
(4th day before the election)  
Last day for a decision to be taken by the constituency returning officer on complaints about the decision taken by the local authority on objections against the voters’ register
Fri, 21.02.2025 15:00
(2nd day before the election)  

Last day – 3 p.m. – on which polling cards can be applied for

 Sun, 23.02.2025
(Election Day)  
  1. Casting of votes as a rule from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.
  2. until 3 p.m. – application for polling cards to be issued in special cases (Section 25 (2) of the Federal Electoral Regulations – BWO, and in the case of a sudden illness which has been proven)
  3. 6 p.m. latest point in time for postal ballot papers to be received in time by the competent authority
  4. after 6 p.m. determination, establishment and announcement of the provisional election result by the Federal Returning Officer
From Mon, 24.02.2025
(1st day after election)  
    1. Determination and establishment of the final result and the candidate elected in the constituency by the constituency electoral committee in public session
    2. Notification of those elected in the constituency by the constituency returning officers
       
  1. Determination and establishment of the result for the second votes cast in the Land by the Land electoral committee in public session
     
    1. Establishment of the total result of the election by lists and of the elected Land list candidates by the Federal Electoral Committee in public session
    2. Notification of the Land list candidates elected by the Land returning officers
       
  2. Public announcement of
    1. the final election result for the constituency and the name of the elected constituency candidate by the constituency returning officer
    2. the final election result for the Land and the names of the candidates elected in the Land by the Land returning officer
    3. the final election result for the electoral area, the distribution of seats among the parties, broken down by Länder, and the candidates elected in the electoral area by the Federal Returning Officer
At the latest Tue, 25.03.2025
(30th day after the election)  

Elected candidates attain membership of the German Bundestag after the final establishment of the election result with the opening of the first constituent session of the German Bundestag

Wed, 23.04.2025
(Two months after the election)  

Last day for filing objections against the validity of the election with the German Bundestag by any person entitled to vote, the Land returning officers, the Federal Returning Officer and the President of the German Bundestag