DSL and internet contract cancellation in Germany: the notice period nobody tells you

DSL and internet contracts have a quirk that catches a lot of people off guard: the contract belongs to the apartment situation you were in when you signed up, not to some general sense of "being online," and it does not know or care that you moved out. This is what the notice period actually looks like for German internet contracts, and the parts that most people find out about too late.

Why internet contracts feel different from mobile ones

A mobile contract is tied to you. An internet contract is tied to an installation, a line into a specific apartment. That difference matters because moving out of the apartment does not cancel the contract. You have to actively cancel it, or in some cases transfer it to a new address, separately from tracking the notice period itself. People who move apartments assuming the internet contract just "ends" when they leave often find out months later that it never actually stopped.

The notice period, and why it's easy to miscalculate

Look for Laufzeit (contract term) and Kündigungsfrist (notice period) in your contract or in the Allgemeine Geschäftsbedingungen (AGB). DSL and internet contracts tend to have some of the longer notice periods among common German consumer contracts, and the initial term is often 24 months. As with mobile and gym contracts, your real deadline is not the contract end date itself, it's that many months before the end date. Counting from the wrong direction, or counting from the day you signed rather than the day the term ends, is the most common way people miss it.

Auto-renewal and what the 2022 law change actually did

If you miss the notice window, an internet contract with an automatische Verlängerung, automatic renewal clause, doesn't just quietly stop. Since March 2022, German law generally limits new automatic renewal clauses so they can't lock you into another full fixed term of a year or more. Typically, the contract continues on a rolling basis that you can cancel with one month's notice instead. Contracts signed before that change, or with different terms, can still behave differently, so this is a general pattern to check for, not something to assume applies word for word to your specific contract.

Moving apartments: the case that trips people up most

If you're relocating within Germany, ask your provider early whether they can transfer (umziehen) your existing contract to the new address, and what that does to your notice period and remaining term. Some providers offer a straightforward move; others treat it as effectively a new contract. If your new home isn't in your provider's coverage area, or you'd rather switch providers entirely, you'll need to cancel the old contract on its own timeline, which brings you back to the normal notice period math, now with a moving date to plan around too. Start this conversation as soon as you know you're moving, not the week you're packing boxes, since the notice period can easily be longer than the notice you get on your new address.

How to actually cancel

Many internet providers taking online sign-ups are required under Section 312k of the BGB to offer a Kündigungsbutton on their website, which should walk you through cancellation without a phone call and give you a confirmation with the effective date. If that's not available, or you'd rather have it in writing, send a cancellation in Textform: your full name and address, your customer or contract number, a clear statement that you're canceling, the date you want it to take effect if you know it, and a request for written confirmation. Keep a copy and proof of sending, since the burden of proving you canceled falls on you if there's ever a dispute.

A right to cancel early if the service genuinely can't follow you

If you move somewhere your current provider genuinely cannot deliver the service, for example a rural address outside their network, German consumer law recognizes a Sonderkündigungsrecht, a special right to cancel outside the normal notice period. What counts as proof that the service isn't available varies by provider, so ask directly what documentation they'll accept rather than assuming it's automatic.

If you're staring at a contract you don't fully understand

Internet contracts get signed quickly, often in the first weeks after finding an apartment, and then filed away and forgotten. Contract Guardian, part of Notenz, reads a photo or upload of your DSL or internet contract and pulls out the notice period, the exact cancel-by date, and any auto-renewal clause, translated into plain English. You get one reminder before that date, and help drafting the cancellation letter. You still send it yourself.