SCHUFA Procedures

Yes! The data copy (Datenkopie) under Art. 15 GDPR (DSGVO) is your statutory right. Since March 2026 there has also been a free digital account.

€29.95 one-off. Immediately as a PDF on meineschufa.de or at any Postbank branch.

First check whether the entry was admissible at all: § 31 Abs. 2 BDSG requires, for the reporting usual in consumer matters, two written payment reminders, at least four weeks since the first one, prior notice, and that you have not disputed the debt. If any one of these is missing, the entry must be deleted regardless of its age. If the entry was admissible, deadlines apply: the Federal Court of Justice (Bundesgerichtshof, BGH) ruled on 18 December 2025 (I ZR 97/25) that an entry does not have to be deleted immediately after settlement – three years apply, and 18 months only if three conditions are met together: settlement within 100 days of the entry being reported, no further negative data, and no entry in the register of debtors (Schuldnerverzeichnis). For a discharge of residual debt, following the ruling of the Court of Justice of the European Union (EuGH) of 7 December 2023, only six months apply.

Since 17 March 2026 a uniform scale of 100 to 999 points has applied, with twelve named criteria, replacing the former percentage-based basic score (Basisscore) and the industry scores (Branchenscores). The classes are 776–999 excellent, 709–775 good, 642–708 acceptable and 100–641 adequate – common rules of thumb such as “900 and above is very good” do not match any of these. Two limitations matter here: the transition runs until 2028, and until then each company chooses for itself whether it queries the old or the new value; you can neither tell which one it is nor influence it. And the weighting of the criteria is not public – how far it must be disclosed was argued before the Federal Court of Justice (Bundesgerichtshof, BGH) on 18 June 2026, and it has not yet decided.

The order matters: block first, then report it, then have it deleted. The blocking emergency number 116 116 can be reached 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, free of charge from within Germany, from abroad on +49 116 116; it can also be used to block online banking, the online ID function and SIM cards. Afterwards file a criminal complaint (Strafanzeige) – the case reference number is your most important document – and demand the deletion of the fraudulent entries. On the duration of a protective note we deliberately give no figure: the scope and duration are decided by SCHUFA itself, as a private company; have both confirmed in writing.