Official portals for English downloads: land‑use maps, Altlastenkataster extracts and Bodenrichtwerte (Sep 2026)

What official portals publish and what formats they offer

Official land data in Germany is published by state and municipal geoportals and by the regional Gutachterausschüsse (land‑value committees). For Bodenrichtwerte (standard land values) many cities and states publish data as OGC web services (WMS/WFS) and as open data WFS/WMS or CSV/Excel exports. Example: BORIS/Berlin and the Geoportal Berlin publish Bodenrichtwerte via WMS and WFS and provide year‑by‑year exports; the Geoportal also supports an Excel export of the Bodenrichtwert sachdaten. Berlin’s WFS entries and open‑data catalogues are available for direct download (WFS) and through the city’s open‑data catalogue pages.

Exact official portals (examples you can use today)

Berlin (Gutachterausschuss / Geoportal / BORIS): the central pages for Bodenrichtwerte and BORIS are maintained by the Senatsverwaltung; the geoportal offers WMS/WFS for multiple year‑stamps and an Excel export function for the sachdaten. Use the Berlin BORIS/Geoportal pages to run address or area queries and to retrieve WFS endpoints for GIS software.

Brandenburg (Geoportal Brandenburg / BORIS Land Brandenburg): the state geoportal publishes annual Bodenrichtwert datasets in standard formats (CSV, XML) and offers web services; shapefile or municipality‑cut extracts can be produced on request (the metadata notes that shapefile extracts may be supplied on request and that a fee for data preparation can apply). These two examples illustrate the normal model: immediate machine access where a WFS/WMS is published, and bespoke extracts supplied on request by the data authority where a shapefile or municipal cut is required.

Which parcel identifiers or search keys are normally required

Most geoportals accept three common location inputs: a postal address, a cadastral parcel identifier (Flurstück / Liegenschaftsnummer) and a municipality or local code. Berlin’s documentation explicitly describes retrieval by a "Lageangabe" (address) in the Geoportal; geodata metadata standards used across Länder include parcel attributes (Flurstücksnummer, Gemarkung/Gemarkungsschlüssel) in their export schemas. For Flächennutzungspläne you normally search by municipality or by plan name (many municipal portals supply the F‑Plan as PDF plus a GIS layer identified by a municipal code). If you require an official extract from a register (for example an official Altlastenkataster‑Auskunft), prepare to supply the precise Flurstück number and the municipality name — these are the identifiers authorities reference in their geodata services and metadata.

Typical turnaround times and practical expectations (Sep 2026)

If a WMS/WFS or open dataset is published you can download or connect immediately — WMS/WFS endpoints and open‑data WFS downloads are designed for instant access. Berlin explicitly publishes WMS and WFS services and offers direct exports from its Geoportal. Where authorities only produce customised extracts (for example shapefile clips, PDF certified extracts or municipality‑specific Altlastenkataster‑printouts), the metadata and service pages show these are provided "on request" and may be subject to data preparation and fees; the Brandenburg metadata for Bodenrichtwerte states that shapefile or municipal extracts are supplied on request and that preparation applies, with the result delivered after online preparation. Authorities do not publish a uniform statutory deadline for bespoke extracts; expect anything from same‑day to several weeks depending on workload and whether a paid extraction is involved.

How to proceed as a foreign buyer (practical checklist)

1) Identify the municipality and the parcel (Flurstück) or the street address. Geoportals use either address search or the cadastral Flurstück identifier.

2) First try the city/state geoportal for WFS/WMS or Open Data (instant). If you need a municipal certified extract or an Altlastenkataster Auskunft, use the Umweltamt / Gutachterausschuss contact shown on the same portal and include the municipality name and Flurstück number in your request.

3) Allow the difference in turnaround: immediate for published WFS/WMS/CSV; variable (days–weeks) for bespoke extracts or certified registers. If you need an English certified translation or legal certainty for purchase paperwork, instruct a German‑qualified conveyancer or a local lawyer — do not rely on machine translation for legal extracts.