How to Call 911 in Germany: Emergency Numbers in Germany

Look, you never want to have an emergency while you’re on vacation or while you’re living abroad, but sadly, sometimes these things happen. It’s always best to be prepared for the worst just in case.

When you’re on vacation or living abroad, the best thing you can do is find out the emergency numbers for that specific country.

Where I live in Germany, there are a couple of different emergency numbers, so it can be a little bizarre if you’re used to just one centralized emergency service number. With that in mind, I’ve created this short guide to get rid of any confusion.

So, let’s dive in and get started.

Do they have 911 in Germany?

No, they do not have 911 in Germany. Please do not try and call 911 in Germany.

In some cases, they’ll try and reroute you to a local line but it can cost a lot of money with international charges and take a lot longer than if you just call the correct number for German emergency services.

What is the Emergency Service Number in Germany?

Depending on the service you’re after it’ll either be 112 or 110. It doesn’t matter if your phone is locked, you can still call the emergency services.

When the operator answers you can request that they speak English to you if you’re not confident in your German skills. The vast majority of emergency service operators can speak English as well as German.

What’s the Difference Between 112 and 110?

The basic split between 112 and 110 is that one is for medical and fire, and the other is for police-related incidents.

If you need medical assistance, there’s a fire, a suspected explosive, someone is trapped, or you can see someone trying to harm themselves, you need to call 112. This is the medical and fire-related line.

If you’ve been the victim of theft, assault, abuse, or anything else like that, you need the police emergency line, which is 110.

When Should I Call 112 or 110?

It should go without saying that you should only call 112 or 110 in an emergency. Of course, plenty of people don’t heed this warning.

If it’s not an emergency, there are plenty of other people you can call or you can Google the issue if it’s not time-sensitive.

Just like you wouldn’t call 911 if it wasn’t serious, don’t call 112 or 110 if you don’t have to.

When Shouldn’t I Call 112 or 110?

Again, this should be a no-brainer, but here is a non-exhaustive list of times when you should NOT call 112 or 110:

If you’ve already reported an emergency incident and you’re trying to report the same thing twice.
If it’s something that can be solved by a pharmacy or a regularly scheduled doctor’s appointment.
Anything to do with the dentist.
As a prank call.
To see if your phone is working.
For low-level medical issues where you can get yourself to the hospital.

Can I Call 112 in Other Countries?

Yes, you can call 112 in countries all over Europe. Much like 911 is used in a few countries in North America, 112 is the emergency service number in a lot of other European nations.

These include Austria, Belgium, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Faroe Islands, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Monaco, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, North Macedonia, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, and The Vatican.

So if you’re traveling around Europe, you don’t need to remember a ton of emergency numbers. It is worth noting that some of these countries have additional emergency services numbers as well as 112.

Vanessa Wachtmeister

Vanessa Wachtmeister is a travel tech professional and the creator of the wealth & wanderlust platform, Wander Onwards. Vanessa is originally from Los Angeles, California, she is a proud Chicana, and she has been living abroad for the last 9 years. Today, she helps people pursue financial and location independence through her ‘Move Abroad’ Master Class, financial literacy digital products, and career workshops.