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German elections and parliament records

The Federal Returning Officer (Bundeswahlleiterin) runs federal and European elections in Germany and publishes official results down to constituency level. The Bundestag publishes its members, plenary records and votes, and DIP, the documentation system for parliamentary materials, indexes bills, questions and debates of the Bundestag and Bundesrat.

What it publishes

• Provisional and final results of Bundestag and European elections by state and constituency.
• Seat distribution, turnout and first and second votes.
• Party registers and candidate lists.
• Biographies and declared side income of members of the Bundestag.
• Bills, written questions, plenary transcripts and the progress of each law through DIP.
• The lobby register of interest representatives.

Key datasets

• Bundestag election 2025 results
  Final results, seats and turnout for Germany, with links to each state and constituency.
  Updated: Per election
• Election open data
  Results as CSV and XML files.
  Updated: Per election
• Members of the Bundestag
  Profiles of each member, including declared income.
  Updated: Continuous
• DIP
  Search of parliamentary documents and procedures since 1949.
  Updated: Daily
• Lobby register
  Registered interest representatives, their spending and topics.
  Updated: Continuous

APIs and downloads

• DIP API
  Free API for DIP documents and procedures; the documentation gives a public key.

When it publishes

Provisional results are published on election night and final results after the federal electoral committee meets, usually a few weeks later. Bundestag documents appear in DIP as they are issued.

How to use it to check a claim

1. Use second-vote shares for party strength; seats follow second votes.
2. Check whether results are provisional or final.
3. Count CDU and CSU separately for votes but as one group in the Bundestag.
4. For a law, check its stage in DIP and whether it has been published in the Federal Law Gazette.

Common mistakes

• Quoting first-vote (constituency) shares as party results.
• Assuming the Bundestag has a fixed size: it had 630 seats after the 2025 election under the reformed electoral law.

How many members does the Bundestag have?

630 were elected in February 2025, according to the Federal Returning Officer's seat distribution.

What is the 5% threshold?

A party needs at least 5% of second votes, or three constituency wins, to share in seats. Parties of national minorities, such as the SSW, are exempt.

Questions answered using this source

• What were the results of the last German federal election?

Links checked 14 October 2026. This page describes what the source publishes and gives no verdict on any claim.