What Items Are Restricted When Shipping Household Goods to Germany?
Most used household goods enter Germany duty free. A short list of items does not: some are dutiable no matter how long you have owned them, some need permits you cannot get on short notice, and some are banned outright. Sorting your belongings into those three piles before the packers arrive is the cheapest customs work you will do.
This guide covers all three. Relief is granted by German customs, not by your mover, so a licensed overseas moving company serving all 50 states can prepare the paperwork and flag problem items, but it cannot promise how an inspector will treat a questionable one. That is why the inventory step at the end matters most.
The Baseline: What Duty-Free Relief Requires
Restrictions only make sense against the rule they are carved out of. Germany grants duty-free entry to removal goods when all of these are true:
You have lived outside the EU for at least 12 months, or are planning to, and you import the goods within one year of establishing permanent residence in Germany. Each item has been owned and used for at least six months before the vessel departs. The goods will be used the same way in Germany. And you keep them for 12 months after import. Customs Registration Form 0350, which states the goods will not be sold in that period, is part of the document package. The rest of it is covered in our guide to the documents for a Germany shipment.
One detail catches people with valuable belongings. Any single item worth more than EUR 5,000 must be valued individually on the inventory. Antiques, a good piano, a camera kit or a rug collection cannot hide inside a line that reads “living room contents.”
Items That Are Dutiable No Matter What
Alcohol and Tobacco
Spirits, wine and tobacco are subject to duty, and they do not ride along under household goods relief even if you have owned them for years. Customs guidance for Germany also recommends a signed letter from you stating that firearms, alcohol, tobacco, cigarettes, tea and coffee are not part of the shipment. Tea and coffee surprise people, which is exactly why the letter lists them.
For a wine cellar, our advice is simple: declaring, valuing and paying duty on it usually costs more effort than it saves. Sell it, gift it, and restock once you land.
Items Under Six Months Old
A sofa bought in March for a June sailing has not met the six-month ownership test. Flag it during the survey so it is declared and assessed separately. Mixing it into the main inventory invites questions, and questions slow the whole container, not just the sofa.
Commercial Goods and Professional Equipment
Business stock and non-portable equipment for craftsmen or the self-employed are dutiable. Portable tools and instruments used in skilled manual work or self-employment can travel as removal goods, but the inventory has to describe them as exactly that.
Firearms and Weapons
Importing firearms, ammunition or dangerous objects requires a German gun licence, a hunting permit where relevant, and a valid German permit for the specific weapon. Anything on the arms register needs authorisation, and objects listed in Annex 2 of the German arms law are forbidden outright.
Gun owners from the US often assume paperwork is a formality. It is not. The permitting runs through German authorities on their timeline, so raise it before you book, not when the packers reach the closet.
Food, Plants and Seeds
A modest amount of ordinary pantry food can travel inside a household goods shipment. Meat and meat by-products, poultry, fish, milk and milk by-products cannot, and that includes sausage, canned meat, dried fish and dairy. The customs guide also names potatoes and mushrooms from Eastern Europe, plus organic seeds and plants, among the items that are forbidden or allowed only under special conditions.
Houseplants are the usual casualty. They will not survive weeks in a container anyway, so give them to a neighbor. As for food, pack none. If an inspector finds a forbidden item, the container can be held for examination while the port storage clock keeps running.
Wood Packaging: The ISPM 15 Mark
Germany applies the EU’s ISPM 15 standard. Every piece of solid wood packaging and dunnage, meaning the wood used to wedge or support cargo, must carry the ISPM 15 stamp showing heat treatment or fumigation. Without the stamp, the timber is either pulled for examination or ordered treated.
This matters most for custom crates built around furniture, art and fragile pieces. Confirm the crate wood is stamped when crating is booked, not when the container is already sealed. Raw wood of 6 mm thickness or less, and processed wood made with glue, heat and pressure such as plywood, are exempt from the mark.
Pets
SDC does not ship pets. Animals travel on their own track and we refer clients to a specialist. You should still know the rules, because they affect your timeline and your dog.
Dogs, cats and ferrets arriving from the US must be identifiable by microchip, vaccinated against rabies, and accompanied by a veterinary certificate showing the chip number. If a blood test was required, a three-month wait runs from the test date before the animal can enter the EU. No more than five animals may come in together.
Dog owners should check breed rules early. Germany bans importing pit bull terriers, American Staffordshire terriers, bull terriers and their crosses. Individual states (Bundesländer) can restrict other breeds, so ask the local Ordnungsamt, the town clerk’s office, where the dog will actually live.
Items That Cannot Be Imported
These are forbidden or allowed only under special conditions: narcotics, explosives, radioactive materials, absinthe, methyl alcohol, pure alcohol, writings prohibited under the German constitution, pornographic writings, and anything covered by the Washington Convention on endangered species (CITES). Ivory, certain tortoiseshell and some exotic leathers fall under CITES, so check inherited pieces before they go in a box.
Vehicles
Duty-free entry for a private vehicle requires that you have used it for at least six months before shipping. SDC ships vehicles only when they are containerized with a household goods shipment. It does not offer vehicle-only shipping.
Start With the Inventory
Everything above comes down to one document. A room-by-room inventory, reviewed against these categories before packing starts, lets you pull the dutiable items, drop the forbidden ones, and individually value anything over EUR 5,000. Our professional packing and survey service produces that inventory, and your coordinator uses it to flag problems while they are still cheap to fix.
For the wider picture of duties, relief and clearance, see the customs regulations guide, or our Germany moving page for how a move to Germany runs from pickup to delivery.
FAQs
Can I ship my wine collection to Germany?
You can, but it is dutiable and falls outside household goods relief, so it must be declared with quantities and values. Customs guidance also lists wine among goods allowed only under special conditions. For most people, selling it and buying locally wins.
What happens if a forbidden item turns up in my container?
German customs can hold, seize or destroy it, and depending on the item you may face fines. The shipment can sit at the port while that is sorted out. Prevention is much cheaper than any of it.
I’m not sure how old an item is. What do I do?
Declare it separately. An item that gets assessed costs you a little duty. An item questioned during an examination can hold up everything else in the container.
Can I bring my electronics?
Yes, if they meet the six-month ownership and use test. The practical issue is voltage. US appliances run on 110V/60Hz and Germany uses 220-240V/50Hz. Laptops, tablets and most chargers are dual-voltage. Large appliances are usually better replaced after arrival.
Can I ship food from my pantry?
Only small quantities of ordinary provisions, and never anything with meat, fish, poultry or dairy. Our advice is to leave the pantry behind entirely.
