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115 – The single government service telephone number
Article Administrative reform
By calling 115, individuals and businesses can get answers to all their questions about public administration services at every level of government, whether federal, state or local.
Your direct line to government
The 115 number is the public administration’s customer service. It connects participating call centres of federal, state and local government agencies through a shared knowledge management system, improving customer service and public access to government. You no longer have to search for individual telephone numbers or make a trip to government offices.
The entire federal administration, with nearly 90 agencies and institutions, is connected to the 115 number, as are nearly 500 local governments and numerous state-level agencies, serving about 31 million people.
Voluntary cooperation across all levels of government
The single government service telephone number 115 is an example of partnership across all levels of public administration and a model for smart networking between the federal, state and local governments.
The federal and state governments share the costs of the central infrastructure and staff of the 115 business and coordination centre, located at the Federal Ministry of the Interior and Community, while the municipalities provide the local services and infrastructure.
The future of 115
In future, it will be possible to reach 115 throughout Germany. This means that requests referring to services provided by authorities at federal, state or local level which participate in the 115 network can be made and answered regardless of the caller’s location.
Linking 115 with the public administration’s online services will be an additional driver for the expansion of 115. Even the best online services need tools enabling a dialogue if users have technical questions. In these cases, 115 can be used for such questions. The numerous 115 service centres can also handle requests received via an online contact form, e-mail or chat. In future, assistance for filling in forms could be provided.
A major potential for 115 lies in specific situations. In this context, the available technical and organizational infrastructure of 115 could be used to provide uniform and concise information on a specific situation at short notice even at times of high demand - when calls come in or in the framework of outbound services.
115 commitment to service
• The 115 number can be reached Monday through Friday from 8:00 to 18:00.
• 75% of calls will be picked up within 30 seconds by service centre staff.
• 65% of queries will be resolved during the initial contact.
• If a question cannot be answered immediately, the caller will receive a response within 24 hours during regular operating hours, by e-mail, fax or phone as requested.
You can find more information on the 115 website.
