Emergency Numbers in Germany: What Every Indian Newcomer Needs to Save Right Now

Quick Answer

In Germany, there is no single number that does everything. Call 112 for ambulance and fire, 110 for police, and 116117 for urgent but non-life-threatening medical situations when your doctor’s office is closed. All three are free from any phone, including a mobile with no credit or no SIM. If you save nothing else from this article, save those three.

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Back in India, the official emergency landscape looks like this: 112 for national emergencies, 100 for police, 101 for fire, 102 for ambulance, 108 for disaster management, 104 for the medical helpline, 1073 for road accidents, 1091 for women in distress, and several more. Over ten designated numbers, each with a specific purpose. But most of us did not consciously learn all of them. We absorbed them over years, through school, through our parents, through the odd government awareness campaign we half-watched on television. The system is fragmented, but the fragmentation is familiar.

Germany’s system is also split. The difference is that here, the fragmentation is unfamiliar, and two of the most important numbers, 110 and 112, look almost identical at a glance.

My Personal Experience:

I saw an elderly woman fall while crossing the road. At the moment, I panicked and called 110, which is the police, instead of 112 for an ambulance. The police dispatcher calmly pointed you in the right direction. What I want to say is that even after years in Germany, it’s easy to make this mistake, and there’s no reason to feel embarrassed. The system really is different here, so it’s not about not paying attention.

After 13 years here, I can say that this kind of confusion isn’t about language or preparation. It’s just a matter of getting used to things. You’ll figure it out. I wrote this article to help you get there a little faster.

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112 – Ambulance and Fire

Call 112 when a life is at risk. Heart attack, stroke, unconsciousness, serious accident, fire, difficulty breathing, uncontrolled bleeding – anything where waiting even a few minutes could change the outcome.

A few things worth knowing:

112 is free from any phone, including a mobile with no credit and, on most devices, even without an unlocked SIM card. You do not need a German number to call it. If you have just arrived and are using a temporary SIM or a borrowed phone, 112 still works.

112 is also the EU-wide emergency number, so the digit sequence is the same across all member states. The difference from India is in the dispatch routing: in Germany, 112 connects specifically to fire and ambulance services. It does not automatically redirect to police. For that, you need 110.

One practical note if you are calling from a mobile near a city boundary: the call may connect to a dispatch centre in a neighbouring county. State your city or town name immediately, before anything else.

110 – Police

Call 110 for anything requiring police response: a crime in progress, theft, a serious traffic accident, a situation where you or someone else feels threatened, a break-in, or violence.

If you witness something that needs police attention but is not an active emergency – vandalism, a minor incident, something you want to report after the fact – use the non-emergency police line: 0800 6 888 000. This keeps the 110 line clear for genuine emergencies.

116117 – The On-Call Doctor (Ärztlicher Bereitschaftsdienst)

This is the number most generic guides mention in passing and most newcomers do not save until they actually need it at 11pm on a Saturday. Save it now.

116117 is the national medical on-call service. You call it when the situation is urgent but not life-threatening – a high fever that is not coming down, a child with sudden severe ear pain, a suspected infection outside of office hours, a flare-up of a known condition when your GP is unreachable. The line is staffed 24 hours a day, seven days a week, including public holidays.

When you call, a trained medical professional assesses your situation. Depending on what you describe, they will either advise you by phone, direct you to the nearest open Bereitschaftsdienst practice, or, in some cases, arrange for a doctor to come to your home. This last option – the home visit – is genuinely available, though it depends on the situation and your location.

Why this matters specifically if you are coming from India: The instinct many of us have is to go directly to the hospital Notaufnahme (emergency room) for anything that feels serious. In India, that is often the fastest route to care. In Germany, showing up at a Notaufnahme with a non-life-threatening complaint means a long wait, and in some cases it can result in costs if the visit is classified as non-emergency. 116117 is the correct first step for everything that is urgent but not critical.

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Two groups face a specific vulnerability that the standard expat guides do not address: dependent visa holders (typically on a §30 Aufenthaltserlaubnis, joining a spouse or partner) and students in shared accommodation or alone in a new city.

For dependent spouses, especially those who arrived recently and are still building German language skills, an emergency call can feel paralysing. The person on the other end may not immediately switch to English. The situation is stressful. The words do not come.

For students, the concern is different: they are often the first person in their family to navigate a foreign healthcare system, and there is no parent or relative nearby to call for advice at 2am.

Both groups need the same thing: a script prepared in advance.

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What to Say When You Call – A Script in English

German dispatchers are trained to ask five core questions. If you can answer these in any order, English is accepted at 112 and at most 110 dispatch centres – you will be understood.

What happened? Describe the situation in one sentence. “A woman has collapsed on the street.” “There is a fire in my building.” “My husband is having chest pain.”

Where are you? Give the street address first, including the city. If you do not know the exact address, name the nearest landmark or intersection. On a mobile, you can also say: “I am sharing my GPS location.” Some dispatchers will ask you to do this if the address is unclear.

How many people are affected? One person, several people, a building with residents – give a number if you can.

What is the condition of the person? Conscious or unconscious, breathing or not breathing, bleeding or not – what you can observe.

Have you done anything already? If you started CPR, moved someone, or applied pressure to a wound, say so.

Do not hang up after giving this information. Wait for the dispatcher to tell you the call is complete. They may give you instructions on what to do until help arrives, whether to stay on the line, and where to wait to direct the ambulance.

A short personal slot here:

The first time I called an emergency line in Germany, I was asked for the address, but I was on a street whose name was unfamiliar. Then the dispatcher asked me to open Google Maps to verify the correct street name and nearby landmarks.

One more thing: deliberately calling an emergency number without an emergency is a criminal offence in Germany (Missbrauch von Notrufeinrichtungen) and can result in significant fines or prosecution. This is worth knowing if you have children at home.

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When you need medication urgently outside of regular hours, German pharmacies operate a rotating on-call system (Apotheken-Notdienst). Not every pharmacy is open at night, but one in your area always is.

To find the nearest open pharmacy:

Call 0800 002 2833 free of charge from a landline, or dial 22833 from a mobile. Note: the mobile number carries a per-minute charge – verify the current rate before relying on this, as tariffs change.

Alternatively, go directly to https://apotheken.de/ or aponet.de, enter your postcode, and the site will show you the nearest open pharmacy and its hours. This is often faster than calling.

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Berlin: https://indianembassyberlin.gov.in/
Frankfurt: https://cgifrankfurt.gov.in/
Hamburg: https://www.cgihamburg.gov.in/
Munich: https://cgimunich.gov.in/
Stuttgart: https://www.honorarkonsulat-indien.de/