Lost and Found Berlin: 3 Ways to Easily Find Your Lost Property Online

If you’ve lost something in Berlin, follow this guide to easily find and get back your stuff. Search online for keys, phones, bags, drivers licenses, residence permits, wallets and much more.

Have you lost something in Berlin? You’re not alone! You see, we know the feeling too having recently lost a wallet filled with bank cards and a driver’s license. But our story had a happy ending since we managed to get our stuff back 3 days later.

Literally hundreds of people lose stuff in the city everyday. Luckily for us, there are good Samaritans (kind people) out there that hand in lost and found property to their rightful owners.

But when you lose things, time is usually of the essence. So it is imperative that you act right away to make sure you give yourself the best chance of finding your lost items. Here’s what you need to do to easily find your lost property in Berlin:

Use Facebook to Help Find Your Lost Items in Berlin

Social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram and even Twitter make it easy for us to connect with people. So why not use Facebook to make it easy for a good Samaritan to contact you about your lost property?

That’s exactly how we managed to find our lost wallet in Berlin. The person that found the wallet simply searched on Facebook and Instagram for the name that appears on the driver’s license.

And after they used the image on the driver’s license to match the image on the social media profile, they sent a message to inform us that they have found our lost property in Berlin.

So if there is an identity document such as a passport, residence permit or driver’s license amongst your lost property and someone can identify your name, you may be in luck. But instead of relying on luck alone, you can take the following steps to make it easy for people to contact you about your lost property:

• Make sure your name on your social media profiles is the same as in the identity document. Remove nicknames if necessary.
• Update your profile picture to match the picture that’s displayed in the identity document. Or make sure your face is clearly visible.
• Update your current location to Berlin, Germany.
• Make sure your Facebook and Instagram profiles are not private. You may even want your latest post to mention that you lost your property in Berlin.

You can also check the Berlin Expats Facebook Group and the Lost and Found in Berlin Facebook Group for recent posts about lost items found in Berlin. If you don’t find anything helpful, make sure you spread the word by posting about your lost property. Maybe your good Samaritan might read it.

Save Me For Later

Bonus Tip: Banks such as N26, Revolut and Monese let you freeze and even cancel cards directly from their app. So if you’ve lost bank cards or credit cards along with your stuff, make sure you freeze your cards immediately.

Use Google Maps to Retrace Your Steps the Day You Lost Your Property

Retracing your steps on Google Maps the day you lost your property may be helpful in finding your stuff. And if you can narrow down exactly where in Berlin you might have lost your items, that could be key to your stuff being found.

The wallet that was returned to us was found outside a shop along our cycling route between the gym and our apartment. Strangely, we never entered that store. So the wallet must have fallen out of a pocket while we were navigating the busy streets of Berlin.

But it’s still a good idea to look up the number of every place you visited along the route and call them to check if they found your lost item. And if you’re not confident speaking German, simply use Google Translate to prepare a few sentences before you make the call.

If none of the places you visited have found your lost property, look up the nearest police station on Google Maps. Then give them a call to check if someone might have handed in your lost items on the day or the following days they went missing.

Related Guide: Looking for free ways to learn German? Check out our 22 Fun and Creative Ways to Learn German Online for FREE guide to find out how.

Contact the Lost and Found Office (Zentrales Fundbüro) in Berlin

Your last resort will be to submit a loss report to the Lost and Found Office in Berlin. But bear in mind that it may take several weeks for your missing property to arrive at Zentrales Fundbüro in Tempelhof, Berlin.

Simply visit the Zentrales Fundbüro website and click on Verlustmeldung (Loss Report). Then enter where and when you lost your property, description of what you lost, and finally enter your information (name, address and contact details) to submit the loss report and search for your missing property.

You can search for anything from lost keys, lost bags, lost ID cards to lost jewelry, lost electronic devices, lost wallets and much more. The Zentrales Fundbüro will notify you as soon as your lost property is found, and tell you where you can collect your property.

Email the Zentrales Fundbüro

If you prefer not to submit a loss report with your personal information via the Lost and Found Office website, you can also email the Zentrales Fundbüro to notify them about your lost property. You can email the Lost and Found Office in Berlin at fundbuero@ba-ts.berlin.de.

Make sure you tell them exactly when and approximately where you lost your property in Berlin. And describe your lost item in great detail to make it easier for them to help you find it. Feel free to use the email below as guide.

Other Lost and Found Offices in Berlin

If you have no luck locating your missing property on the Zentrales Fundbüro website, you can also contact and use the lost property online service of the following Lost and Found Offices in Berlin:

• Lost property on public transportation (train, tram or bus): BVG-Fundbüro
• Missing pets: Tierschutzverein für Berlin
• Lost property on Deutsche Bahn trains: DB Fundservice
• Lost property at Berlin Brandenburg Airport (BER): BER Lost Property Office

If all else fails, make sure you report your lost property to the police. And next time you’re out and about in the city, make sure you take better care of your property. You might even want to consider taking out additional insurance to cover your property from theft and loss.

Insure Your Property Against Theft and Loss

Insuring your property against theft and loss may come in handy if you lose keys, jewellery, cameras, laptops, phones and even your cell phone. Personal liability insurance covers things like lost keys while household contents insurance covers things like stolen cellphones.

So if your ‘Deutsch’ is nowhere good enough yet, then make sure you get expat-friendly personal liability insurance and household contents insurance with Feather. All your policy documents and customer touch points will be conducted in English. And you can get covered from as little as €2.50 per month.

Insurance companies such as Lemonade cover your contents such as clothes, jewellery, cameras, laptops and phones even when they’re outside your home. So shop around to get the best contents insurance to cover your property against theft and loss.