Why do agency sites often appear above the official one?
Search engines show paid adverts above the normal results, and the advertiser need not be a public body. Agency sites often look official, take your details in a short form and forward them to the authority, which still issues the document.
A German case shows how this works. According to the German consumer advice centres (Verbraucherzentrale), a private site ranked first on Google, labelled as advertising, for searches about the German broadcasting licence fee. It charged €29.99, later €39.99, to forward registration or cancellation forms that the official fee office handles free of charge. The Federation of German Consumer Organisations (vzbv) estimates that more than 90,000 people were caught out. On 18 November 2025 the Higher Regional Court of Koblenz issued a partial judgment prohibiting the site’s non-transparent presentation of its costs.
What does a detour like this look like?
Fictional example: Jonas, a German engineer living in Dublin, needs a German certificate of good conduct (Führungszeugnis) for a new job. On his phone he taps the top search result. The page promises an “express application” and asks for his ID number and address. Only on the final screen does a small line mention a “processing fee of €59 plus the official fee”.
Jonas stops there. In the evening he opens the Federal Office of Justice (Bundesamt für Justiz) from a bookmark he keeps for official services. He applies with the online function of his German ID card and his smartphone, and pays only the official €13. The €59 would have bought him nothing but a forwarding step he has now done himself.
How can you tell an agency site from an official one?
No single sign is conclusive, but together these points usually give a clear picture.
| Feature | Official authority | Agency site |
|---|---|---|
| Position in search | usually a normal result, also linked from the government portal | often an advert above the normal results |
| Legal notice | a ministry, office or municipality | a company, sometimes based outside the EU |
| Price | the official fee, e.g. €13 for a German certificate of good conduct | a service or processing fee, sometimes barely visible |
| Process | the application goes straight to the issuing body | your details are collected and passed on |
An eagle or national colours prove nothing. The Verbraucherzentrale describes near-identical copycat sites whose legal notice named operators in Dubai, and found that the paid licence fee site offered no advantages at all over the free service.
Tip: Read the final page of any application form in full before you press submit. Service fees are often only shown there.
The same applies to appointments: book them on the authority’s own site. If a site wants money for an appointment, ask the authority whether that charge comes from them.
Where do you find the official route in each country?
Start with the issuing authority or your government portal, not with an advert. Examples for criminal record and civil status documents:
| Country | Official route (example) | Good to know |
|---|---|---|
| DE | Certificate of good conduct via the Federal Office of Justice online portal or the local registration office | €13, paid online by credit card; since 1 October 2026 also as a PDF in the BundID mailbox |
| AT | Civil status extracts via the Urkundenservice on oesterreich.gv.at | Free of charge; log in with ID Austria or EU Login and download straight away |
| CH | Criminal record extract online from the Federal Office of Justice or at a Swiss Post counter | Legally set price only via these channels; pay by card or TWINT |
| FR | Criminal record extract (bulletin n° 3) via the Ministry of Justice online service or by post | Free; one to 24 hours with FranceConnect |
| IT | Criminal record certificate from the local criminal records office at each public prosecutor’s office (Procura della Repubblica); can be booked online | Usually €19.92 in revenue stamps; urgent same-day or next-day issue costs €3.92 more |
| ES | Ministry of Justice: criminal record and sexual offences certificates via its electronic office | Work with children in Spain requires the sexual offences certificate |
Switzerland is particularly explicit: the Federal Office of Justice’s order page asks you to check carefully that you are on an official website, and names sites that only sell paid instructions or order for you at extra cost.
For a procedure in another EU country, Your Europe, an official EU website, gives practical help on your rights. What is planned for logging in with the EU Digital Identity Wallet is explained in a separate guide.
What should you do if you have already paid?
- Save the confirmation email, invoice, proof of payment and a dated screenshot of the site.
- Ask the competent authority whether an application in your name has arrived. If not, submit it yourself through the official route.
- If you entered card details on an unknown site, contact your card provider. Our guide on card details entered on a suspicious site explains the next steps.
- Have any reminder from the agency checked by a consumer advice body before you pay.
Whether you get money back depends on the individual case. This guide is not legal advice.
Common mistakes
- Tapping the first result without checking whether it is marked as an advert.
- Trusting a site because it shows an eagle, national colours or bureaucratic language.
- Filling in the whole form and missing the small price note on the last page.
- Waiting after payment instead of asking the authority whether an application has arrived.
- Paying an agency’s reminder straight away without having it checked.
Your checklist
The checkboxes are for your own reference. No entries are sent to us. To keep a copy, print the page or save it as a PDF using your browser menu.
Common questions
Are agency websites for official documents illegal?
Not necessarily. In the German licence fee case, the site did forward the forms; the court objected that its costs were not shown clearly. For you the rule is simple: if the total price is not clear before you submit, leave the page and use the official route.
How much does a German certificate of good conduct cost?
The Federal Office of Justice charges €13 per certificate. Since 1 October 2026 there is also a digital version, requested online only, at the same price and delivered as a PDF to your BundID mailbox. An apostille cannot be added to the digital version, so choose the paper certificate if you need one.
Is an agency faster than applying myself?
The document is always issued by the authority; an agency only adds a step. Official routes can be quick: in France, the criminal record extract arrives within one to 24 hours via FranceConnect. If time is short, ask the issuing office how long processing takes.
I paid an agency and received nothing. What now?
First ask the authority whether an application in your name exists. If not, apply yourself through the official route so you do not miss a deadline. Keep the invoice, proof of payment and screenshots, so a consumer advice body can tell you whether a refund is possible.
Sources and further information
Primary sources from public authorities, consumer organisations and providers. A source may be in another language; follow the guidance that applies to your service and where you live.
- Your Europe: help and advice for EU citizensSource review date:
- Federal Office of Justice (Germany): Certificate of good conduct (German)Source review date:
- Verbraucherzentrale: Class action against service-rundfunkbeitrag.de (German)Source review date:
- Service-Public.fr: Criminal record extract, bulletin n° 3 (French)Source review date:
- Federal Office of Justice (Switzerland): Ordering a criminal record extract (German)Source review date:
- oesterreich.gv.at: Civil status document service (German)Source review date:
- Ministry of Justice (Italy): Criminal record certificate (Italian)Source review date:
