Emergency numbers in Germany: 112, 110 and 116117 explained

2 min read · 7 steps · Updated 2 October 2026

Short answer

Call 112 for an ambulance or the fire brigade and 110 for the police. Both are free, work from any phone and answer around the clock. For illness that is urgent but not life-threatening when surgeries are closed, call the medical on-call service on 116117.

Germany has two emergency numbers and one number for medical help that cannot wait until the doctor's surgery opens. Choosing the right one gets you help faster and keeps the emergency lines free.

Rules, amounts and deadlines change. Check the official source named at the end before you act, and ask the office in your city, because procedures differ from town to town.

Step by step

  1. Life in danger: call 112

    Use 112 for acute medical emergencies such as chest pain, signs of a stroke, unconsciousness, severe bleeding or a serious accident, and for fire. The call is free. 112 works in every EU country.

  2. Crime or danger from other people: call 110

    Use 110 when you or someone else is in danger, or to report a crime that is happening now. The call is free.

  3. Answer the five questions

    The dispatcher asks: Where is the emergency? What happened? How many people are injured? What kind of injuries? Who is calling? Give the address first. Many control rooms speak English. Do not hang up until you are told to.

  4. Urgent but not life-threatening: call 116117

    At night, at weekends and on public holidays, the medical on-call service helps with things like a very high fever or a minor injury. The number is free. Staff tell you which on-call practice is open or send a doctor to your home.

  5. Go to the emergency room only for emergencies

    Hospital emergency departments (Notaufnahme) treat by urgency, not by arrival. With a minor problem you may wait for hours. Take your health insurance card with you.

  6. Medicine at night

    In every area one pharmacy stays open at night and on Sundays (Notdienst-Apotheke). Find it at aponet.de or apotheken.de, or read the notice on the door of any pharmacy. A small night fee is charged.

  7. Poisoning

    If someone may have swallowed something poisonous, call the poison control centre for your state at once, day or night. Search for Giftnotruf and the name of your state, and save the number in your phone now.

Good to know

The helpline for violence against women, 116 016 (also reachable on 08000 116 016), is free, answers around the clock and offers advice in many languages.

An ambulance called in a real emergency is paid by statutory health insurance, apart from a small personal contribution. Nobody is turned away from emergency treatment for lack of insurance or papers.

You can reach 112 without a SIM card in many countries, but in Germany the phone needs an active SIM card.

How the insurance works: health insurance in Germany: how it works for newcomers.

In short: 112 ambulance and fire, 110 police, 116117 on-call doctor, emergency room for real emergencies, night pharmacy, poison control for your state.

Sources
  • Handbook Germany: Emergencies

Rules and prices change. Check the official source before you act.