Anyone who has ever spent half the morning at the local council office knows the feeling: a trip to the council is often anything but convenient. In Berlin, this is being reimagined – with mobile solutions that come to where the people are. In

stead of waiting in the town hall, more and more districts are offering on-site services.

With the ‘mobile citizen’s case’ in Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf and the mobile neighbourhood citizens’ office on a cargo bike in Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg, services have been introduced that make it easier for older people and those with limited mobility in particular to access important services.

The Citizens’ Briefcase: A Mobile Service Point at the Senior Citizens’ Club

Since July 2025, staff from the citizens’ advice bureaux in Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf have been out and about with a mobile briefcase. Equipped with everything needed for standard administrative services, they can quickly transform social facilities into temporary citizens’ advice bureaux.

Whether applying for an ID card, changing your registered address or requesting a certificate of good conduct – all this can be done right there on the spot. The reactions of residents show that there is a real need for this. For many, this service means one thing above all else – fewer obstacles and more independence in everyday life.

KiezBike #Xhain: Flexible and climate-friendly

Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg goes one step further: here, an electrically assisted cargo bike brings the citizens’ office on the move. The “KiezBike #Xhain” transports all the technical equipment – from laptops to fingerprint scanners – directly into the neighbourhood.

The concept: administration without appointments, right in the midst of people’s daily lives. At the same time, the model also scores highly on environmental grounds. The cargo bike cuts emissions, avoids traffic jams and makes mobile citizen services even more efficient.

A model with a future

Both approaches to mobile citizen services make modern public administration accessible and flexible, and put citizens at the heart of the process. They respond to people’s everyday lives and send a strong signal that public administration should adapt – not the other way round.

The mobile citizen service centres are leading the way as excellent examples of the digital and organisational transformation of the public sector.

The mobile citizen service from Berlin will also be present again at the Smart Country Convention. So renewing your ID card or applying for a passport will be no problem at the trade fair from 15–17 October 2026.