The Federal Office of Administration (BVA) is an upper federal authority and is responsible for approving the use of the federal eagle.

State emblems such as the federal eagle, the federal coat of arms and the federal service flag may in principle only be used by federal authorities or for their official purposes. This also applies to representations of the federal eagle (for example coats of arms, parts of coats of arms and flags) which are confusingly similar to these. The Federal Office of Administration is not responsible for the coats of arms of the federal states. You can find out whether use is permitted from the respective ministries of the interior of the federal states.

As a rule, the use of the national emblems is not permitted for you as a private person, company or association. If you are not sure whether your (intended) use of the federal eagle, federal coat of arms or the federal service flag is permitted, please ask. You can simply attach drafts to the following form and have them checked.

If you have the impression that federal emblems are being misused, you are welcome to report this to the BVA at hoheitszeichen@bva.bund.de .
If you require permission to produce the large and small federal seals and would like to be included in the address list of companies authorised to produce them, permission can be requested in writing or by e-mail at hoheitszeichen@bva.bund.de .

The federal coat of arms is the national coat of arms of the Federal Republic of Germany. It is designed in the colours black-red-gold of the federal flag and shows the black federal eagle on a golden-yellow escutcheon tapering to a point at the bottom.

The service flag of the federal authorities (Bundesdienstflagge) contains the same horizontal stripes as the federal flag and the so-called federal shield on top. In contrast to the federal coat of arms, this is a half-round shield and the eagle is drawn slightly differently. The federal shield is used on the federal service flag, on the service flag of the naval forces of the Bundeswehr and on the troop flags of the Bundeswehr.

Notice:
Please note that use of federal emblems without permission is an administrative offence and may be punished by fine