Honorary Consul of Germany in Des Moines

German consulate in Des Moines
An honorary consul is not a consulate general. None of them issue visas, and only some can take a passport application. Fees are paid in cash in US dollars, and applying through one adds 105.00 € to the passport fee.

The honorary consul in Des Moines covers Iowa, and reports to the Consulate General in Chicago.

How to reach this office

  • Address
    The Federal Foreign Office does not publish a street address for this office. Write or call first and agree where to meet.
  • Telephone
    +1 312-218-0279
  • Email
    desmoines@hk-diplo.de
  • Honorary consul
    Edward James Kempf, Honorary Consul
  • States covered
    Iowa
  • Reports to
    German Consulate General in Chicago

Book an appointmentFees and requirementsThe thirteen procedures

What this office can and cannot do

An honorary consulate is not a smaller version of a consulate general. It is a different kind of office with a narrower brief.

The Federal Foreign Office does not say whether this office can take passport applications. That is not the same as saying it cannot: call and ask before assuming you have to travel to Chicago.

No honorary consul issues visas or German ID cards. Those are limited to the embassy and the eight consulates general.

Availability depends on the consul's own working week, so an appointment arranged by email is the way in.

How far your consulate general is

The consulate general in Chicago is 335 miles from here, roughly 6 h 18 min of driving without traffic. That is a long day out and back, so it is worth confirming by email what can be settled locally first.

What you can settle without travelling

Several of the most searched German procedures are handled entirely somewhere else.

  • Get a certificate of conduct: the Federal Office of Justice handles it; any US notary public can notarize your signature on the form
  • Get a document apostilled: for a US document it is the Secretary of State of the issuing state; no German mission can do it
  • Send in a life certificate for your pension: there is a free digital route with a QR code, and a bank or a police station can sign the paper one

This is an independent directory of German consular offices in the United States. It is not operated by the Federal Foreign Office or by any German mission. Fees, opening hours and requirements change: always confirm them with the office before you travel.

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