For archive addresses, see the question on archive addresses.
     For most towns, the Standesamt or parish address would be simply

       Standesamt _or_ ev. Pfarramt _or_ kath. Pfarramt
       ????? Town-name
       Germany

     where the second choice indicates Protestant, the third choice
     Catholic. The five question marks need to be replaced by the
     correct postal code.  For larger towns, there are likely to be
     several churches, but the above address will often work anyway.
     For cities, you will need to know the section of the city to
     find the correct Standesamt or church; inquiries at a main
     office are sometimes forwarded correctly.

     You should write in German and include 10 Euros to cover postage
     and basic fees.  There may be further expenses billable to you;
     extensive research will not usually be performed for a small fee.
     Make sure you indicate how you are related to the sought persons.
     Sample letters are available from the German genealogy server at
       <http://www.genealogy.net/misc/letters/>
     or make use of the German genealogy volunteer translation service
     (see below in subject 19).  There is also an excellent letter-
     writing guide on the LDS site.

     Many local parishes have deposited their older church records in
     the corresponding church archives; in these cases communication
     with the local parish may be forwarded to the appropriate archive,
     answered with an indication of the appropriate archive, returned,
     or ignored, all at the option of the parish office.  Furthermore,
     strict privacy protection laws in Germany very often prohibit
     official release of personal information to individuals unless
     they can demonstrate direct descendance from the person to be
     researched or unless there is a legal entitlement to the
     information, for example for matters of inheritance.  Some
     archives may also have requirements on the age of the information
     before they allow release, even to direct descendants.