1001 Smart Cities
🇩🇪 Hamburg

Transparenzportal: Publish-by-Default Information Register

🤖 AI-generated summary · ◆ 12 sourced claims · 🔎 Last verified

This overview was generated with AI from the public sources listed below and checked against them before publication. It has not had a complete human fact-check — treat it as a starting point and follow the sources.

12 sourced claims on this page, 1 individually verified — turn on “Sources in the text” to see each one.

How this atlas is made · What “last verified” means · What “source-checked” means · The full record behind this page

✎ Updated 28 Aug 2026 1 source added. What changed →

Contracts over €100,000 are published without anyone asking, and the register now holds 176,259 records. The statutory evaluation found no excessive burden — and few residents who knew it existed.

Outcome🔄 Ongoing
Evidence📊 Independent
what does this mean?The strongest source is an independent non-academic evaluation: an audit office, a government or EU review, or an NGO. It grades who did the looking — not how well the project went. All four grades →
Run byStaatsarchiv Hamburg (Hamburg State Archive), portal operator since 2015
Scale🏙️ City-wide

Part of 1001 Smart Cities — 1,167 documented projects · 🏙️ 8 more in Hamburg · 📊 Open data guide · 📡 Data & IoT projects

Hamburg's Transparency Act, in force October 2012, obliges agencies to publish contracts over €100,000, commissioned studies, subsidies, building permits and municipal-company executive pay without anyone asking. The register went online in October 2014 and now holds 176,259 records. Publishable contracts take effect a month after publication, leaving the city a withdrawal right.

Live 📅 since 2012

📊 Impact

176,259 records published as of August 2026. June 2026 traffic: 858,718 page views plus 6.71 million API calls; the portal states it cannot count unique visitors because it does not collect IP addresses. The 2017 statutory evaluation counted 22.7 million accesses and ~66,000 publications in the portal's first years.

🎓 Lesson

Proactive publication is cheaper than feared and harder to sustain than expected: the statutory evaluation found no excessive administrative burden, but also that few residents knew the portal existed, and Hamburg's own information-freedom commissioner reported in January 2026 that the courts had narrowed the parallel request-based route.

📡 Data & IoTOpen dataDigital government

Sources

↗ Transparenzportal Hamburg — Das Hamburgische TransparenzgesetzOperator's own page: law in force 6 October 2012; portal online since October 2014.
↗ Transparenzportal Hamburg — search index (record count)Live first-party count: 176,259 records, retrieved 2026-08-02.
↗ Transparenzportal Hamburg — NutzungsstatistikJune 2026: 6.71m API calls vs 858,718 page views; portal states it cannot count unique visitors.
↗ HmbBfDI, Transparenzbericht 2024/2025Published January 2026Independent statutory oversight body, tabled January 2026. Reports a more restrictive turn in Hamburg's administrative court on the parallel request route.
↗ FÖV Speyer — Abschlussbericht zur Evaluation des HmbTG (2017)Published 28 July 2017 archived copyStatutory evaluation by an external research institute: 22.7m accesses, ~66,000 publications, low public awareness.
Show 2 more sourcesShow fewer
↗ Hamburg.de — FAQs zur HmbTG-Reform2019 reform effective 19 December 2019; brought 60+ further bodies under the publication duty.
↗ Transparenzportal Hamburg — Die InformationsgegenständeThe portal's own list of what must be published: commissioned Gutachten und Studien, Subventions- und Zuwendungsvergaben, building permits, contracts of public services, and executive pay of municipal companies.
Show your work What this page rests on and what it can’t tell you · all 12 claims with their sources · the forensic record

Evidence Passport · public beta 12 addressable claims, 7 source dossiers, one permanent baseline. The passport is unreviewed — an AI-assisted structural migration, not a human or expert endorsement. Every revision keeps a permanent copy under revision history.

Inspect the claims, one by one — verbatim text, sources and caveats for all 12

The text below is copied verbatim from the published record. Each claim names the source dossiers that carry it; caveats stay attached to the claim they qualify.

Claim 1 clm-e52fe8fc51b8bdea quantitative
Hamburg's Transparency Act, in force October 2012
Published field
snippet · verbatim
Mapping
mapped · no interpretation or interpolation added by this passport
What the mapping says
The portal's own timeline states: "Oktober 2012: Das Hamburgische Transparenzgesetz tritt am 6. Oktober in Kraft."
Caveat
No claim-specific caveat recorded

Sources carrying this claim

  1. Transparenzportal Hamburg — Das Hamburgische Transparenzgesetz
Claim 2 clm-e5a1d49c796e804c quantitative
obliges agencies to publish contracts over €100,000
Published field
snippet · verbatim
Mapping
mapped · no interpretation or interpolation added by this passport
What the mapping says
The city's FAQ on the 2019 reform confirms the standing duty: "Die Veröffentlichungspflicht für wichtige Verträge, deren Gegenstandswert mindestens 100.000 Euro beträgt, bleibt erhalten."
Caveat
No claim-specific caveat recorded

Sources carrying this claim

  1. Hamburg.de — FAQs zur HmbTG-Reform
Claim 3 clm-2a628e2885ae1193 descriptive
commissioned studies, subsidies, building permits and municipal-company executive pay without anyone asking
Published field
snippet · verbatim
Mapping
mapped · no interpretation or interpolation added by this passport
What the mapping says
The portal's own list of publication objects names each category: "Gutachten und Studien, soweit sie von Behörden in Auftrag gegeben wurden", "Subventions- und Zuwendungsvergaben", "die wesentlichen Regelungen erteilter Baugenehmigungen und -vorbescheide" and, for municipal companies, a "Darstellung der jährlichen Vergütungen und Nebenleistungen für die Leitungsebene" — all published proactively into the register, which is what makes it publish-by-default.
Caveat
No claim-specific caveat recorded

Sources carrying this claim

  1. Transparenzportal Hamburg — Die Informationsgegenstände
Claim 4 clm-dc2351c880c40470 quantitative
The register went online in October 2014
Published field
snippet · verbatim
Mapping
mapped · no interpretation or interpolation added by this passport
What the mapping says
The same timeline states: "Oktober 2014: Das neu entwickelte Transparenzportal startet seinen Betrieb und ist offen zugänglich für alle Nutzerinnen und Nutzer."
Caveat
No claim-specific caveat recorded

Sources carrying this claim

  1. Transparenzportal Hamburg — Das Hamburgische Transparenzgesetz
Claim 5 clm-27fca5af946c32ff quantitative
now holds 176,259 records
Published field
snippet · verbatim
Mapping
mapped · no interpretation or interpolation added by this passport
What the mapping says
The portal's own search index prints the total record count above the result list ("Suchergebnisse für '*'"); 176,259 was the reading on 2 August 2026, when the entry was verified. The counter is live, so the page cannot show that exact figure later — it stood at 176,550 on 28 August 2026.
Caveat
The record count is a live figure that rises continuously; 176,259 was the count on 2 August 2026.

Sources carrying this claim

  1. Transparenzportal Hamburg — search index (record count)
Claim 6 clm-b3c063f377f658c4 descriptive
Publishable contracts take effect a month after publication, leaving the city a withdrawal right
Published field
snippet · verbatim
Mapping
mapped · no interpretation or interpolation added by this passport
What the mapping says
The FAQ states the § 10(2) mechanism verbatim: agencies must conclude these contracts "so …, dass sie frühestens einen Monat nach Veröffentlichung wirksam werden und die Behörde innerhalb dieser Frist vom Vertrag zurücktreten kann".
Caveat
No claim-specific caveat recorded

Sources carrying this claim

  1. Hamburg.de — FAQs zur HmbTG-Reform
Claim 7 clm-7349c04defe76b7c quantitative
176,259 records published as of August 2026
Published field
impact · verbatim
Mapping
mapped · no interpretation or interpolation added by this passport
What the mapping says
First-party live counter of the portal's search index; 176,259 was the reading on 2 August 2026. No find string is possible because the counter has since moved on (176,550 on 28 August 2026).
Caveat
No claim-specific caveat recorded

Sources carrying this claim

  1. Transparenzportal Hamburg — search index (record count)
Claim 8 clm-41cbf75513384209 quantitative
June 2026 traffic: 858,718 page views plus 6.71 million API calls
Published field
impact · verbatim
Mapping
mapped · no interpretation or interpolation added by this passport
What the mapping says
The usage-statistics table's June 2026 row lists 6,711,707 API calls and 858,718 page views (row "2026-06 6.711.707 858.718").
Caveat
Figures are the portal's own server statistics; the page itself notes they include automated access.

Sources carrying this claim

  1. Transparenzportal Hamburg — Nutzungsstatistik
Claim 9 clm-b4deeda9f173b9c0 descriptive
the portal states it cannot count unique visitors because it does not collect IP addresses
Published field
impact · verbatim
Mapping
mapped · no interpretation or interpolation added by this passport
What the mapping says
The statistics page says exactly this: "Die IP-Adressen der Nutzerinnen und Nutzer werden nicht erhoben. Daher können wir keine genauen Angaben über die Anzahl der Besucherinnen und Besucher des Transparenzportals machen" — access is free and anonymous under § 10(4) HmbTG.
Caveat
No claim-specific caveat recorded

Sources carrying this claim

  1. Transparenzportal Hamburg — Nutzungsstatistik
Claim 10 clm-8361155f3210271a quantitative
The 2017 statutory evaluation counted 22.7 million accesses and ~66,000 publications in the portal's first years
Published field
impact · verbatim
Mapping
mapped · no interpretation or interpolation added by this passport
What the mapping says
The statutory evaluation found no excessive administrative burden from proactive publication.
Caveat
The same evaluation found that few residents knew the portal existed.

Sources carrying this claim

  1. FÖV Speyer — Abschlussbericht zur Evaluation des HmbTG (2017)
Claim 11 clm-12ef30c17f980476 descriptive
the statutory evaluation found no excessive administrative burden, but also that few residents knew the portal existed
Published field
lesson · verbatim
Mapping
mapped · no interpretation or interpolation added by this passport
What the mapping says
The 2017 statutory evaluation by the FÖV/InGFA Speyer concludes that proactive publication did not impose an excessive administrative burden while public awareness of the portal remained low — the two headline findings this passage summarises. No find string: the PDF's text layer is not machine-extractable here (subset-encoded fonts); the document is confirmed as the 2017 Abschlussbericht.
Caveat
No claim-specific caveat recorded

Sources carrying this claim

  1. FÖV Speyer — Abschlussbericht zur Evaluation des HmbTG (2017)
Claim 12 clm-b30588a68c83e4e1 quantitative
Hamburg's own information-freedom commissioner reported in January 2026 that the courts had narrowed the parallel request-based route
Published field
lesson · verbatim
Mapping
mapped · no interpretation or interpolation added by this passport
What the mapping says
The commissioner's Transparenzbericht 2024/2025 — its imprint reads "Vorgelegt im Januar 2026", author Thomas Fuchs — devotes its case-law chapter to rulings restricting the request route; chapter headings include "Keine Klage ohne vorherigen Antrag bei der Behörde" and "Keine Auskunftspflicht eines Gerichts über Geschäftsverteilungspläne". No find string: the PDF's body text is not machine-extractable here; the case-law chapter (V. Rechtsprechung) is the place to check.
Caveat
No claim-specific caveat recorded

Sources carrying this claim

  1. HmbBfDI, Transparenzbericht 2024/2025
Forensic record — source dossiers, gaps, hashes and the exact revision this page renders

This layer records what is known about each source, what is still missing, and the exact snapshot this page is rendering. A missing date, archive or hash stays visible as missing.

unreviewed Revision 2026-08-28-claims-and-dates effective 2026-08-28 · created 2026-08-28

Awaiting operator and domain-expert review; publication of this revision implies neither.

sha256:20f82a8fd87a3a234ba0dae9c5038e435e77a835762343115ae2b2619476bea1
Revision history → Permanent version link → Machine-readable record → Evidence Constitution →
12
of 12 claims mapped
7
source dossiers
1
publication dates recorded
1
archives linked
0
exact locators
0
content captures hashed

Governance facts carried by the record

Operator
Staatsarchiv Hamburg (Hamburg State Archive), portal operator since 2015
Actor types
city-government
Funding model
Not recorded
Funding description
Not recorded
Cost
Not recorded
Ownership
Not recorded
Decision rights
Not recorded
Exit conditions
Not recorded

7 source dossiers

Transparenzportal Hamburg — Das Hamburgische Transparenzgesetz transparenz.hamburg.de · 2 linked claims

Open original source ↗

Stable source ID
src-85514b748e890fca
Publisher
Name not classified · transparenz.hamburg.de
Type / language
web-page · language not classified
Published
Not recorded
Updated
Not recorded
Source last checked
No source-level check date
Record last verified
2026-08-28
Dossier created
2026-08-28
Retrieved copy
No local capture recorded
Archive
No archived copy linked
Content hash
No captured content hash
Locator
Open the recorded source note

Operator's own page: law in force 6 October 2012; portal online since October 2014.

Descriptive only — not page/paragraph exact
Claims linked
Transparenzportal Hamburg — search index (record count) suche.transparenz.hamburg.de · 2 linked claims

Open original source ↗

Stable source ID
src-dbee764d2623ecda
Publisher
Name not classified · suche.transparenz.hamburg.de
Type / language
web-page · language not classified
Published
Not recorded
Updated
Not recorded
Source last checked
No source-level check date
Record last verified
2026-08-28
Dossier created
2026-08-28
Retrieved copy
No local capture recorded
Archive
No archived copy linked
Content hash
No captured content hash
Locator
Open the recorded source note

Live first-party count: 176,259 records, retrieved 2026-08-02.

Descriptive only — not page/paragraph exact
Claims linked
Transparenzportal Hamburg — Nutzungsstatistik transparenz.hamburg.de · 2 linked claims

Open original source ↗

Stable source ID
src-c6432fd85a0f8d9f
Publisher
Name not classified · transparenz.hamburg.de
Type / language
web-page · language not classified
Published
Not recorded
Updated
Not recorded
Source last checked
No source-level check date
Record last verified
2026-08-28
Dossier created
2026-08-28
Retrieved copy
No local capture recorded
Archive
No archived copy linked
Content hash
No captured content hash
Locator
Open the recorded source note

June 2026: 6.71m API calls vs 858,718 page views; portal states it cannot count unique visitors.

Descriptive only — not page/paragraph exact
Claims linked
HmbBfDI, Transparenzbericht 2024/2025 datenschutz-hamburg.de · 1 linked claim

Open original source ↗

Stable source ID
src-6c468efab6a82b68
Publisher
Name not classified · datenschutz-hamburg.de
Type / language
pdf · language not classified
Published
Not recorded
Updated
Not recorded
Source last checked
No source-level check date
Record last verified
2026-08-28
Dossier created
2026-08-28
Retrieved copy
No local capture recorded
Archive
No archived copy linked
Content hash
No captured content hash
Locator
Open the recorded source note

Independent statutory oversight body, tabled January 2026. Reports a more restrictive turn in Hamburg's administrative court on the parallel request route.

Descriptive only — not page/paragraph exact
Claims linked
FÖV Speyer — Abschlussbericht zur Evaluation des HmbTG (2017) dopus.uni-speyer.de · 2 linked claims

Open original source ↗

Stable source ID
src-4618690f7362d5c1
Publisher
Name not classified · dopus.uni-speyer.de
Type / language
pdf · language not classified
Published
2017-07-28
Updated
Not recorded
Source last checked
No source-level check date
Record last verified
2026-08-28
Dossier created
2026-08-28
Retrieved copy
No local capture recorded
Archive
Open archived copy ↗ · 2024-11-10
Content hash
No captured content hash
Locator
Open the recorded source note

Statutory evaluation by an external research institute: 22.7m accesses, ~66,000 publications, low public awareness.

Descriptive only — not page/paragraph exact
Claims linked
Hamburg.de — FAQs zur HmbTG-Reform hamburg.de · 2 linked claims

Open original source ↗

Stable source ID
src-94010e8ddd1e8c2f
Publisher
Name not classified · hamburg.de
Type / language
web-page · language not classified
Published
Not recorded
Updated
Not recorded
Source last checked
No source-level check date
Record last verified
2026-08-28
Dossier created
2026-08-28
Retrieved copy
No local capture recorded
Archive
No archived copy linked
Content hash
No captured content hash
Locator
Open the recorded source note

2019 reform effective 19 December 2019; brought 60+ further bodies under the publication duty.

Descriptive only — not page/paragraph exact
Claims linked
Transparenzportal Hamburg — Die Informationsgegenstände transparenz.hamburg.de · 1 linked claim

Open original source ↗

Stable source ID
src-124d5339c78d5a14
Publisher
Name not classified · transparenz.hamburg.de
Type / language
web-page · language not classified
Published
Not recorded
Updated
Not recorded
Source last checked
No source-level check date
Record last verified
2026-08-28
Dossier created
2026-08-28
Retrieved copy
No local capture recorded
Archive
No archived copy linked
Content hash
No captured content hash
Locator
Open the recorded source note

The portal's own list of what must be published: commissioned Gutachten und Studien, Subventions- und Zuwendungsvergaben, building permits, contracts of public services, and executive pay of municipal companies.

Descriptive only — not page/paragraph exact
Claims linked
Known limits of this passport
  • Publisher names and source languages have not yet been classified; domains are recorded without guessing.
  • Existing source notes are descriptive locators, not page- or paragraph-exact citations.
  • A missing archive, publication date or content hash is shown as null rather than inferred.
  • The project-level evidence grade ranks the strongest source in the entry; it is not a truth score for every claim.

Continue exploring

Compare this project

🇺🇸 NYC Open Data and the 2012 Open Data Law · New York City Structural contrast: NYC's law forbids licence terms but grants no dedication; Hamburg's law compels publication and grants reuse. 🇮🇩 Government Resource Management System (GRMS) — Integrated Budget & Procurement · Surabaya Different mechanism, same goal: GRMS tracks procurement internally while Hamburg forces disclosure before contracts take effect. 🇩🇪 Open Data Portal with Zero-Attribution Default · Dortmund German contrast: Hamburg publishes because a transparency law compels it; Dortmund volunteers less, under a freer default licence.

Explore the wider context

🗺️ Your City's Problem Map Is Really a Map of Who Complains📖 Open data📖 Urban data platform (UDP)📖 Building performance standard (BPS)
📎 Cite this project

1001 Smart Cities (2026). “Transparenzportal: Publish-by-Default Information Register” — Hamburg, Germany. The Smart City Atlas. https://1001smartcities.org/projects/hamburg-transparency-portal/ (last verified 2026-08-28). Data: CC BY 4.0.

The underlying data is free to reuse with attribution — see the open data page.

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