(1) Serial numbers and check digits may not contain any of the passport holder’s personal information or references to such information. Each passport shall have a new serial number.
(2) Passport application and issuance may not be used as a reason to store passport information and biometric identifiers anywhere other than with the responsible passport authorities. The same shall apply to the accompanying documents necessary for passport issuance and to the photographic storage medium (microfilms). Fingerprints stored by the passport authority shall be erased at the latest when the passport is handed over to the passport applicant.
(3) Only the passport producer shall be allowed to keep a central record of all passport serial numbers; such a record shall be used only to keep track of the whereabouts of passports. The passport producer shall not be allowed to store other data listed in Section 4 (1) or biometric data listed in Section 4 (3) unless these data are needed exclusively and temporarily for passport production, after which these data shall be erased.
(4) Passport serial numbers may not be used in such a way that it is possible to retrieve personal data from data files or to link data files. In derogation from the first sentence, the following may use passport serial numbers for the following purposes:
1. passport authorities in order to retrieve personal data from their data files;
2. federal and Land police authorities and offices in order to retrieve the serial numbers stored in data files of passports which have been lost or declared invalid or which are suspected of being used by unauthorized persons.
(5) Paragraphs (1) through (4) shall also apply to official identification documents intended exclusively for use as passport substitutes.
(6) Upon request, the passport authority shall allow passport holders to inspect the data stored on the passport chip.