Kreis Herford

What Kreis Herford does

Kreis Herford is a statutory district government (Kreis) in the Regierungsbezirk Detmold of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, exercising delegated state authority over public administration for approximately 250,000 residents across nine municipalities (Bünde, Enger, Herford, Hiddenhausen, Kirchlengern, Löhne, Rödinghausen, Spenge, Vlotho). Its functional mandate covers the full spectrum of district-level public services: family and youth welfare, disability and senior care support, immigration integration, public health, education oversight (as Schulträger for five Berufskollegs and three Förderschulen), vehicle and driver's license administration, building regulation, environmental and climate protection, waste management, food safety, and economic development.

The district operates a digital public administration platform built around the Serviceportal Kreis Herford (central citizen portal), the GeoPortal (geographic information system with 3D, thermal mapping, and solar roof assessment), the iRICH BürgerApp (mobile citizen information app), the interactive budget tool for fiscal 2026, the OWL-Vergabeportal for electronic public procurement, and federal integrations including Bund ID identity authentication and the i-KFZ vehicle registration platform. The technology stack is interoperability-focused, emphasizing standards-compliant connections to federal and state e-government infrastructure rather than proprietary platforms.

Kreis Herford is financed primarily through the Kreistumlage (district tax levy collected from member municipalities), supplemented by state and federal allocations, regulatory administrative fees, and program-specific subsidies. It is not a commercial enterprise — it has no shares, no commercial funding rounds, and no M&A activity. Its go-to-market is direct-to-citizen via a hybrid channel mix: physical Service-Büro offices with defined opening hours, specialized departmental offices, mobile outreach units, eight educational institutions, and a multi-channel digital presence (website, Facebook, Instagram, app, service portal). Inter-municipal revenue also flows through the Zentrale Vergabestelle, which provides shared procurement services to eight partner municipalities and institutions under a cooperative model.

Name

Kreis Herford

Legal name

Kreis Herford

Website

https://kreis-herford.de

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Kreis Herford is a statutory district government in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, delivering public administration services — including social welfare, education oversight, vehicle registration, and environmental regulation — to roughly 250,000 residents across nine municipalities via physical offices and digital service platforms.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Public Administration

NAICS

Elementary and Secondary Schools (611110), Individual and Family Services (6241), Educational Support Services (611710)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200), Services-Social Services (8300)

akta.pro primary industry

Specialized Instruction & Resource Support (Inclusion, Pull-Out, Co-Teaching) (EDAJAKAC)

akta.pro secondary industries

IEP/504 Planning, Case Management & Compliance (EDAJAKAB), Admissions, Enrollment & Registrar Operations (Application Processing, Records) (EDAEALAB), Family Advocacy, Parent Training & Support Services (EDAJAKAK)

Keywords

• Public administration services
• Social welfare services
• Vehicle registration services
• Geographic information systems
• Public procurement services

Headquarters

HQ city

Herford

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Public Tax Revenue: Kreis Herford is financed primarily through district taxes (Kreistumlage) and state/federal allocations. Revenue comes from local tax contributions, administrative fees for services, and government subsidies for specific programs such as social services, education, and infrastructure.
2. Administrative Fees: The district collects fees for various administrative services including vehicle registration, building permits, health certifications, food safety inspections, and other regulatory services.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Kreis Herford is a district government entity that delivers public administrative services to residents and businesses across nine municipalities in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Its core offerings include social welfare and youth services, disability support, elderly care counseling, immigration integration services, vehicle registration and driver's license administration, public health services, environmental protection, building regulation, waste management, and education oversight as Schulträger for five vocational schools and three special education schools. Services are delivered through physical offices (Kreishaus Service-Büro), a comprehensive online Serviceportal, mobile applications (iRICH BürgerApp), and electronic procurement systems (OWL-Vergabeportal).

Product overview

Kreis Herford operates a comprehensive digital public administration platform comprising a central service portal, multiple specialized online services, and geographic information systems. The core offering includes the Serviceportal Kreis Herford as the main citizen interface, supplemented by specialized digital services for vehicle registration (i-KFZ), parental benefits, appointment scheduling, and electronic procurement. Geographic services are delivered through the GeoPortal with interactive mapping, solar assessments, and 3D visualization capabilities. Political transparency is enhanced through the iRICH citizen app and council information systems. The district also provides an interactive budget visualization tool (Interaktiver Haushaltsplan 2026) for civic engagement. The ecosystem integrates with federal platforms including Bund ID and i-KFZ, and utilizes the OWL-Vergabeportal for electronic procurement.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Serviceportal Kreis Herford Central citizen service portal providing digital access to administrative services including child care, parental benefits, vehicle registration, permits, and certificates for residents of the Kreis Herford district.
• Online-KFZ-Zulassung/-Abmeldung Digital service for online vehicle registration and deregistration via the federal i-KFZ platform, requiring Bund ID authentication, for district residents and vehicle owners.
• GeoPortal Kreis Herford Geographic information system providing access to cadastral data, maps, aerial imagery, thermal building maps, solar roof assessments, and 3D visualization of the district for residents, businesses, and planners.
• iRICH BürgerApp Mobile citizen information application providing access to the council information system for transparency on political decisions and district governance, for district residents.
• Elterngeld Online-Service Digital parental benefit application service with intelligent assistant that adapts questions to individual cases, supporting fully paperless submission with data save functionality, for parents and families in the district.
• Online-Terminreservierung (Zulassungsstelle/Führerscheinstelle) Appointment scheduling system for vehicle registration and driver's license offices to reduce wait times for district residents.
• Elektronische Vergabe (eVergabe) Electronic public procurement system conducting transparent bidding procedures via OWL-Vergabeportal, enabling fully digital tender processes for companies and serving partner municipalities and institutions.
• Interaktiver Haushaltsplan 2026 Interactive digital budget visualization tool allowing citizens to explore the district's annual budget allocations for fiscal year 2026.
• Kreistagsinformationssystem Council information system providing full transparency on district council proceedings, votes, and political decision-making for citizens and stakeholders.
• Virtueller Sitzungsdienst Virtual session service for council meetings enabling remote participation and digital governance proceedings for council members and the public.
• Solardachkataster Solar roof assessment tool enabling citizens to evaluate photovoltaic potential of building rooftops in the district.

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles6 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration7 records

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Ten partnerships are on record, tiered core and moderate.

• Stadt EngercoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorThe Zentrale Vergabestelle (Central Procurement Office) of Kreis Herford conducts public procurement procedures on behalf of Stadt Enger, providing standardized and transparent procurement services.
• Stadt LöhnecoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorShared procurement services through the Zentrale Vergabestelle, enabling Stadt Löhne to access electronic procurement systems and standardized tendering procedures.
• Stadt SpengecoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorCentralized procurement services provided by Kreis Herford's Zentrale Vergabestelle for public contracting needs.
• Stadt VlothocoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorProcurement procedure services through the shared Vergabe portal, enabling efficient public contracting.
• Gemeinde HiddenhausencoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorJoint procurement services through the centralized Vergabestelle for municipality contracting.
• Gemeinde KirchlengerncoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorShared public procurement services utilizing the OWL electronic procurement portal.
• Klinikum HerfordmoderateStrategic or Co-development PartnerHealthcare partnership providing hospital services as part of the district's healthcare infrastructure.
• OWL GmbHmoderateChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorRegional development company participating in shared procurement services through the OWL Vergabeportal.
• Werre-WasserverbandmoderateStrategic or Co-development PartnerWater management association partnering in shared procurement for water and environmental services.
• Ev. DiakoniestiftungcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCooperation partner in the 'Endlich ein ZUHAUSE!' (Finally a HOME!) initiative for the prevention and combating of homelessness in the Kreis Herford area. The project is part of the state initiative against homelessness.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Regional players

• Stadt Bielefeld: Independent city (kreisfreie Stadt) embedded within the Ostwestfalen-Lippe region. Not a direct Kreishaus peer but operates many overlapping citizen services and competes for talent/investment with Kreis Herford.
• Landkreis Osnabrück: Lower-Saxon district adjacent to Kreis Herford across the state border. Comparable in scale and administrative scope, but operates under a different state legal framework (Niedersachsen vs. NRW).

Others

• citeq (Münster): Municipal IT service company for Stadt Münster and surrounding Kreise. Functions as an infrastructure/technology enabler for Kreishaus-level digital services, making it a relevant adjacent player in the NRW public-sector IT ecosystem.
• Kommunale IT-UNION eG (KDN): IT service provider jointly owned by NRW municipalities and Kreise. Although not a peer in the operational sense, KDN provides the underlying eGovernment, GIS, and procurement platforms that Kreis Herford relies on — a key ecosystem counterpart.

Direct peers

• Kreis Steinfurt: NRW Kreis of comparable size and demographic structure. Operates parallel digital services (KFZ-Zulassung, GeoPortal, eGovernment) and serves as a strong benchmark for Kreishaus digitalization maturity.
• Kreis Gütersloh: Neighboring NRW Kreis with strong industrial base and comparable administrative scope, including Förderschulen and Berufskollegs. Useful peer for industrial-region service delivery benchmarks.
• Kreis Minden-Lübbecke: Adjacent NRW Kreis in the same Regierungsbezirk Detmold with comparable responsibilities (Schulträger, social services, vehicle registration, GeoPortal). Most directly comparable peer for benchmarking digital services and budget scale.
• Kreis Paderborn: Neighboring NRW Kreis in Regierungsbezirk Detmold with similar population, economic profile, and Kreishaus structure. Directly comparable for social services, education oversight, and procurement scale.
• Kreis Lippe: Neighboring Kreishaus in Ostwestfalen-Lippe with a similar population size, economic structure, and Schulträger footprint. Operates comparable digital service portals and procurement systems.

Broad incumbents

• Stadt Dortmund: Large NRW Stadtkreis with significantly more resources and more advanced digital services (e.g., DortmundService). Represents the upper-scale benchmark for what a heavily digitalized municipal administration can achieve in NRW.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/kreisherford
• Instagraminstagram.com/kreis_herford
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/kreis-herford

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Kreis Herford