Number format, code and meaning of German publication number

 The publication numbers currently used by the German Patent and Trademark Office (GPTO) comprise 12 digits and have the following number format: 

DE XX YYYY ZZZZZZ

For example, a publication number DE 10 2004 037108 of a German patent application has the following meaning:  

 

In the above example, the first two digits of identifying a type of right "10" refer to a patent application filed directly with the GPTO. The examples of other codes for types of right are as follows:

11: Patent application via PCT

12: Supplementary Protection Certificate (SPC)

20: Utility model application filed directly with GPTO
21: Utility model application via PCT
50: German part of a European patent (procedural language = German)
60: German part of the European patent (language of procedure = English or French)

Source:
https://www.dpma.de/docs/dpma/veroeffentlichungen/dpmainformativ_nr05.pdf