IntroductionIt has not yet been possible to ascertain the exact proportion, characterization or impact of low-acuity emergency department (ED) attendances on the German Health Care System since valid and robust definitions to be applied in German ED routine data are missing.MethodsInternationally used methods and parameters to identify low-acuity ED attendances were identified, analyzed and then applied to routine ED data from two EDs of the tertiary care hospitals Charité—Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Campus Mitte (CCM) and Campus Virchow (CVK).ResultsBased on the three routinely available parameters `disposition´, `transport to the ED´ and `triage´ 33.2% (n= 30 676) out of 92 477 presentations to the two EDs of Charité—Universitätsmedizin Berlin (CVK, CCM) in 2016 could be classified as low-acuity presentations.ConclusionThis study provides a reliable and replicable means of retrospective identification and quantification of low-acuity attendances in German ED routine data. This enables both intra-national and international comparisons of figures across future studies and health care monitoring.Supplementary InformationThe online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12873-023-00838-2.