We investigate the electronic structure of the c(4 x 2) reconstructed Ge(0 0 1) surface using band structure calculations based on density functional theory and the generalized gradient approximation. In particular, we take into account the details of surface reconstruction by means of well relaxed crystal structures. The surface electronic states are identified and the local density of states is compared to recent data from scanning tunneling spectroscopy. We obtain almost perfect agreement between theory and experiment for both the occupied and unoccupied states, which allows us to clarify the interpretation of the experimental data. (c) 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.