Child benefit

Child benefit is paid regardless of the parents’ income. Currently, you receive €259 per month for each child.

If you are a low-income earner and do not receive basic income support, you may also be eligible for a child allowance under certain conditions.

You are entitled to receive Child benefit without restrictions until your child’s 18th birthday. You can apply for Child benefit as soon as your child is born. Once your child reaches the age of majority (18 years old), Child benefit will continue to be paid only under certain conditions until the child turns 21 or 25.

Under certain conditions, you can receive Child benefit until your child turns 21 or 25:

Child benefit can be paid until your child’s 21st birthday if your (adult) child is not working and is registered as a job seeker with a public employment agency in Germany, a Jobcenter, or another government employment agency in the EU, the European Economic Area, or Switzerland. You remain eligible for Child benefit if your child has a part-time job (for example, a €603 job), as long as they are registered as a job seeker. If the child receives only basic income support, you are not eligible for Child benefit.

Child benefit can be paid until your child’s 25th birthday if your (adult) child meets the following criteria:

• they were enrolled in an educational program (including school, vocational training, and college)
• they are between two educational programs and have no more than 4 months of downtime in between (for example, between graduating from school and starting a program)
• they are looking for a training position and can provide evidence of their efforts (for example, through written rejection letters in response to applications)
• they have received an offer for a training position, but the training will not begin until later (for example, at the start of the company’s training year)
• is completing a voluntary social year, a voluntary ecological year, or another volunteer activity as part of the European Solidarity Corps

After your child turns 25, you will only receive Child benefit if your child has a physical, mental, or psychological disability. The prerequisite is that your child cannot support themselves financially. The disability must have occurred before their 25th birthday and must be documented.

Child benefit payments will cease if your child of legal age engages in what is known as “gainful employment that jeopardizes entitlement.” This is the case if the regular weekly working hours exceed 20 hours after completing initial vocational training or a first degree. Your child may engage in minor employment (for example, a €603 job), work as part of an apprenticeship, or work more than 20 hours per week only temporarily. This does not affect your entitlement to Child benefit.

Only one person can receive Child benefit at a time. If your child lives in the same household with both parents, you can use a so-called “beneficiary designation” to specify which of you will receive the Child benefit.

For separated parents, Child benefit is normally paid to the parent with whom the child primarily resides. If the child spends roughly equal amounts of time with both parents, you must also submit a designation of the beneficiary. In that case, both parents are entitled to a portion of the Child benefit and can divide the amount between themselves. If the parents cannot agree, a court can decide how the Child benefit is to be divided.

If the child does not live in either parent’s household, the parent who pays the higher amount of child support receives the Child benefit.

The designation of beneficiaries is submitted to your family benefits office along with the application for Child benefit. The designation of beneficiaries remains in effect until it is revoked.

Here you can download the Child benefit application or fill it out directly online. The information and documents you enter will then be submitted electronically to the Family Benefits Office. You can also print out the application, sign it, and mail it to the Family Benefits Office.

If your child is under 18 years of age, you only need to provide your tax identification number and your child’s. If your child was born abroad, please also include the foreign birth certificate.

If your child is over 18 years old, the Family Benefits Office usually requires additional documentation proving your child’s employment or educational status.

This includes proof of:

• school education or higher education (certificate from the school, enrollment certificate)
• vocational training in a company (copy of the training contract)
• a lack of employment or training opportunities (proof of registration as a job seeker, copies of job applications with rejection letters)
• an internship (copy of the internship agreement)
• volunteer service (certificate from the sponsoring organization)
• a mental, physical, or emotional disability (for example, a Severely Disabled Pass or a medical certificate)

Once you have submitted your application, the Family Benefits Office will determine whether you are eligible for Child benefit. You will be notified of the decision in writing, along with all important information regarding the receipt of Child benefit. The processing time can take 4 to 6 weeks.

When you apply for Child benefit, you agree to notify the Family Benefits Office of any changes that affect your entitlement to Child benefit.

Always contact the family benefits office if

• your address or bank account information changes
• you and the other parent separate permanently or get divorced
• you or your child leaves your current household
• you begin employment in the federal civil service for a period expected to last more than 6 months
• you or another eligible person begins employment abroad
• a child or legal guardian is reported missing or has died

After your child’s 18th birthday, you must also notify the Family Benefits Office if the child

• changes, drops out of, completes, or interrupts their school, vocational training, or college studies
• has already completed vocational training or a degree program and is now taking up gainful employment
• was previously registered as a job seeker and is now starting school, vocational training, a degree program, or gainful employment
• begins voluntary military service
• is pregnant

This ensures that you receive only the payments to which you are legally entitled. If you violate this “obligation to report,” it may be treated as a criminal offense or an administrative offense. You will then also have to repay any excess funds that were paid out. 

You can report some changes directly online. For certain changes, the Family Benefits Office requires your signature. To do so, you can print out the “Change Notification” form, sign it, and mail it in. The Family Benefits Office regularly reviews whether you are still eligible for child benefit.

Yes. Child benefit can be paid retroactively for up to 6 months. This is subject to the condition that you were already entitled to child benefit during that period but, for example, did not submit a written application for payment.

To submit a retroactive application, please indicate in your application to the Family Benefits Office that you are applying for Child benefit retroactively and specify the date from which you would like to receive it.

You will receive a child benefit number from the Family Benefits Office. The last digit (0 through 9) of your child benefit number determines when the payment will be transferred to your account each month. The payment dates are set anew each year. You can check the dates online or call to inquire (toll-free at 0800 4 555533).

Yes. Even if you receive basic income support, you are entitled to Child benefit. Important: In this case, the Child benefit is counted as income and, like other maintenance payments, is deducted from your basic income support.

Normally, Child benefit can only be paid to the parents or legal guardians. Even if your child does not live at home during their first vocational training or college program, you are still obligated to provide financial support.

However, if a child lives in their own household and no longer receives financial support from their parents, the child can file an “application for diversion” of Child benefit with the family benefits office.