Applying for Child Benefit: Everything You Need to Know
Do you want to apply for child benefit or find out which rules apply to your child? Here you will find the most important information about German child benefit explained clearly.
How much child benefit will I receive?
Child benefit is currently 259 euros per child per month.
There is no parental income limit for child benefit. However, income can play a role for other family benefits, such as the supplementary child allowance (Kinderzuschlag). The same monthly amount is paid for every child who meets the requirements.
Which children can I receive child benefit for?
In general, child benefit can be claimed for children under the age of 18 if the other requirements are met.
This does not only apply to biological children. Depending on the relevant requirements, adopted children, stepchildren, grandchildren or foster children may also be taken into account.
Child benefit may also continue after a child's 18th birthday. In that case, the child's circumstances are important.
Up to what age can I receive child benefit?
A child's 18th birthday does not automatically mean that child benefit can no longer be paid.
Under certain conditions, child benefit can continue to be paid for adult children, for example while they are attending school, completing vocational training or studying.
Depending on the circumstances, child benefit may be available up to the day before the child's 25th birthday.
Different requirements and a different age limit apply to a child registered as seeking employment. Special rules also apply to adult children with disabilities.
Can I continue to receive child benefit during vocational training or university studies?
Child benefit can continue to be paid for an adult child while they are attending school, completing vocational training or studying at university.
For vocational training that ends with a final examination, the date on which your child was officially informed in writing of the overall examination result can be relevant when determining when the training ended.
Child benefit may also be available during further vocational training or a further course of study. In this case, additional requirements apply to the child's employment. Employment of regularly up to 20 hours per week or marginal employment may not affect eligibility. If the child works up to 20 hours per week, the amount they earn does not affect entitlement to child benefit.
The exact requirements depend on the child's individual circumstances.
What applies between school and vocational training or university studies?
Vocational training or university studies do not always begin immediately after leaving school.
If your child is in a transition period between two stages of education or training, child benefit may continue to be available for up to four calendar months.
This may apply, for example, to the period between leaving school and starting vocational training or university studies.
What if my child cannot find a vocational training or university place?
Child benefit may also continue to be available if your adult child wants to start vocational training or university studies but has not yet found a place.
The search for a vocational training or university place must be documented. One option is to register as seeking a vocational training place with the careers advice service. Depending on the circumstances, other evidence of the search may also be required.
What if my adult child is looking for work?
Under certain conditions, child benefit can also be paid while your child is looking for work.
If your child has completed or discontinued their vocational training and is registered as seeking employment with the Federal Employment Agency (Agentur für Arbeit) or Jobcenter, child benefit can generally continue to be paid up to the day before their 21st birthday.
What if my adult child is ill?
An illness can be relevant to an adult child's entitlement to child benefit. This may be the case, for example, if the child cannot begin or continue vocational training or a job search because of the illness.
For certain cases of this kind, the Family Benefits Office provides form KG9a “Declaration for an ill child”. Depending on the circumstances, evidence of the illness may be required.
What applies to an adult child with a disability?
Under certain conditions, child benefit can also be paid for a child with a disability beyond the age of 25.
Special requirements apply. In general, the disability must have occurred before the child's 25th birthday. In addition, because of the disability, the child must be unable to cover their necessary living expenses with their own financial resources.
The Family Benefits Office provides separate forms for these cases.
Can I receive child benefit retroactively?
Child benefit can be paid retroactively. However, retroactive payment is limited to the last six months before the beginning of the month in which the child benefit application was received.
For this reason, it can be important not to delay submitting an application unnecessarily.
Who receives the child benefit?
In principle, child benefit is paid to only one person for each child. This is usually one of the parents.
Which person receives the child benefit can depend on the family circumstances. If the family circumstances change, it may therefore also be necessary to change the person entitled to receive child benefit.
What if my child or I live abroad?
German child benefit may also be available in cases involving another country. However, additional requirements and evidence apply to cross-border cases.
The applicable rules depend on the individual circumstances. Among other things, place of residence, nationality and employment may be relevant.
The Family Benefits Office also provides additional forms for such cases.
How do I apply for child benefit?
The Family Benefits Office provides an online application. According to the Family Benefits Office, with a BundID the online application can be submitted directly online without printing or signing it.
Alternatively, the Family Benefits Office provides PDF forms for the child benefit application.
KG1 is the main child benefit application. A separate Child Annex (Anlage Kind) must also be submitted for each child for whom child benefit is being claimed.
Depending on your personal circumstances, additional forms may be required.
Which additional forms may be required?
The forms you need depend on your individual circumstances.
In addition to KG1 and the Child Annex (Anlage Kind), the forms currently supported by Formhelfer include:
KG11a: Child without a vocational training place or job
KG11a is intended for an adult child without a vocational training place or job.
KG9a: Adult child who is ill
KG9a is intended for an adult child who is unable to begin or continue vocational training or a job search because of an illness.
EU Annex (Anlage EU)
The EU Annex supplements the main application in cases where the applicant is not a German national but is a national of another EU or EEA member state.
Important: The Family Benefits Office provides additional forms for other circumstances. Formhelfer does not currently support every form or special case in the child benefit process.
What information do I need for the child benefit application?
The information required depends on the particular application and your personal circumstances.
The main application and the Child Annex ask for personal information about the applicant and the child. This includes, for example, tax identification numbers, information about the child and payment details.
Additional information may be required for adult children or particular life circumstances.
What supporting documents do I need?
Not every child benefit application requires the same supporting documents.
According to the Family Benefits Office, for a child under the age of 18, it is generally sufficient to provide the tax identification number of the applicant and the child's tax identification number.
Additional evidence may be required for an adult child. The documents required depend, for example, on whether the child is attending school, completing vocational training, studying, doing an internship, looking for a vocational training place or is in another situation relevant to child benefit.
If your child was born abroad or lives abroad, the Family Benefits Office requires a copy of the foreign birth certificate or another official document proving the child's birth.
If the Family Benefits Office requires further evidence, it will inform you and tell you by when the missing documents must be submitted.
Complete your child benefit application with Formhelfer
You do not have to work through the supported PDF forms on your own.
Formhelfer asks you clear, easy-to-understand questions and hides sections that are not relevant based on your answers. Your information is then transferred to the PDF forms supported by Formhelfer.
Formhelfer currently supports:
- KG1: Main child benefit application
- Child Annex (Anlage Kind)
- KG11a: Child without a vocational training place or job
- KG9a: Declaration for an ill child
- EU Annex (Anlage EU)
At the end, you will also receive a personalised checklist of the documents and supporting evidence identified for your case.
Depending on your personal circumstances, additional forms or supporting documents from the Family Benefits Office may be required.
Formhelfer is a private service and not a government authority. Formhelfer does not provide legal advice.
Start your child benefit application with Formhelfer
Answer clear questions and have your information transferred to the supported child benefit forms.
What changes do I need to report to the Family Benefits Office later?
Changes can also be important after you have submitted your application.
Changes that are relevant to child benefit must be reported directly to the Family Benefits Office. These may include, for example, a new address or bank details as well as certain changes in the child's circumstances.
It is not sufficient to report such a change only to another authority, such as the residents' registration office (Einwohnermeldeamt), Jobcenter or Federal Employment Agency.
If you are unsure whether a change is relevant to your child benefit, the Family Benefits Office recommends contacting the responsible Family Benefits Office directly.
Frequently asked questions about child benefit
Does child benefit depend on income?
No. There is no parental income limit for child benefit. However, income can play a role for other family benefits, such as the supplementary child allowance (Kinderzuschlag).
Is the amount of child benefit the same for every child?
Yes. Child benefit is currently 259 euros per month for each eligible child. The order of the children does not affect the amount of child benefit.
Does child benefit automatically end when my child turns 18?
No. Under certain conditions, child benefit can continue to be paid for an adult child.
Can I receive child benefit while my child is at university?
Under certain conditions, yes. Child benefit can continue to be paid for an adult child while they are studying. Additional requirements apply to further vocational training or a further course of study.
Do I need a separate Child Annex (Anlage Kind) for each child?
Yes. A separate Child Annex must be submitted with the main application for each child for whom child benefit is being claimed.
Do I need a birth certificate for every child benefit application?
The Family Benefits Office does not generally list a birth certificate as required evidence for every application. If a child was born abroad or lives abroad, the Family Benefits Office requires a copy of the foreign birth certificate or another official document proving the birth.
Can I apply for child benefit retroactively?
Retroactive payment is possible, but is limited to the last six months before the beginning of the month in which the application was received.
Can I apply for child benefit online?
Yes. The Family Benefits Office provides an online application. According to the Family Benefits Office, with a BundID the application can be submitted directly online without printing or signing it.
Official information about child benefit
You can find current and further information from the Family Benefits Office of the Federal Employment Agency.