Applying for Elterngeld

By when must the application be made?

Elterngeld is paid retroactively only for the last 3 months of the child's life before the month of the child's life in which the application arrives (§ 7 Abs. 1 Satz 2 BEEG).

A month of the child's life runs from birthday to birthday, not from the first of the month to the first of the month. A child born on the 20th has its monthly change on the 20th.

This is stricter than with Kindergeld. There it is six months, and the entitlement remains established — only the payment is limited. Here the provision limits the benefit itself.

The prevailing view therefore reads § 7 Abs. 1 Satz 2 BEEG as a cut-off period: whatever lies further back is gone for good. The Federal Social Court also considers restoration of the previous position under § 27 SGB X conceivable.

Both views lead to the same practical advice, and it is not advice at all: the application is subject to a deadline, and the deadline runs from the birth.

What counts is the day the application arrives at the Elterngeldstelle. Not the date of signature, not the day it was sent.

An example: a child is born on 10 March. The application arrives on 20 August. Payment is then made from the month of the child's life that began on 10 May. March and April are lost.

What you need to have ready

The application asks about a whole year's income. Anyone who gathers the papers beforehand fills it in in one go instead of three.

Apart from the birth certificate, copies are sufficient. Anything not relevant may be blacked out.

Which official form applies?

That depends on where you live, and that is why the federal state is the first question. Most federal states issue the federal standard application. Bayern and Mecklenburg-Vorpommern have their own versions.

Baden-Württemberg, Hessen and Nordrhein-Westfalen also issue their own official forms. Here the federal standard application is filled in for these three states.

In substance the federal application lacks nothing. It records every matter that the three state forms record. Baden-Württemberg and Nordrhein-Westfalen do not even ask for the tax identification number; the federal application does.

Some offices work with their own official form and send it afterwards. The application submitted remains valid regardless, and the deadline is met when it arrives.

We do not predict what an individual office will do in a particular case. What is set out here is what the law provides.

How much Elterngeld is there?

Basiselterngeld replaces 65 to 67 per cent of the income lost before the birth. It is at least 300 € a month and at most 1.800 € (§ 2 Abs. 1 Satz 2 BEEG).

The minimum amount also applies where there was no income before the birth (§ 2 Abs. 4 Satz 1 BEEG). With Elterngeld Plus both limits are halved.

Maternity benefit and the employer's supplement are fully offset (§ 3 Abs. 1 Satz 1 BEEG). In the weeks after the birth, therefore, no additional Elterngeld usually arrives.

These months of the child's life still count as months with Basiselterngeld. They are therefore included even if no money is paid.

From a taxable income of 175.000 € the entitlement lapses (§ 1 Abs. 8 BEEG). What is meant is the taxable income within the meaning of § 2 Abs. 5 EStG, not gross income. What matters is the last tax year completed before the birth.

For a couple the same limit applies, based on the sum of both incomes. A higher amount for couples no longer exists since April 2024.

The limit depends on the child's date of birth, not on the day of the application (§ 28 Abs. 5 BEEG). For births from 1 April 2025 it is 175.000 €.

Basiselterngeld, Elterngeld Plus and Partnerschaftsbonus

There are three kinds and they can be combined (§ 4 BEEG). What each means is set out side by side here — which suits which life is for the parents to decide.

The choice made is not final. It can be changed until the end of the benefit period (§ 7 Abs. 2 BEEG).

Retroactively the change only reaches back three months of the child's life. And it is excluded to the extent that monthly payments have already been paid out — except in cases of hardship.

Who receives Elterngeld?

Not in full gainful employment means: at most 32 hours a week on average over the month of the child's life (§ 1 Abs. 6 BEEG).

It is an average, not a weekly limit. A week with more hours does no harm as long as the monthly average is right.

Adoptive parents and relatives up to the third degree can also receive Elterngeld. In the case of multiple births there is one entitlement, not one per child.

Without German nationality, the residence permit also matters. Which permit is sufficient depends on its type and on gainful employment.

Whether one of these conditions is met is decided by the Elterngeldstelle, not by us.

How long does processing take?

There are no fixed deadlines. How long it takes rests with the Elterngeldstelle and depends on the individual case. We therefore do not name a figure we could not keep to.

The application can be prepared before the birth but can only be submitted afterwards. The birth certificate is not available any earlier.

Where the tax identification number appears

The number has eleven digits and is valid for life (§ 139b AO). It does not change on marriage, moving house or a change of name.

If the letter has been mislaid, no new number is issued — the same one is issued again. The Bundeszentralamt für Steuern will provide it again on request.

The answer is given exclusively by letter to the registered address. The Bundeszentralamt does not give out the number by telephone or by e-mail. This currently takes about four weeks.

For a child, the letter goes to the child's registered address. For it to arrive, the child's surname must be on the letterbox.

For a newborn, the number comes by itself as soon as the registration office has transmitted the data. If nothing arrives after about four weeks, the registration office is the place to turn to.

No number is issued for a child living abroad. The child is not liable to tax in Germany. This also applies if there is an entitlement to Kindergeld.