Applying for educational support for school pupils (Schüler-BAföG)

Please note in particular our information under:

  • Performance specification

    BAföG is the abbreviation for Bundesausbildungsförderungsgesetz (Federal Training Assistance Act). BAföG is the colloquial term for the funding you can receive under this law. You receive this funding to finance

    • your school attendance or
    • under certain conditions of a prescribed work placement as part of your schooling.

    In order to receive the monthly grant, you must meet a number of requirements. The most important are:
    Your parents and/or your spouse/life partner do not have a higher income.

    • You yourself have no or only a low income, for example from a "mini-job".
    • Your assets are below or only slightly above the exemption amount of EUR 15,000 up to the age of 30 or EUR 45,000 from the age of 30.
    • You are aiming for your school-leaving qualification full-time.
    • Age limit: completion of the 45th year of life (exceptions are possible).

    The amount of your BAföG is based on a fixed monthly need. Money is deducted from this requirement if your parents, your spouse/life partner or you yourself earn a little more.
    As a student, you receive the financial support as a grant. You do not have to pay anything back.

    In principle, you can receive BAföG if you want to obtain a vocational qualification or a secondary school leaving certificate. If you attend a general education school, however, this only applies from grade 10 and also only if you cannot live at home (for example, because you cannot do the desired degree nearby).
    The monthly requirement for pupils is:

    • If you live with your parents:
      • EUR 421 if you attend a technical college class whose attendance requires completed vocational training, an evening school or a college,
      • EUR 262 if you attend a vocational school or a technical school that you can attend without having completed vocational training, or
      • EUR 474 if you attend an Abendhauptschule, Berufsaufbauschule, Abendrealschule or Fachoberschul class that you can only attend if you have completed vocational training.
    • If you do not live with your parents:
      • A total of EUR 632 if you attend a secondary general school, a vocational school or a specialised upper secondary school that you can attend without having completed vocational training, or
      • A total of EUR 736 if you attend an Abendhauptschule, Berufsaufbauschule, Abendrealschule or Fachoberschul class that you can only attend if you have completed vocational training.
    • If you have a child younger than 14 living in your household, you will also receive a childcare supplement: EUR 160 for each child.

    You can also receive BAföG if you spend a year abroad during your school years. During a stay abroad, supplements to the travel costs for the outward and return journey are granted.

    The following amounts are credited, i.e. they reduce your BAföG requirement:

    • The income of your parents and/or your spouse/life partner in the penultimate year before the start of the grant period, if it is above the tax-free amount. The tax-free amount is:
      • EUR 2,415 if your parents live together,
      • EUR 1,605 per parent if your parents live separately and
      • EUR 1,605 for a possible spouse/life partner.
      • Of the parental income determined in this way, a further 50% - and an additional 5% for each sibling in non-eligible education - remain exempt from deduction
      • Note: If your parents or your spouse/life partner currently earn significantly less than in the penultimate year before approval, you can submit an update application.
      • BAföG independent of parents: Your parents' income will not be taken into account if you
        • have been gainfully employed for five years after reaching the age of 18, or
        • have completed a three-year training course and have then been gainfully employed for at least three years (in the case of shorter training courses, correspondingly longer periods of employment).
        • In certain exceptional cases, if you are over 30 years of age at the start of training
    • Your own income if it is more than EUR 520 per month.
    • Your own assets, insofar as they exceed EUR 15,000 up to the age of 30 or EUR 45,000 after the age of 30.

    Note: The starting point for calculating income is always the sum of positive income. In training assistance law, this is the gross income minus the

    • Advertising costs,
    • Social lump sum and the
    • taxes actually paid, including church tax and solidarity surcharge.

    Child benefit that your parents receive for you is not counted.

    If you attend an evening school or college, you will receive BAföG that is not dependent on your parents. This means that your parents' income is not taken into account in the calculation.

    Interns:

    BAföG can only support internships that you complete while you are in a training programme that is eligible for support under BAföG.
    Only compulsory internships are funded. These are internships that are prescribed by your training plan, i.e. that you have to do in order to complete or carry out the training. Compulsory internships that are completed outside the EU are only eligible for funding if they last at least 12 weeks. Compulsory traineeships within EU Member States can also be funded if they are shorter than 12 weeks.

    Special information for - District of Waldeck-Frankenberg

    Since February 2023, the city of Kassel has been responsible for training grants. In individual cases, it is possible to arrange a personal counselling appointment in Korbach with the case workers of the city of Kassel. Further information is available here.   

  • Process flow

    If you would like to apply for BAföG for your school education online:

    • Register with BAföG Digital and create a "simple" user account.
    • Fill in the form data fields online using the application wizard and send your data electronically to the competent office.
    • As an alternative to creating a user account at BAföG Digital, you can also register using the online ID function of your identity card.

    If you wish to submit the application in paper form:

    • Go to the BAföG website and download the application forms that apply to you. Alternatively, you can also pick up the applications from your competent municipal office for educational support.
    • You can fill in the forms on the computer and print them out or print them out and fill them in by hand. You must enter your name at the end of the application form.
    • Attach the necessary supporting documents.
    • Send the completed application forms together with the supporting documents directly to the Office for Educational Funding responsible for you.

    The Office for the Promotion of Education checks the documents for completeness. If documents are missing, they will be requested. If the application is complete, it will be examined and the decision will be communicated by means of a notice.
     

  • Requirements

    • You attend one of the following types of school as a pupil or trainee:
      • secondary general school and vocational school (including classes of all forms of basic vocational education) from grade 10 onwards if you cannot live with your parents because of your education,
      • Technical and vocational secondary school class (without completed vocational training) if you cannot live with your parents,
      • Vocational school class or technical school class (without completed vocational training) if it provides a vocational qualification in a course of education lasting at least two years,
      • Technical and vocational secondary school class (with completed vocational training),
      • Evening secondary school, post-secondary vocational school, evening secondary school, evening grammar school and college or
      • higher technical college or academy awarding a degree that is not equivalent to a higher education degree under Land law,
      • you attend school full time.
      • They are foreigners and for example:
        • have a permanent right of residence or a settlement permit,
        • are Union citizens and are entitled to freedom of movement under Union law as employees or self-employed persons or are themselves entitled to freedom of movement as the child or spouse of such a Union citizen,
        • have prospects of staying in Germany, for example a corresponding residence title for family, humanitarian or political reasons, or
        • have already resided in Germany for 5 years or more prior to the start of the training and have worked during this time.

    Hint:

    Since the legal regulations are very complex, you should contact your responsible office for educational support at an early stage.

    Internship:

    You will receive BAföG for the internship if it is required by the education regulations and, in the case of an internship outside the EU, lasts at least 12 weeks. In the case of stays abroad within the EU, shorter internships can also be funded.
     

  • Which documents are required?

    • Completed application
    • Certificate from the school or training institution
    • If applicable, copy of the
      • Identity card,
      • Passport or
      • current residence permit
    • If you do not live with your parents: Copy
      • of the tenancy agreement or
      • the registration certificate
    • If you are not covered by family insurance: Proof of health and long-term care insurance with legal basis and contribution amount
    • If applicable, proof of own income during the grant period, for example
      • Payroll, part-time job, contract for work,
      • Orphan's pension notice,
      • Scholarship notification or
      • Riester pension certificate
    • Proof of assets or debts on the day of application, e.g. bank statement
    • If you have a car:
      • Estimation of the value, e.g. printout from a website with a comparable offer, and
      • Motor vehicle registration certificate.

    Depending on the case, further documents may be necessary. Please follow the instructions in the application forms. The BAföG office responsible for you will request any missing documents.
     

  • What are the fees?

    There are no costs.

  • What deadlines do I have to observe?

    There is no time limit, but BAföG is only granted from the start of training, at the earliest, however, from the month in which you submit your application. Submit your application as completely as possible, then a decision on your application can usually be made quickly.

  • Legal basis

  • Applications / Forms

    Forms available: Yes
    Written form required: No
    Informal application possible: No
    Personal appearance required: No

    Online services available: Yes

    Special information for - District of Waldeck-Frankenberg

    The following forms are additionally required for the application to the district of Waldeck-Frankenberg:

  • Comments

    Further information:


Start your request directly online

Who do I need to contact?

Trainees at evening classes, colleges, higher technical colleges and academies: Office for Educational Support of the municipal or district administration at the place of the educational institution

Pupils: Office for Education Grants of the city or district administration at the place of residence of the parents, in exceptional cases at the place of residence of the trainee.

Special information for - District of Waldeck-Frankenberg

Since February 2023, the city of Kassel has been responsible for training grants. In individual cases, it is possible to arrange a personal counselling appointment in Korbach with the case workers of the city of Kassel. Further information is available here. 

Responsible departments