Apply for BAföG to attend school

BAföG is the abbreviation for the Federal Training Assistance Act. In common parlance, BAföG refers to the financial aid you can receive under this law.

Since the legal framework is very complex, you should contact your local student financial aid office as early as possible.

You can receive BAföG funding to cover

• your schooling or
• under certain conditions, for a required internship as part of your studies.

To receive the monthly grant, you must meet additional requirements in addition to financial need. The most important ones are:

• You are pursuing your high school diploma on a full-time basis.
• Age limit at the start of your education: You must be 45 years of age or younger (exceptions are possible).

The amount of your BAföG is based on a set monthly need. Money is deducted from this amount if your parents, your spouse, your partner, or you yourself earn slightly more.

As a high school student, you generally receive financial support in the form of a grant. You do not have to repay anything. As a student at a higher technical college, you receive funding in monthly installments, half of which is a grant and half a loan.

In general, you are eligible for BAföG if you wish to earn a vocational qualification through school-based vocational training or a secondary school diploma. However, if you attend a general education school, this applies only starting in 10th grade and only if you cannot live at home. This is the case, for example, if you cannot earn the desired qualification nearby.

The monthly allowance for students is:

• If you live with your parents:
  • 442 EUR if you are attending a technical school class that requires completed vocational training, an evening high school, or a college preparatory school,
  • 276 EUR if you attend a vocational school or a technical college that you can attend without having completed vocational training, or
  • 498 EUR if you are attending an evening secondary school, a vocational extension school, an evening secondary school, or a technical college class that requires completed vocational training.
• If you do not live with your parents:
  • a total of 666 EUR if you attend a general secondary school, a vocational school, or a technical high school that you can attend without having completed vocational training, or
  • a total of 775 EUR if you attend an evening high school, a vocational extension school, an evening secondary school, or a technical college class that you can only attend if you have completed vocational training.
• If you have a child under the age of 14 living in your household, you will also receive a child care supplement of 160 EUR for each child.

Even if you spend a year abroad during your schooling, for example, you can still receive BAföG. If you spend time abroad, you’ll receive additional allowances to cover the cost of your round-trip travel.

The following amounts are taken into account—that is, they reduce your BAföG eligibility:

• The income of your parents and your spouse or domestic partner in the year before last prior to the start of the grant period, if it exceeds the exemption amount. The exemption amount is:
  • 2,540 EUR if your parents live together,
  • 1,690 EUR per parent if your parents live apart, and
  • 1,690 EUR for your spouse or partner.
  • Of the parental income calculated in this way, an additional 50 percent—plus an additional 5 percent for each sibling not enrolled in an eligible educational program—is exempt from calculation
  • In addition, there may be further exemptions, for example, for additional children or other dependents of the above-mentioned persons as defined by civil law.
  • Note: If your parents or your spouse or partner currently earn significantly less than they did in the year before last prior to the grant approval, you can submit an application for an update.
• Your own income, if it exceeds 603 EUR per month. In addition, there may be further additional allowances if you are required to pay support to other individuals.
• Your own assets, to the extent that they exceed 15,000 EUR before you turn 30, or 45,000 EUR after you turn 30.

Parent-Independent BAföG: Your parents’ income is not taken into account if you

• have been employed for 5 years after turning 18, or
• have completed a three-year vocational training program and were employed for at least 3 years afterward. If your training was shorter, you must demonstrate a correspondingly longer period of employment.
• are over 30 years old when you begin your training.

If you attend an evening high school or a college preparatory program, you are eligible for parent-independent BAföG. This means that your parents’ income is not taken into account when calculating your BAföG eligibility.

Note: The starting point for calculating income is generally the total of positive earnings. Under student financial aid law, for employed individuals this is gross income minus

• income-related expenses,
• social security flat rate, and
• taxes actually paid, including church tax and the solidarity surcharge.

Child benefit that your parents receive for you is not included in the calculation.

Interns:

BAföG can only be used to fund internships that

• you complete while enrolled in a training program that is eligible for BAföG funding.
• are mandatory—that is, required by your training program so that you can complete your training.
• are mandatory and take place within the EU, or
• are mandatory internships that take place outside the EU and last at least 12 weeks.

You must immediately notify the Office for Education in writing of any changes in your financial situation, family circumstances, or educational status. This includes, for example,

• changes in your income,
• if you change your training program,
• if you discontinue your training,
• if you complete your training, or
• if such changes occur with your siblings.

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

• Open the BAföG Digital website and create a BundID user account.
• Complete the form data fields online using the application wizard and send your data electronically to the relevant office.

If you would like to submit the application in paper form:

• Go to the BAföG Digital website and download the application forms (Formblätter) that apply to you. Alternatively, you can also pick up the applications from your local education funding office.
• 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 with the supporting documents directly to the Office for Educational Support responsible for you.

The Office for Educational Support will check the documents for completeness. If documents are missing, they will be requested. If the application is complete, it will be checked and the decision will be notified by post.

Please contact the Office for Student Financial Aid in your county or independent city.

Please contact the Office for Educational Support at the Studierendenwerk Thüringen (Eisenach, Erfurt, Gera, Ilmenau, Jena, Nordhausen, Schmalkalden, Weimar) responsible for your place of study. Students of the IU International University please enter Erfurt as your place of study.

• 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 training) from grade 10 if you cannot live with your parents because of your training,
  • Technical and technical secondary school class (without completed vocational training) if you cannot live with your parents,
  • Vocational school class or technical college class (without completed vocational training) if it provides a vocational qualification in a course of at least two years,
  • Fach- und Fachoberschuleklasse (with completed vocational training),
  • Abendhauptschule, Berufsaufbauschule, Abendrealschule, Abendgymnasium and Kolleg or
  • higher technical college or academy that awards a qualification that is not equivalent to a university degree under state law.
• You attend the school full-time.
• You are German or German or
• You are from abroad and:
  • have a permanent right of residence or a settlement permit,
  • are a citizen of the EU and are entitled to freedom of movement under EU law as an employee or self-employed person or are entitled to freedom of movement as a family member of such a citizen of the EU,
  • have prospects of remaining in Germany, for example a corresponding residence permit for family, humanitarian or political reasons, or
  • have already resided in Germany for 5 years or longer before the start of the training and have worked during this time.
• Internship:
• You will receive BAföG for the internship, provided this is prescribed by the training regulations and lasts at least 12 weeks in the case of an internship outside the EU. Shorter internships can also be funded for stays abroad within the EU.

• completed application
• Certificate from the school or training center (Form 02)
• Copy of the current
  • current residence permit
• if you do not live with your parents:
  • Copy of the registration certificate or
  • Copy of the tenancy agreement, if requested by the Office for Educational Support
• 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 your own income during the approval period, for example
  • payslip from a part-time job or a copy of the work contract,
  • Orphan's pension certificate,
  • scholarship certificate or
  • Riester pension certificate
• Proof of assets or debts on the date of application, e.g. bank statement.
  • If the value of the assets of trainees does not exceed the amount of EUR 10,000, the form "Vereinfachte Vermögensfeststellung" can be attached.
• if you have a car:
  • Estimate of the value, e.g. printout from a website with a comparable offer, and
  • vehicle registration document.
• Depending on the case, further documents may be required. Please follow the instructions on the application forms. The BAföG office responsible for you will request any missing documents.

There are no costs.

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

You must notify us immediately in writing of any change in your or your family's financial situation.

• As a rule, objection
• Action before the administrative court

The following information is available:

• Incorrect or incomplete information or failure to report changes may result in fines or criminal prosecution. Unjustly paid amounts can be reclaimed.
• If necessary, the information on income or assets can be checked by comparing data with the relevant authorities.

Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF)

The text was automatically translated based on the German content.

Thuringian Ministry of Education, Science, and Culture

;

Thuringian Ministry of Economics, Science and Digital Society

June 19, 2026;27.03.2024