Student health insurance over 25 works differently from the years before. Family insurance with your parents usually ends on your 25th birthday. After that you are generally compulsorily insured as a student (KVdS, student statutory health insurance). In 2026 this costs about 142 to 161 euros a month for health and long-term care insurance if you are childless, depending on your insurer’s additional contribution.
Not everyone was family insured until 25. If you were exempted from compulsory insurance at the start of your studies, you are not in family insurance. This generally also applies to children of a privately insured parent whose gross income is above the compulsory insurance threshold (in German) of 6,450 euros a month. If you were never family insured, nothing changes for you at 25, because you have been in KVdS or exempt since the start of your studies.
The key points at a glance
- Children are family insured as students until age 25 at the latest. A federal voluntary service or similar service can extend this by up to twelve months.
- After that, compulsory student insurance applies. The contribution is 10.22% of 855 euros, plus the additional contribution of your insurer on the same 855 euros, plus long-term care insurance.
- Childless students pay between 141.93 and 160.82 euros a month in 2026. At the average additional contribution of 2.9%, it is 148.09 euros.
- Your earnings do not change the contribution in KVdS. However, if you regularly work more than 20 hours a week, you count as an employee and are then insured differently.
- An exemption from compulsory insurance must be applied for within three months of the start of compulsory insurance, and it is irrevocable.
Until when are you family insured as a student?
Family insurance is the contribution-free co-insurance of children through a parent who is a member of a statutory health insurer (section 10 SGB V). During your studies it generally ends on your 25th birthday. If you finish your studies earlier, it ends at the end of the semester.
| Age | Family insurance of children |
|---|---|
| up to 18 | without further condition |
| up to 23 | if the child is not in gainful employment |
| up to 25 | during school or vocational training, study, or a voluntary social or ecological year |
| over 25 | only if extended by periods of service |
If training is interrupted or delayed by statutory compulsory service, family insurance continues for the duration of that service beyond your 25th birthday. For voluntary military service, the federal voluntary service, the youth voluntary service, a comparable recognised voluntary service, and service as a development worker, this applies for at most twelve months each time. Example (fictional): Mia completes ten months of federal voluntary service after her Abitur and then studies. She then stays family insured for up to ten months beyond her 25th birthday, provided the other conditions are met.
Family insurance can also end before your 25th birthday, namely when your income exceeds the limit of 565 euros a month. The conditions for family insurance during study (in German) are covered in a separate article, and the income limit and other conditions under 25 (in German) in another.
What applies after your 25th birthday?
Student health insurance (KVdS) is the statutory compulsory insurance for students at state or state-recognised universities (section 5 SGB V). It applies as soon as no higher-priority insurance exists. Because family insurance takes precedence, KVdS only begins when family insurance ends. KVdS also has an age limit of 30. What applies after that is described in the article health insurance as a student over 30 (in German).
You choose your health insurer yourself. The options are AOK, the substitute health insurers, Knappschaft, and company or guild insurers at your home or study location. You must make the choice no later than two weeks after compulsory insurance begins. The university reports your enrolment to the insurer, and the insurer informs you of its report. Without a certificate from the insurer, the university can refuse enrolment or re-enrolment. So clarify any switch before the next re-enrolment period.
What does student health insurance over 25 cost?
In KVdS you pay 10.22% of a flat assessment base of 855 euros, which is 87.38 euros a month. The 855 euros correspond to the BAföG requirement for basic needs (475 euros) and the housing allowance (380 euros). This rate applies nationwide, whether or not you receive BAföG. In addition come the additional contribution of your insurer, calculated on the same 855 euros, and long-term care insurance. Long-term care insurance is 3.6%, which is 30.78 euros, and for childless students from age 23 it is 4.2%, which is 35.91 euros.
According to the list of health insurers from the GKV-Spitzenverband (as of 16 October 2026), the additional contribution in 2026 ranges from 2.18 to 4.39%. The additional contributions 2026 (in German) article shows all insurers in comparison.
| Additional contribution of the insurer | Health insurance | Long-term care insurance (childless from 23) | Total per month |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2.18% (lowest value on the list) | 106.02 euros | 35.91 euros | 141.93 euros |
| 2.9% (average additional contribution) | 112.18 euros | 35.91 euros | 148.09 euros |
| 3.29% | 115.51 euros | 35.91 euros | 151.42 euros |
| 4.39% (highest value on the list) | 124.91 euros | 35.91 euros | 160.82 euros |
With a child, the long-term care contribution is 30.78 euros. How the contributions change at other ages is shown in contributions for students by age (in German).
Contributions to KVdS are generally payable in advance for each semester. Monthly payment by SEPA direct debit or standing order is also permitted. If contributions fall into arrears, the insurer reports this to the university, which can then refuse re-enrolment.
If you receive BAföG, your requirement includes supplements of 102 euros for health insurance and 35 euros for long-term care insurance, together 137 euros. At the average additional contribution, a remainder of a little over 11 euros a month stays with you to pay yourself.
How do side jobs and earnings affect your insurance?
The contribution in KVdS does not depend on your earnings. What matters is whether your job makes you an employee.
- Minijob or working-student job with at most 20 hours a week during the lecture period: you remain exempt from health, long-term care, and unemployment insurance as an employee and stay insured through KVdS. Higher earnings do not change this. Pension insurance remains compulsory.
- Regularly more than 20 hours a week: you are generally treated as an employee and are compulsorily insured as an employee, no longer in KVdS.
- More hours only occasionally: up to 26 weeks a year are harmless if the extra work falls on weekends, evenings, nights, or semester breaks and is limited in advance or unforeseeable.
- Self-employment as your main occupation: KVdS does not apply then. As a guide, more than 20 hours a week during the lecture period is usually regarded as main occupation, but an activity below that can also be a main occupation.
The details for working students are in the article working student and health insurance (in German).
What does exemption from compulsory insurance mean at 25?
The exemption is a decision for your entire course of study. The law links it to your enrolment as a student, which makes you compulsorily insured (section 8 SGB V). You apply to your health insurer within three months of compulsory insurance beginning. It takes effect retroactively to the start if you have not used any benefits by then, otherwise from the month after the application. The exemption only takes effect if you prove another entitlement to coverage in case of illness, in practice a private policy. The article exemption from compulsory insurance (in German) explains the procedure.
The exemption is irrevocable and normally applies for the whole course of study. A switch to statutory insurance is normally possible only after your studies have ended, for example through employment subject to compulsory insurance. Student tariffs of private insurers are aimed at young first-time policyholders up to 30, the contribution depends on your age at entry, and the application contains health questions that you must answer truthfully. Private contributions can also rise over time.
If you are a child of a civil servant with private insurance, your costs depend on the state allowance (Beihilfe). It generally ends when you turn 25, if the family supplement ends. Then the burden rises significantly, and the question of whether statutory or private insurance suits you has to be answered again.
Example: Noah turns 25 in May
Example (fictional): Noah is 24, studies for a master’s degree, and has so far been family insured through his mother. He earns 520 euros in a minijob, which is below the limit of 603 euros. In May he turns 25, and family insurance ends. He chooses an insurer with an additional contribution of 2.9%.
His calculation looks like this: 87.38 euros plus 24.80 euros additional contribution gives 112.18 euros for health insurance. Add 35.91 euros for long-term care insurance, because he is childless and over 23. Together that is 148.09 euros a month, or 1,777.08 euros a year. The minijob does not change the contribution. Noah remains a student in KVdS despite the job.
Child benefit also has an age limit of 25: with training or study, the entitlement generally lasts until 25. The details are under child benefit for a master’s degree over 25 (in German).
Frequently asked questions
Until when am I family insured as a student?
During your studies, generally until your 25th birthday, and until the end of the semester if you finish your studies. Periods of service such as a voluntary service can extend family insurance by the length of the service, at most twelve months. The condition remains that your income does not exceed 565 euros a month, or 603 euros for a minijob.
What does health insurance cost for students over 25?
In 2026 you pay 87.38 euros in KVdS plus the additional contribution on 855 euros plus long-term care insurance. For childless students from 23, this comes to between 141.93 and 160.82 euros a month depending on the insurer, or 148.09 euros at the average additional contribution of 2.9%. With a child, the long-term care contribution falls from 35.91 to 30.78 euros.
Do I have to register with a health insurer myself at 25?
Yes, you choose the insurer yourself, no later than two weeks after compulsory insurance begins. The university reports your enrolment to the insurer, and the insurer informs you of its report. Also tell your parents’ insurer that family insurance is ending, and check before re-enrolment that all reports have arrived.
Does a voluntary service extend family insurance?
Generally yes. For the federal voluntary service, the youth voluntary service, comparable recognised voluntary services, voluntary military service, and service as a development worker, family insurance continues for the length of the service beyond age 25, each time for at most twelve months. For statutory compulsory service, the length of the service applies.
Can I still apply for exemption from compulsory insurance at 25?
An exemption is possible only if the application reaches your health insurer within three months of compulsory insurance beginning. Whether and from when that deadline runs if you were previously family insured is something you should clarify with your insurer straight away, because the deadline is short and the exemption is irrevocable.
So what do you do now?
- Note your 25th birthday and check whether periods of service extend family insurance.
- Compare the additional contributions and choose an insurer no later than two weeks after compulsory insurance begins.
- Tell your previous insurer that family insurance is ending, and show your certificate of enrolment to the new insurer on request.
- Check the contribution notice: 87.38 euros plus the additional contribution on 855 euros plus long-term care insurance.
- Decide consciously on exemption and private insurance, and before the three-month deadline expires.
If you want to talk through your situation, you will find the way to advice on the Academycon homepage.
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Related articles
- Health insurance for students at a glance (in German)
- Family insurance during study under 25 (in German)
- Switching health insurer as a student (in German)
- Health insurance at 25: what applies now (in German)
Last updated: October 2026. This guide is general information, not individual advice. The German version is authoritative.
