Child benefit for students: The requirements are manageable. You are under 25, properly enrolled at a university, and in your first degree your part-time earnings do not matter. Child benefit is €259 per child and month (status 2026). It belongs to your parents and is only paid on application. Only after completing a first degree or first vocational training does the limit of 20 hours of work per week apply.
Key points at a glance
- During your studies, child benefit is generally paid until the 25th birthday. You must be properly enrolled, as guest students do not qualify.
- In a first degree and first training, there is no earnings or hours limit. After completing them, child benefit is only paid if you work no more than 20 hours per week, and a mini-job does not count.
- Child benefit is only paid on application, which you can submit online free of charge. Retroactively, it is paid for at most the six calendar months before the month of application.
- If your parents do not meet their maintenance obligation, the family benefits office can pay the child benefit to you on application.
Child benefit requirements for students: The checklist
- Check your age: During your studies, the limit is 25 years.
- Check your enrolment: You must be properly enrolled at a university in Germany or abroad.
- Clarify whether your training is a first or a second one, because this determines whether your working hours matter.
- For a second training, check your employment: No more than 20 hours per week, or a mini-job.
- Submit the proofs and report any change to the family benefits office.
Transitional periods, leave of absence and the waiting time for a university place are explained in the article child benefit during studies (in German).
Until when is there child benefit during studies? The age limits
Child benefit is generally paid until the child turns 18. After that, there is an entitlement only for training, for studies and in the other cases listed in Section 32(4) EStG.
| Age | Requirement |
|---|---|
| Up to 18 | no further requirement |
| 18 to 24, in training | studies, training, or a case such as a transitional period, a wait for a university place or a volunteer service |
| Under 21, without work | registered as job-seeking with the Employment Agency |
| From 25 | in principle no entitlement, with exceptions for disability and extending services |
At 25, the entitlement during studies generally ends. The age limit is extended only by basic military service, civilian service, a military service of up to three years instead of conscription, and work as a development worker, limited to the length of the domestic statutory basic service (Section 32(5) EStG). Voluntary services such as the Federal Volunteer Service or the FSJ give an entitlement up to 25, but they do not extend the limit.
Three months before the 18th birthday, the family benefits office sends a letter with an access code for the online child benefit service. An electronically transmitted proof, such as the study certificate, sent up to six weeks before the 18th birthday is enough for child benefit to continue without interruption. The family benefits office of the Federal Employment Agency describes the process.
First or second training: When does the 20-hour limit apply?
Is there an earnings limit for students?
During your first degree, no. As long as you are in a first training, your gainful employment makes no difference for child benefit, neither in hours nor in income. The 20-hour limit only applies once a first training or first degree has been completed.
What counts as a first training?
A vocational training is a first one if no other completed vocational training and no completed university degree came before it. The bachelor’s degree is professionally qualifying and therefore the completion of a first degree. A master’s degree that builds on it still belongs to the first training, and for consecutive master’s programmes at German universities a close factual connection is assumed. In principle, a degree counts as completed only once the examination result has been announced. For tax purposes, the same course can already count as a second degree, but for child benefit the interpretation under child benefit law applies.
A master’s degree after a period of employment counts as a second training. Indicators of a second training include working in the learned profession, a bond with one employer for more than 26 weeks, working hours above the scope of the training, or studying only after work and at weekends.
After the first training: How does the 20-hour limit work?
After completing the first training, you are only taken into account if you are not gainfully employed. Regularly up to 20 hours per week, a training employment relationship and a marginal employment count as harmless. The contractually agreed working time is decisive. If only a monthly working time has been agreed, it is divided by 4.35. Only periods from the month after the first training has been completed are taken into account.
| Work during a second training | Effect on child benefit |
|---|---|
| Up to 20 hours per week (contractually agreed) | harmless |
| Mini-job or short-term employment that the employer classes as marginal | harmless |
| Training employment relationship | harmless |
| More than 20 hours for at most two months, annual average at most 20 hours | harmless |
| More than 20 hours for longer than two months | harmful, even if the average is below 20 hours |
Example 1: Mia, 23, has completed an apprenticeship as a bank clerk and is now studying in a second degree. Her contract provides for 80 hours per month. 80 ÷ 4.35 gives roughly 18.4 hours per week, which is below the limit.
Example 2: Jonas, 24, works 20 hours per week throughout the year in his second training, and 40 hours in July and August. The increase lasts only two months, but the annual average rises to roughly 23 hours ((10 × 20 + 2 × 40) ÷ 12). For this reason, the entitlement lapses for July and August. In the other months it remains in place.
Practical study semesters count as training. Whether an internship alongside a second training counts as gainful employment is decided by the family benefits office on a case-by-case basis. Ask there before you sign a contract.
Which proofs does the family benefits office need? Enrolment certificate and more
Proof of studies is provided through your enrolment. Only regular students at a university in Germany or abroad are taken into account, and guest students do not qualify. Training begins with the official start of the semester, not with the application, and generally ends with the announcement of the examination result. If you drop out, training ends at the end of the month in which the drop-out takes place, at the latest with de-registration.
- Enrolment or study certificate, ideally sent electronically
- For a second training: Proof of the agreed working hours, such as the employment contract
- For diversion of child benefit: The application on form KG 17a
Changes such as the end of training, a new address or new income must be reported promptly, so that no overpayments arise. After a drop-out, parents may have to repay child benefit even if they knew nothing about it. Adult children must cooperate if the family benefits office has questions. Further plans of the child should be reported to the family benefits office, ideally online (information from the Federal Employment Agency (in German)).
Child benefit application for students: Who submits it and how long does it take?
Child benefit is only paid on application, which can be submitted online free of charge. The entitlement generally belongs to your parents. For most families, the family benefits office of the Federal Employment Agency is responsible. Employees in the public service may have their own family benefits office. As a guide, processing takes about six weeks, and the payment date depends on the last digit of the child benefit number.
Retroactively, child benefit is generally paid for at most the six calendar months before the month of application: An application in September brings payments from March. The Bundestag decided on 9 July 2026 that the application is to be phased out, expected from March 2027 for younger siblings and from November 2027 for firstborn children. BAföG runs through a separate application. How to apply for BAföG (in German) is described in a separate article.
Child benefit paid to the student: When is that possible?
Child benefit can be paid directly to you if the person entitled to it does not meet their statutory maintenance obligation (diversion under Section 74 EStG). You apply in writing on form KG 17a, and the family benefits office hears your parents. The entitlement itself remains with the person entitled.
There is no diversion if your parents regularly pay at least the proportionate child benefit amount as maintenance. This is assumed if you live in their household. One-off or temporary shortfalls are not enough. Without maintenance, the proportionate child benefit is diverted in full. With lower cash maintenance, the difference is diverted. Amounts below €5 per month are not diverted.
Example, assuming the child benefit concerns a child with €259 of child benefit: If the parents pay €100 of cash maintenance per month, the difference is €159. If they pay nothing, the full €259 is diverted.
Own child or financial hardship: What else applies?
For your own child, you are also entitled to child benefit, €259 per child and month. Which rights and benefits you have in this situation is summarised in the article on rights and money during pregnancy in your studies (in German). If child benefit falls away or is not enough, the question remains whether students can receive housing benefit (in German). That is only possible under narrow conditions.
| Feature | Values 2026 | 2027 (status) | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Child benefit per child and month | €259 | €267 (planned, Income Tax Reform Act 2027, procedure open) | Section 66 EStG; federal cabinet, 2 September 2026 |
| Age limit in training | 25 years | unchanged | Section 32(4) EStG; family benefits office leaflet |
| Transitional period between training sections | up to 4 months | unchanged | Section 32(4) EStG |
| Second degree or second training | gainful employment up to 20 hours per week | unchanged | Family benefits office leaflet |
| Child allowance for both parents (subsistence and care needs) | €9,756 per year | €10,056 (planned, not yet decided) | Section 32(6) EStG; Income Tax Reform Act 2027 |
Frequently asked questions
Is there child benefit up to age 27 for students?
During your studies, the entitlement generally ends on the 25th birthday. The limit is extended only by certain services, such as basic military service or civilian service, and only by the length of that service. A disability that occurred before the 25th birthday can justify an entitlement without an age limit.
Can the child benefit be paid into my account?
Yes, if your parents do not meet their maintenance obligation. The family benefits office then diverts the child benefit to you, in whole or in part, on your written application. If you and your parents live in the same household and they pay maintenance regularly, no diversion takes place.
Here is what to do now
- Check your age and your enrolment, and clarify whether your studies count as a first degree.
- For a second training, check your agreed weekly working hours.
- Send your study certificate to the family benefits office electronically and report every change immediately.
- Submit the application online together with your parents, and note the date of application.
- If your parents pay no maintenance, apply for diversion on form KG 17a.
Related articles
- Child benefit during studies 2026: Entitlement, amount and duration (in German)
- Housing benefit for students: Eligibility and application (in German)
- Pregnant during your studies: Rights, money and insurance at a glance (in German)
- BAföG application: Deadlines and documents (in German)
- Second degree: Costs, BAföG, child benefit and tax (in German)
- FSJ and federal volunteer service: Child benefit and insurance (in German)
- Guest students: What applies to insurance and child benefit (in German)
- No study place: Child benefit and family insurance (in German)
Last updated: October 2026. This guide is general information, not individual advice. The German version is authoritative.
