Legal traineeship insurance is decided by your status during the training period. As a trainee civil servant (Beamter auf Widerruf), you arrange cover yourself, either privately or voluntarily through statutory insurance, and you receive additional benefits (Beihilfe). In a public-law training relationship you have compulsory statutory insurance and no entitlement to Beihilfe.
Which variant your federal state uses is stated in your appointment letter. Before that there is often a gap: between the first state exam and the traineeship your student insurance ends, and you have to clarify who covers you in that period.
Key points at a glance
- Depending on the state, you are a trainee civil servant (own provision plus Beihilfe) or in a training relationship (compulsory statutory insurance, contributions from your salary, no Beihilfe).
- Student insurance usually ends with the semester of your last enrolment or re-enrolment, not with your last exam.
- If you take out private health insurance (PKV) as a trainee civil servant, you must answer health questions, expect rising premiums and consider that a return to statutory health insurance (GKV) may later be difficult.
- After the traineeship, direct appointment as a probationary civil servant (Beamter auf Probe) keeps you in private insurance. As an employee earning less than €77,400 per year (2026), you are subject to statutory insurance.
How is legal traineeship insurance arranged for you?
The state decides this. Depending on the state, legal trainees are either trainee civil servants or in a public-law training relationship. What counts is the appointment certificate, the status and the employer, not the name of the training.
| Status | Health insurance | Beihilfe |
|---|---|---|
| Trainee civil servant (Beamter auf Widerruf) | Own provision, i.e. private or voluntary statutory insurance. Contributions to health, long-term care and unemployment insurance do not apply | Yes, it supplements your insurance |
| Public-law training relationship | Compulsory statutory insurance under § 5 para. 1 no. 1 SGB V, contributions deducted from your salary | No entitlement |
In Saxony, trainees can choose between both variants. The information sheet of the Saxon justice department lists, among other things, an age under 42 and fitness for health reasons as conditions. How your state employs you can be seen in the appointment letter. If in doubt, ask the appointing authority before you take out insurance.
For teacher trainees and other civil service trainees, much is similar. More on this is in health insurance during the traineeship (in German).
Subsistence allowance and health insurance: what does it mean for your contributions?
Pay during the training period may be called trainee pay or subsistence allowance (Unterhaltsbeihilfe), depending on the state and status. For health insurance, what counts is the status behind it. In a training relationship, statutory health insurance contributions are deducted directly from your salary.
As a trainee civil servant, the principle of self-provision applies: you take out health and long-term care insurance yourself, and Beihilfe covers part of the costs. The rate is usually 50 percent, and for children usually 80 percent. Your Beihilfe office will give you the exact rate, because the states have their own rules.
Some states, for example Hamburg, offer a flat-rate Beihilfe. This is a tax-free allowance of 50 percent of the statutory contribution including the supplementary contribution, without an allowance for long-term care insurance. The condition is a permanent waiver of individual Beihilfe. The application only takes effect for the future.
Statutory or private insurance as a law trainee?
The question only arises as a trainee civil servant. In a training relationship you are compulsorily insured in statutory insurance anyway. For the decision, what matters most is your state of health, the Beihilfe rate, family planning and how securely you could return to statutory insurance later.
What speaks for private health insurance
With Beihilfe, the private premium during the traineeship can initially be low. There are cheaper trainee tariffs, and after the traineeship a switch to the standard tariff is possible without a new health check. The premium can rise significantly afterwards, because the cheaper trainee tariff ends.
Which risks you must plan for with private insurance
- Health questions: You must answer them truthfully. Concealed circumstances can entitle the insurer to withdraw (§ 19 VVG). Ongoing treatment and recommended operations often lead to rejection. An anonymous risk enquiry before the application helps you assess this.
- Premium development: Premiums can rise. The insurer reviews them regularly for each tariff and may adjust them if a trustee approves.
- Return to statutory insurance: Before age 55 this is generally possible, for example through employment subject to compulsory insurance below the annual earnings threshold. A minijob is not enough. From age 55, the return is generally excluded.
If you have pre-existing conditions or work in a state with flat-rate Beihilfe, compare both routes particularly carefully.
Health insurance between the exam and the traineeship
Compulsory student insurance does not end with your last exam. It usually runs until the end of the semester for which you last enrolled or re-enrolled, provided you are deregistered by then. After that, your cover depends on your situation.
| Your situation | Possible cover |
|---|---|
| You receive unemployment benefit I (pre-insurance period of twelve months within 30 months) or basic income support (Grundsicherung) | Compulsory statutory insurance |
| No benefit receipt, but entitlement to family insurance | Family insurance: total income at most €565 per month (2026); for people who are not in work, only up to age 23, so it no longer applies to many graduates |
| No benefit receipt and no family insurance | Mandatory follow-on insurance: membership continues voluntarily with the fund |
You can leave the mandatory follow-on insurance within two weeks of your fund’s notice. However, this only takes effect with proof of other cover. After membership ends, there is also an entitlement to follow-up benefits for at most one month (§ 19 para. 2 SGB V), as long as you are not employed. That is not a permanent solution.
If you do a doctorate during the waiting period, clarify with your fund beforehand how you are insured. The Federal Social Court ruled in 2018 that student insurance does not apply to doctorates after a university degree. If you were exempt from compulsory insurance during your studies and privately insured, check the contract before the traineeship. How a private contract continues after your studies is covered in what happens to your private health insurance after your studies (in German).
Lawyers and private health insurance: what happens after the traineeship?
That depends on the next step. If you are appointed directly as a probationary civil servant, you stay in private insurance. If you go into a law firm or company as an employee and earn less than €77,400 per year (annual earnings threshold 2026), statutory insurance becomes compulsory.
In that case, you can terminate the private contract within three months, retroactively to the start of the obligation (§ 205 para. 2 VVG). The insurer may request proof, and the termination is ineffective if you do not provide it within two months of the written request. An expectancy in private insurance allows you to return later without a new health check; the period for reactivation is usually two months.
When you are appointed as a civil servant, the open-admission campaign (Öffnungsaktion) of the private insurers can help if you have pre-existing conditions. It applies to probationary civil servants, to civil servants for a fixed term and for life, and since 2019 also to trainee civil servants (auf Widerruf). The application must be submitted within the first six months after the first appointment, and at the earliest after any traineeship. The risk surcharge is at most 30 percent, and there are no benefit exclusions and no maximum age for admission. Details are in the information sheet of the PKV association.
How to arrange your insurance when you start work is described in private health insurance when starting work (in German). General tips for the time after your exams are in starting your career after your studies (in German).
Frequently asked questions
Which health insurance do I need as a legal trainee?
That depends on your status. As a trainee civil servant, you arrange cover yourself, privately or voluntarily through statutory insurance, and Beihilfe supplements it. In a public-law training relationship you are compulsorily insured in statutory insurance, and the state deducts the contributions from your salary. Your appointment letter names the status.
How am I insured between the first state exam and the traineeship?
Student insurance usually ends with the semester of your last enrolment or re-enrolment. Depending on your situation, compulsory insurance with unemployment benefit I, family insurance or mandatory follow-on insurance may then apply. Your health insurer will tell you which variant applies to you.
Do I get Beihilfe as a legal trainee?
Only as a trainee civil servant. In a public-law training relationship there is no entitlement to Beihilfe. The rate is usually 50 percent, and for children usually 80 percent. Each state sets its own rates, and your Beihilfe office will provide details.
Can I switch to statutory insurance after the traineeship?
Before age 55 this is generally possible, for example through employment subject to compulsory insurance below the annual earnings threshold of €77,400 (2026). A minijob is not enough. From age 55, the return is generally excluded.
What applies to private insurance with pre-existing conditions?
The application contains health questions which you must answer truthfully (§ 19 VVG). An anonymous risk enquiry shows in advance how an insurer responds. When you are appointed as a civil servant, the open-admission campaign may also help, with a risk surcharge of at most 30 percent.
How to proceed now
- Read your appointment letter and note whether you are a trainee civil servant or in a training relationship.
- Ask your health insurer until when your student insurance runs and what applies afterwards, and close the gap before the end of the semester.
- If you are a trainee civil servant, ask the Beihilfe office for the rate and whether a flat-rate Beihilfe is available.
- If you have pre-existing conditions, make an anonymous risk enquiry before you sign a private application.
If you want to talk through your situation, you will find the way to advice on the Academycon homepage (in German).
You can find reviews of us on ProvenExpert, Trustlocal and Trustindex. Academycon was also mentioned, among other things, in a press release in Kurier. An overview of all mentions is on the press page (in German).
Related articles
- Health insurance during the traineeship: Beihilfe, PKV or GKV? (in German)
- What happens to your private health insurance after your studies? (in German)
- Private health insurance when starting work: advantages and decision for graduates (in German)
- Starting your career after your studies: how to get off to a good start (in German)
- Law: insurance from studies to traineeship (in German)
Last updated: October 2026. This guide is general information, not individual advice. The German version is authoritative.
