BAföG is the abbreviation for the Federal Training Assistance Act. 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 finance

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

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

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

The amount of your BAföG entitlement 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 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 vocational school, you receive funding in monthly installments, half as a grant and half as a loan.

In general, you are eligible for BAföG if you are pursuing 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 obtain the desired qualification nearby.

The monthly allowance for students is:

• If you live with your parents:
  • 501.00 EUR if you attend a technical school class that requires completed vocational training, an evening high school, or a college,
  • 276.00 EUR if you attend a vocational school or a technical school that you can attend without having completed vocational training, or
  • 498.00 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 666.00 EUR if you attend a secondary school for general education, a vocational school, or a technical college that you can attend without having completed vocational training, or
  • a total of 775.00 EUR if you attend an evening secondary school, vocational extension school, evening secondary school, or technical college class that requires completed vocational training
  • a total of 882.00 EUR if you attend a technical college class that requires completed vocational training, an evening high school, or a college.
• If you are not covered by your parents’ health and long-term care insurance, you will receive an additional 102.00 EUR or 35.00 EUR.
• If you have a child under the age of 14 living in your household, you will receive an additional child care supplement of 160.00 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 supplements to cover the costs of your round-trip travel.

The following amounts are taken into account, meaning they reduce your BAföG eligibility:

• The income of your parents as well as your spouse or 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.
  • An additional 50 percent of the parental income calculated in this way—as well as an additional 5 percent for each sibling not in eligible education—is exempt from calculation
  • In addition, there may be further allowances, for example for additional children or other dependents of the above-mentioned persons under 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 approval, you can submit an application for an update.
• Your own income, if it exceeds 556.00 EUR per month. In addition, there may be further additional allowances if you are required to pay support to other persons.
• Your own assets, provided they exceed 15,000 EUR until you turn 30 or exceed 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 vocational college, you will receive 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 sum of positive income. Under student aid law, for employed individuals this is gross income minus

• income-related expenses,
• social security contributions, 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 internships, i.e., required by your training program in order for you to 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 Student Financial Aid in writing of any changes in your financial situation or in your family or educational circumstances. This includes, for example,

• changes in your income,
• if you change your program of study,
• if you discontinue your studies,
• if you complete your education, or
• if such changes occur with your siblings.