Apply for parental allowance
Service description
Parental allowance is a benefit for parents of babies and small children. It replaces part of the lost income if you want to be there for your child after the birth and interrupt or reduce your professional work. Parental allowance is also available for parents who had no income at all before the birth.
There are three types of parental allowance:
- Basic parental allowance
- Parental allowance plus
- Partnership bonus
Parental Allowance Plus and the partnership bonus provide you with particular support if you share employment and family work as partners after the birth.
Even if you are a single parent, you can apply for the various types of parental allowance. Parental allowance is also available for adopted children and children in foster care.
As parents, you can decide for yourself who will claim parental allowance for which period. In the application, you must specify the months of your child's life for which you would like to apply for parental allowance and which parental allowance variant you choose.
The amount of parental allowance is calculated individually. The calculation is based on the income you had before the birth and the income you lose after the birth. If you had no income before the birth or no income after the birth, you will receive a minimum amount. For Basic Parental Allowance, this is at least EUR 300.00 per month. For Parental Allowance Plus, this is at least EUR 150.00 per month.
Tip: You can use the parental allowance calculator from the Federal Ministry for Family Affairs to help you plan and calculate.
Responsible body
Special information for - City of Idar-ObersteinPlease use the address "elterngeld@idar-oberstein.de" to contact us by email.
What documents are required?
- Application form
- Birth certificate of the child (in exceptional cases, another suitable document if necessary)
Further documents if necessary:
- Identity card or residence permit
- Proof of recognition or establishment of paternity
- Proof of earned income in the assessment period
- Declaration of expected earned income in the reference period
- Certificate from the health insurance fund regarding maternity benefit and certificate from the employer regarding the maternity benefit allowance
- Other evidence of income in the reference period
The type and scope of the documents may vary depending on your individual situation. There may also be differences between the parental allowance offices. You should therefore check your application documents for further information. If you have any questions, you can contact your responsible parental allowance office.
What fees apply?
There are no costs.
What deadlines do I have to observe?
You can only apply for parental allowance after the birth.
It is best to submit the application within the first 3 months of your child's life, as parental allowance is paid retroactively for a maximum of 3 months.
Legal basis
What else should I know?
If you have a complaint that the parental allowance office has not been able to resolve, you can contact the relevant supervisory authority in your federal state.
Special information for - City of Idar-ObersteinSince 01.01.2024, the parental allowance office is no longer obliged to report to health insurance companies. Up to now, the parental allowance offices in the district of Birkenfeld still reported the duration of your parental allowance to the health insurance companies on a purely voluntary basis . These notifications have been discontinued since 01.04.2025 .