BAföG is the abbreviation for the Federal Training Assistance Act. BAföG is the colloquial term for the funding you can receive under this law.

As the legal regulations are very complex, you should contact your local education funding office at an early stage.

You receive BAföG funding to finance

• Your school attendance or
• under certain conditions for a prescribed internship as part of your school attendance.

In order to receive the monthly grant, you must fulfil other requirements in addition to financial need. The most important are

• You are aiming to complete your schooling full-time.
• Age limit at the start of training: 45 years of age (exceptions are possible).

The amount of your BAföG is based on a fixed monthly requirement. Money is deducted from this requirement if your parents, your wife or husband, your partner or you yourself earn a little more.

As a student, you usually receive the financial support as a grant. You do not have to pay anything back. As a student at a higher technical college, you will receive funding in monthly instalments, half as a grant and half as a loan.

In principle, you can receive BAföG if you want to obtain a vocational qualification as part of a school-based vocational training programme or a secondary school leaving certificate. However, if you attend a general school, this only applies from year 10 onwards and only if you are unable to live at home. This is the case, for example, if you cannot complete the desired qualification in the neighbourhood.

The monthly requirement for pupils is as follows:

• If you live with your parents:
  • EUR 276.00 if you attend a vocational school or a specialised school that you can attend without having completed vocational training or
  • EUR 498.00 if you attend an evening secondary school, vocational college, evening secondary school or specialised upper secondary school which you can only attend if you have completed vocational training.
• If you do not live with your parents:
  • a total of EUR 666.00 if you attend a secondary general school, a vocational school or a specialised upper secondary school that you can attend without having completed vocational training or
  • a total of EUR 775.00 if you attend an evening secondary school, vocational college, evening secondary school or specialised upper secondary school which you can only attend if you have completed vocational training.
• If you have a child under the age of 14 living in your household, you will receive an additional childcare allowance of EUR 160.00 for each child.

You can also receive BAföG if you spend a year abroad during your time at school, for example. In the case of a stay abroad, supplements are granted towards the travelling expenses for the outward and return journey.

The following amounts are taken into account, i.e. they reduce your BAföG requirement:

• The income of your parents as well as your wife or husband or your partner in the penultimate year before the start of the grant period, if it is above the tax-free amount. The tax-free amount is:
  • EUR 2,540 if your parents live together,
  • EUR 1,690 per parent if your parents live separately and
  • EUR 1,690 for your spouse or partner.
  • a further 50 per cent of the parental income calculated in this way - and an additional 5 per cent for each sibling in non-eligible education - is exempt from deductions
  • In addition, there may be further allowances, for example for other children or other dependants of the above-mentioned persons under civil law.
  • Note: If your parents, your wife or husband or your partner are currently earning significantly less than in the year before last, you can submit an update application.
• Your own income if it is more than EUR 556.00 per month. There may also be additional allowances if you have to pay maintenance to other people.
• Your own assets if they exceed EUR 15,000 up to the age of 30 or EUR 45,000 after the age of 30.

Parent-independent BAföG: Your parents' income is not taken into account if you

• have been gainfully employed for 5 years after reaching the age of 18 or
• have completed three years of vocational training and have been gainfully employed for at least 3 years afterwards. If you have completed a shorter period of training, you must demonstrate a correspondingly longer period of gainful employment.
• are over 30 years old at the start of your training.

If you attend an evening grammar school or college, you will receive parent-independent BAföG. This means that your parents' income is not taken into account when calculating your BAföG requirements.

Please note: The starting point for calculating income is generally the total positive income. In the case of training grant law, this is the gross income for employed persons minus the

• Income-related expenses,
• Social allowance and the
• taxes actually paid, including church tax and solidarity surcharge.

Child benefit that your parents receive for you is not taken into account.

Interns and trainees:

BAföG can only be used to support internships that

• You complete while you are in a training programme that is eligible for funding under BAföG.
• Compulsory internships are internships that are prescribed by your training programme so that you can complete your training.
• Are compulsory internships and take place within the EU or
• Are compulsory internships that take place outside the EU and last at least twelve weeks.

You must inform the Training Office immediately in writing of any changes to your financial situation or your family and training circumstances. This includes, for example

• if your income changes,
• if you change training programme,
• if you discontinue your training,
• if you end your training or
• if such changes occur with your siblings.