On this page, you'll find the most important information about BAföG listed in alphabetical order.
You must immediately notify the university in writing of your withdrawal from the program and submit your certificate of withdrawal.
All changes (e.g., change of address, change of bank account information, changes regarding siblings, etc.) must be reported in writing immediately.
If your spouse or parents now have a lower income than they did two years ago, be sure to submit an update request (Form 7). You can do this at any time during your approval period.
The grant amount will then be recalculated, and you may receive a higher grant amount.
Note: This is a separate application (Form 7).
Be sure to consult with us about this!
As a general rule, students who have not yet turned 45 at the start of their studies are eligible for financial aid.
Submit your application for financial aid as early as possible, and ideally by the end of the month in which your studies began.
You will receive BAföG no earlier than the month in which you submitted your application—but not before the start of your studies or retroactively.
You should submit a renewal application as soon as possible, but ideally by the end of the month following the last month of the previous approval period
Example:
Your current approval period runs from 10/2025 to 09/2026. You should submit a renewal application by 10/30/2026; ideally, the application should be nearly complete and submitted to us by 07/31/2026.
For a renewal application, it is generally sufficient to submit Form 9 and a certificate of enrollment. In addition, your parents must submit Form 3 and proof of income for the penultimate calendar year.
Form 9 may be submitted in place of Form 1 if there have been no changes in marital status, health insurance, income, or assets since the previous approval period and no gap in funding coverage occurs.
BAföG also provides support if you’re planning to spend a semester abroad or study entirely abroad. Funding is also available for high school students and for internships abroad.
You should submit your application for BAföG for study abroad early enough (at least 6 months in advance!) to the relevant BAföG office for study abroad.
We are responsible if you are planning to study in the following countries
Armenia
Azerbaijan
Bulgaria
Estonia
Georgia
Kazakhstan
Kyrgyzstan
Latvia
Lithuania
Moldova
Poland
Romania
Russian Federation
Slovakia
Tajikistan
Czech Republic
Turkmenistan
Ukraine
Hungary
Uzbekistan
Belarus
The amount of financial aid generally depends primarily on the income of your parents (and spouse, if applicable). It also depends on your income and assets.
For more information, visit www.bafoeg.de
The specific calculation of BAföG benefits for each individual case is complex and, in some instances, complicated. In addition, there are a number of (special) regulations that cannot be fully covered in a summary like this one. This makes it all the more important to seek expert personal advice.
BAföG is generally granted for one year, i.e., two semesters or 12 months. If, in individual cases, a shorter or longer approval period (up to a maximum of 15 months) is set, there are always legal or administrative reasons for this, such as the expiration of the standard period of study, the date of submission of the academic transcript, or simply the date the application was filed.
In any case, a decision regarding approval or rejection will be issued. Any financial aid amounts will then be transferred monthly in advance.
BAföG funding consists of 50% grant (a gift from the government!) and 50% interest-free government loan. In addition, the maximum repayment amount is capped at €10,010. This means you won’t have to repay more than this amount, no matter how much or how long you received BAföG. For example, someone who receives the maximum BAföG amount for 5 years has received around €60,000 in funding and still pays back no more than €10,010—just over one-sixth of the total. This makes BAföG by far the most affordable way to finance your studies.
Repayment typically begins five years after you complete your first degree and is made in convenient monthly installments of €130 each.
Note: You must notify the BVA of any address changes immediately.
For more information on repayment, visit www.bundesverwaltungsamt.de
You can find all downloads on our download page under the "BAföG" section.
Spouses and both biological parents (step-parents are not included in the calculation) must report and provide proof of their income from the year before last on Form 3.
Example:
You are applying for the period from October 2026 to September 2027 → therefore, the income of your parents/spouse for the year 2024 must be declared and documented.
If your parents’ current income is significantly lower, you can also submit an update application (Form 7).
Within a 12-month period, you can earn up to €7,236.00 (up to €603 per month) gross on the side without any deductions from your BAföG.
If your income changes from what you declared on Form 1 during the approval period, please notify us immediately.
At the end of the approval period, you must submit all earnings statements and other supporting documents for this period to us so that we can review your actual income again.
The usual supporting documents are:
complete notices from the tax office regarding income tax, solidarity surcharge, and church tax
electronic wage tax certificate, pay stubs (certificate of earnings)
Pension notices, pension benefit certificates
Benefit certificates from the employment office and health insurance provider, specifying the benefit period and the benefit amount
You are eligible for BAföG independent of your parents if you
begin your studies after turning 30 OR
have been employed for at least three additional years following an apprenticeship of at least three years and were able to support yourself through this employment. If the apprenticeship was shorter than three years, the period of employment must have been correspondingly longer. In total, you must therefore provide proof of at least 72 months OR
you were employed for a total of at least five years after turning 18 and were able to support yourself through this employment.
Note:
Periods of gainful employment also include periods of military, civil, or alternative service, as well as periods spent managing a household while simultaneously caring for and raising at least one child under the age of 14.
In the case of employment, this may also have involved several different jobs. These do not have to be jobs subject to social insurance contributions or full-time positions. What is decisive here is rather that the average gross monthly wage amounts to at least €1,026.00 (= the needs of a student who is not self-insured for health insurance and does not live with their parents, plus 20 percent).
As a general rule, students may change their major for the first time by the end of the third semester without providing a reason.
A change starting in the fourth semester is only possible under certain conditions.
You should definitely consult with us regarding this.
Please note: It is not possible to change your major during the Master’s program.
If you end up needing more time to complete your degree and are unable to finish within the maximum funding period, the Flexi-Semester (§ 15(4) BAföG) could be the solution.
Funding for an additional semester is thus available on a one-time basis for either a bachelor’s or master’s degree upon application (Form 10), without the need to provide a reason.
You are generally eligible for financial aid until the end of the standard period of study for your degree program (see Certificate of Enrollment).
If you continue your studies beyond that and need BAföG, there are several options:
Flexibility Semester
Financial aid for valid reasons (e.g., pregnancy, raising children,
student council activities, etc.)
Graduation Assistance (full loan)
Please always report any changes immediately (e.g., start or end of training).
An entry on Form 3 is not required if siblings are able to fully support themselves.
Depending on various life circumstances, additional deductions may be available from the parents' income, such as in cases of disability or when caring for grandparents.
If you change universities, you must notify us immediately and submit a new application to the BAföG office with jurisdiction over your new institution.
In order to continue receiving BAföG funding starting in the 5th semester, you must provide one-time proof that you have met the academic requirements for your degree program up to that point.
There are two options:
Certificate of academic performance for the 4th semester (achieved by the end of the 4th semester) or
Certificate of academic performance for the 3rd semester (achieved by the end of the 3rd semester).
Submitting this proof during the 4th semester has the advantage that you can submit the certificate along with the rest of your application documents in time before the end of the funding period, thereby avoiding an interruption in funding payments whenever possible.
In order for us to pay you the higher housing allowance, we need proof that you no longer live in your parents’ household. To verify this, we need a copy of your lease or a certificate of residence.
However, you don’t need to copy every page of the lease; just the most important ones (parties to the lease, address, start date, signatures).
As a general rule, you must report all part-time jobs and sources of income to us. See also “Student Income.”
For a mandatory internship, you are generally eligible for financial aid, as it is an integral part of your education.
If, on the other hand, it is a voluntary internship during your studies, your eligibility depends on whether it is completed during the academic term or not. If you gain professional experience voluntarily during semester breaks and further your education through an internship, you retain your eligibility for BAföG. However, if the voluntary internship falls during the lecture period, you may lose your eligibility for financial aid. As a precaution, check with your assigned advisor beforehand.
If you are eligible for financial aid, the internship stipend generally reduces your eligibility. Whether voluntary or mandatory, if you are completing an internship, you must notify the office and submit a copy of the corresponding contract.
If you receive BAföG and do not live with your parents, you can apply for an exemption from the broadcasting license fee. You will automatically receive the required certificate along with your notification.
German citizens, as defined by the Basic Law, are eligible for funding if the other requirements of the law are met.
Foreign nationals may also be eligible for funding under certain conditions. Please feel free to contact us if you have any questions.
If you receive a scholarship from one of the organizations that support gifted students (e.g., the German National Academic Foundation, the Konrad Adenauer Foundation, or similar), you are not eligible for BAföG funding.
As soon as the scholarship has been approved, you must notify us by submitting the approval letter.
Other scholarships are counted as income, either in full or in part. You must submit the relevant documentation.
… this is a one-time payment of €1,000 for first-year students under the age of 25 who were receiving social benefits prior to the start of their studies.
Applications can only be submitted via bafoeg-digital.de. You can find the exact eligibility requirements under "Studienstarthilfe."
If you are planning to take a leave of absence for a semester, you must notify the BAföG office immediately, as you are not eligible for BAföG funding while on leave. If you fail to notify the office, the funds paid for that semester will be reclaimed within a 4-week payment period, and you also risk being fined for an administrative offense.
However, it is possible to receive BAföG during a semester abroad for which you are on leave of absence from your home university, provided the other eligibility requirements are met. During this phase of study, you are generally enrolled at a foreign university.
The amount of BAföG funding you receive depends, among other things, on the value of your assets. The first €15,000 of your assets is exempt from calculation. After you turn 30, the exemption amount increases to €45,000. For married students or students with children, this exemption amount is even higher.
If your assets exceed these amounts, your entitlement to BAföG is not immediately forfeited. However, the excess amounts will be offset against your BAföG funding.
If the total value of your assets is less than €10,000 at the time of application, you may submit the declaration for simplified asset assessment or make the corresponding declaration on Form 1. In this case, no further proof of assets, such as bank statements, securities account balances, etc., needs to be submitted.
If you are required to provide proof of your assets, please also ensure that your documentation is up to date. An application for BAföG funding is only considered complete if the proof of assets you submit, such as bank or securities account statements, is no more than 14 days old as of the application date.
On proof of assets and proof of digital assets/wallets, the account/wallet holder and the date must always be clearly identifiable. Screenshots are not acceptable proof!
For data protection reasons, information may only be disclosed to you personally. Furthermore, only you may submit requests or file objections. If you wish to authorize a trusted individual to act on your behalf, you must provide us with a written power of attorney.
You can find the appropriate form here....
Under Section 11(2) of the Federal Training Assistance Act (BAföG), the trainee’s income and assets, as well as the income of their spouse or registered partner and their parents, are to be taken into account in that order when determining the trainee’s needs for living expenses and training. The difference between the trainee’s needs and the income taken into account is paid out as training assistance.
If the parents or one parent do not provide the calculated contribution amount, or do not provide it in full, § 36(1) BAföG allows for the possibility of applying for advance payments. This also applies if the parents do not provide the necessary information and therefore their contribution amount cannot be determined (§ 36(2) BAföG). However, you should first have informed your parents about your education and asked them to cooperate.
You should definitely seek our advice on this matter.
If you believe your BAföG decision is incorrect, you can file an appeal against it. The appeal must be submitted in writing, bear your handwritten signature, and be received by us within one month of receiving the decision (a simple email is not sufficient). You must also provide a justification for your appeal.
Before you file an appeal, we recommend that you contact us. This way, any misunderstandings can be cleared up, and we can explain the decision to you again. In most cases, this leads to a quicker resolution of your problem.
You can apply for domestic BAföG at the Studierendenwerk Chemnitz-Zwickau if you are enrolled at one of the following universities:
Chemnitz University of Technology
West Saxon University of Applied Sciences Zwickau
Saxony Cooperative State University (all campuses)
You can apply for BAföG for study abroad at the Studierendenwerk Chemnitz-Zwickau if you are planning a study abroad stay in one of the countries listed under “Study Abroad.”
You can find the BAföG office responsible for other study locations at studierendenwerke.de