After your child is born in Germany — the deadlines, in order

Your child has been born — congratulations. What follows is a chain of applications, and the hard part is not how to fill the forms. It is when.

Because two of them are backdated only so far: Elterngeld for three months of life, Kindergeld for six calendar months. Being late does not disqualify you. It costs you months that never come back, and it is the most common loss we see in the questions people send us.

This page puts the applications in time order. The form-by-form detail lives on our own pages, linked where each one belongs.

Week one: the Standesamt and the birth certificate

If the birth took place in a hospital, a birth centre or a midwife practice, the institution reports it to the Standesamt itself — nothing is required from you. A home birth has to be registered by the parents within one week.

What you do have to collect, either way, is the Geburtsurkunde. Bring:

• a valid ID card or passport for both parents
• the mother birth certificate and the father birth certificate
• if married: the Eheurkunde, the marriage certificate
• if not married: the Vaterschaftsanerkennung, the acknowledgement of paternity, and a Sorgeerklärung if you want joint custody

And here is the part that concerns immigrant families specifically: foreign documents are not accepted as they are. They need a translation by a translator sworn in Germany, and depending on the issuing country either an Apostille from your home authority or a Legalisation from the German embassy. That takes weeks — start during the pregnancy, not after the birth.

Ask for several copies of the birth certificate. A number of municipalities give the first three free, because they are needed for Elterngeld, Kindergeld and the health insurer; further copies cost around 12 euros in Berlin and Munich. The fees are municipal, not federal, so they differ from city to city — ask yours.

The child does not need a separate registration at the residents office: the Standesamt notifies it automatically.

The first weeks: health insurance

Cover for the child begins on the day of birth, not on the day you apply — but the application can only be made after the birth, with the birth certificate.

The child joins through the Familienversicherung, and it is completely free: no contribution at all, not even the Zusatzbeitrag.

The income limits for a family-insured member in 2026: 565 euros a month in general, and 603 euros where the income comes from a Minijob. In 2025 they were 535 and 556.

Age limits for children: 18 in general, 23 if not employed, 25 while in school, training, study or voluntary service, and no age limit at all for a child whose disability prevents self-support, under the usual conditions.

One exclusion applies to married couples: if one parent is privately insured, regularly earns more than the parent in the statutory system, and that income regularly exceeds 77,400 euros a year (2026), the child cannot be covered free.

Our own page on the form: family health insurance in Germany — Familienversicherung.

The first three months: Elterngeld — the tightest deadline

It is backdated for at most three months of the child life. Apply within the first three months, and do not wait for every document to be complete.

The amounts: Basiselterngeld from 300 to 1,800 euros a month, ElterngeldPlus from 150 to 900.

The duration: 12 months for one parent, and 14 months if the other parent takes two (the Partnermonate). A single parent gets 14. One month of Basiselterngeld equals two months of ElterngeldPlus, and ElterngeldPlus runs up to the 32nd month of the child life.

The income limit: there is no entitlement where taxable income exceeds 175,000 euros — the same figure for couples and for single parents — for births from 1 April 2025. For births between 1 April 2024 and 31 March 2025 the limit was 200,000.

The application goes to the Elterngeldstelle for the child place of residence, and digital application is available in every federal state.

Our own page on the form: filling in the Elterngeld application.

The first six months: Kindergeld

It is backdated for at most six calendar months before the application reaches the Familienkasse. Waiting a year therefore costs you six months.

The amount: 259 euros a month per child since 1 January 2026 — it was 255 in 2025.

The application requires both tax identification numbers: yours and the child. The child number arrives automatically by post from the Bundeszentralamt für Steuern after registration — if nothing has come within three months, contact them. Do not wait for it before applying: apply, and send the number afterwards.

Our own page on the form: filling in the Kindergeld application.

If the income is not enough: Kinderzuschlag

It is for parents who earn enough for themselves but not for the whole family. The minimum gross income is 900 euros a month for a couple and 600 euros for a single parent. The child must be under 25, unmarried and living in your household.

The amount is up to 297 euros per child per month — the figure in force since 1 January 2025, unchanged in 2026. It is granted for six months at a time and then reapplied for.

Our own page on the three forms: the Kinderzuschlag application explained. It may also be worth looking at the Wohngeld housing benefit application.

Mutterschutz — maternity protection

The protected period is six weeks before the expected date and eight weeks after the birth.

It extends to twelve weeks after the birth for a premature birth, a multiple birth, and for a child with a disability — the last on application to the health insurer.

If the child arrives early, the days not used beforehand are added afterwards, so the total period is not lost.

If the parents are not German

A child born in Germany to foreign parents needs a residence permit. Where the parents hold valid permits with enough time left to run, it is usually granted by the authority of its own motion, with no separate application; otherwise it is applied for at the Ausländerbehörde.

What is normally required: the child own valid passport (or an entry in a parent passport), one current biometric photograph 35 by 45 millimetres, the birth certificate, and the parents passports and residence permits.

In Berlin the fee is 50 euros, 27.60 euros for children of Turkish nationality, and free on proof of SGB II, SGB XII or AsylbLG benefits. Processing takes about four weeks.

One caution: people widely repeat that the application has a six-month deadline from the birth. We found no official page stating it, so we will not print it here as fact. Apply as soon as you have the birth certificate and the child passport, and ask your own Ausländerbehörde what applies there — fees and procedures are municipal and differ between cities.

The order, in short

1. the hospital notifies the Standesamt · collect the Geburtsurkunde in several copies
2. first weeks: add the child to the health insurance — cover runs from the day of birth
3. within three months: Elterngeld — the tightest deadline
4. within six months: Kindergeld
5. if needed: Kinderzuschlag, and possibly Wohngeld
6. for non-German parents: the child residence permit
7. the child tax number arrives by post automatically

Questions and answers

What is the deadline for applying for Elterngeld?
It is backdated for only three months of the child life. Apply within the first three months.

What is the deadline for Kindergeld?
It is backdated for six calendar months before the application arrives.

How much is Kindergeld in 2026?
259 euros a month per child, since 1 January 2026.

When does a newborn health cover start?
On the day of birth, not the day of application — but the application is made after the birth, with the certificate.

Is the family insurance really free?
Yes, with no contribution and no Zusatzbeitrag.

Does the child need registering at the residents office?
No. The Standesamt notifies it automatically.

How long is maternity protection?
Six weeks before the birth and eight after, extended to twelve after a premature or multiple birth.

Will my foreign marriage certificate be accepted as it is?
No. It needs a translation by a translator sworn in Germany, and usually an Apostille or legalisation — which takes weeks, so start early.

The figures above are correct as at 4 September 2026, taken from familienportal.de, the federal family ministry, the employment agency leaflets and the health insurers own pages. Fees and procedures at the Standesamt and the Ausländerbehörde are municipal and differ between cities — ask yours.