To help you find answers to your questions about BAföG quickly and easily, we have compiled all the tips and information you need on this page. Click through and find out everything from 'How to apply' to topics like 'Health insurance' and beyond.
You can now apply online at www.bafoeg-digital.de!
Please excuse the fact that the linked forms and documents are not fully translated into english. If you need help understanding them, please contact your advisor.
For the BAföG calculation, the parents' proof of income (usually: income tax assessment) from the year before last is required. If parents do not yet have this, they can alternatively fill in a supplementary declaration with the relevant figures.
Submit your application for educational support (by email to bafoeg@kstw.de or bafoeg-digital.de) as early as possible.
In Form 1, you will be asked about your assets. By assets, the BAföG office is referring to all assets (including negative ones!) that you have in accounts, savings accounts, building society savings contracts and investments that are in your name or have been invested for you. If you own a car or a motorcycle (the decisive factor is who is named as the owner in the vehicle registration document!) or e.g. real estate or land, this also counts as assets. The exemption limit is €15,000 for under 30 year olds and €45,000 for over 30 year olds.
New + practical: If your total assets are less than €10,000, you can use the “Simplified assessment of assets” form and do not need to submit any proof!
Anyone who receives benefits from the state (and BAföG is one of them) has rights and obligations. One of your duties is to always and immediately inform the state of your new address by sending the new tenancy agreement - even if you are moving abroad (again) - preferably by e-mail to bafoeg@kstw.de.
What does your change of subject have to do with BAföG? It is possible to receive BAföG funding for your new course of study from the first semester onwards if you change after the 1st, 2nd or 3rd semester. If you change later, you will need an important or irrefutable reason - ask our BAföG experts for advice and make an appointment with your advisor.
If you already have children yourself or have a child during your studies, we will help you financially with €160 more BAföG per month, higher income limits for you and extended funding beyond the standard period of study. Make an appointment now and consult us.
Who is responsible for you at the BAföG office? This is categorized by university and surname. You can find out who this is for you when you make an appointment.
➜ You can make an appointment here
Send us an email to bafoeg@kstw.de with your telephone number (your personal “Funding number” in the subject line). If you do not yet have a funding number, be sure to state the university at which you are studying. This is the only way we can assign your email correctly.
You are entitled to BAföG funding from the month in which you submit your application, at the earliest from the start of your studies. For example, if you submit your application in July and your studies start in October, you are entitled to BAföG from October and it will be paid out at the end of September. However, if you only submit the application in November, you will lose your entitlement to funding for the month of October. Your entitlement to BAföG will then only begin in November.So be smart and submit your first application and Follow-up application 2 months before the start of your studies or before the end of the current approval period.
When calculating BAföG, allowances are deducted from your parents' income if the family (parents, siblings, yourself) has a degree of disability (from 30%). This consideration increases your funding amount!
The payment of the funding always takes place at the end of the month for the next month, e.g. at the end of September for the month of October. Why? So that you can pay your rent on time, which is due at the beginning of the month!
If you submit your BAföG application on time and the processing is completed, you will receive the first payment shortly before the month in which your studies begin (e.g. end of August for TH students, end of September for Uni, HfMT, SpoHo students).
Important: The payment is made for all students in NRW via the Landeskasse Düsseldorf, i.e. not by the individual BAföG office.
If you want to drop out of your studies, you must let us know immediately - we will advise you on the best way to proceed.
Do you have German citizenship or legal residence status according to §8 BAföG, a university entrance qualification, no completed degree (exception: Bachelor-Master combination) and are under 45 years of age? Then you are most likely eligible for BAföG. Make an appointment now and let us advise you.
New from winter semester 24/25: All students may receive BAföG for one semester longer than before (in Bachelor or Master) without giving reasons.
The follow-up application is super easy for you: Just fill out Form 9 (one page) and submit the certificate of enrollment. You do not need to provide any other proof. Your parents submit Form 3 and proof of income for the year before last.
If you have to pay for your own health insurance (usually from the age of 25), BAföG will also help you financially. If you submit proof, you will either receive the fixed rate of €122/month for health and long-term care insurance on top of BAföG or the individual amount, if you are over 30 or privately insured, up to €233.
The BAföG calculation does not look at how much your rent is, but pays a set amount of €380/month if you do not live with your parents. You will also receive this if you pay less rent or none at all!
The parents' proof of income (only natural and adoptive parents!). Step-parents are not relevant for the calculation) and the husband or wife must provide official proof. These are, for example, the income tax assessment, the income tax statement, the December salary statement, the pension statement, proof from the employment office or job centre. The income from the year before last is required for the calculation (e.g. from 2022 if you submit an application in 2024). If your income is lower today, you must also submit an update application.
Update your application using Form 7. | Download (PDF)
Parents should also give more information in accordance with § 24 II (see attachment to form 3). Only parents who haven't yet submitted their tax return for the previous year to the tax office, or whose tax assessment is "contestable", must complete this extra declaration. Ask your parents if one of these two situations applies to them.
Parents should complete a supplementary declaration (see § 24 II, attachment to form 3). You can download the form as a PDF.
We also take your income into account while you are in the approval period. In just 12 months, you could earn €6,672 extra (€5,240 for the self-employed, freelancers and people who work in trades) and you won't have to pay anything back to BAföG. Just tell us how much you expect to earn when you apply. If this changes (goes up), you must tell the BAföG office. When the approval period ends, you must send all your proof of income for that period to the BAföG office.
If you do an internship as part of your studies, whether it's voluntary or compulsory, you must tell the BAföG office by sending them a copy of the contract. They will then check if there is any payment and if it needs to be considered.
If you are planning to take a semester off, you must tell the BAföG office straight away. This is because BAföG says that you cannot get any funding during a break from your studies. If you don't tell the office, the money you paid for this semester will be taken back, with a deadline for payment of four weeks. You might also get a penalty for breaking the rules.
The BAföG office may support you for as long as the standard period of study for your degree program allows (see certificate of study). You exceed the standard period of study and still need funding?
The solution: the flexible semester (info above)
In addition, further funding is possible under certain conditions, e.g. after a semester abroad, during pregnancy, taking care of a child, committee work*, etc.
*Explaining committee work: If you officially work for a student committee such as the student council, → AStA. or similar during your studies, you can receive funding for 1-2 semesters longer because this work is recognized by the BAföG law as a reason for delaying your studies.
With the 29th BAföG reform, which will apply from the winter semester 2024/25, the rates and allowances have increased. The maximum funding (so-called maximum rate) for students who do not live with their parents and have to take out their own health insurance is currently €992 per month. If you have one child, it is €1,152. If you have family health insurance, you can receive €855 per month, and if you live at home €534. If you are over 30, you can receive up to €1,088 BAföG.
The so-called benefit notice will be sent to you at the beginning of your approval period and is usually valid for 12 months (see page 1 of the notice). If something changes during this period that affects the calculation (your income increases above 556 euros/month, you move out of home, your siblings' situation changes, your parents' income is updated, you have a child, etc.), you inform the BAföG office immediately and receive a recalculated notification.
You can find our opening hours in our contact overview.
You can also hand in your documents at the Infopoint.
If you have a total of 6 years of education and full-time employment before your studies or if you have already been in full-time employment for 5 years after the age of 18, you can be supported independently of your parents. Talk to us if you are unsure whether you meet these requirements.
If you become pregnant during your studies, we can help you with various benefits.
Only once during your studies - from the start of the 5th semester at the latest - does the BAföG office require a so-called “proof of performance” of the performance status at the end of the 4th semester in order to continue to support you. For most degree programs, the transcript of records is relevant, which must be stamped by the examination office. You can find out how many points you need to have achieved at the end of the 4th semester from the Examinations Office. Degree courses leading to a state examination require Form 5, which is issued by the Examinations Office.
In order to be able to pay you the housing allowance with BAföG, proof will be requested: The rental agreement or the registration confirmation. However, you do not need to copy all the pages of the tenancy agreement, just the most important ones ( rental parties, address, start of rental period, signatures).
The repayment of your part of the funding does not begin until 5 years after the end of the maximum funding period of your first degree and is handled by the Federal Office of Administration. The maximum repayment totals €10,010 and can either be made in installments of €130 per month or in one payment, which is eligible for further discounts.
To the → BAföG procedure of the Federal Office of Administration
The following applies to all BAföG recipients who received BAföG for the first time in the 2019 winter semester: anyone who is unable to repay the remaining portion of their BAföG funding within 20 years will have the entire (remaining) debt permanently waived.
The repeat application is super easy for you: just fill in Form 9 (one page) and submit the certificate of study. You do not need to provide any other proof. Your parents submit Form 3 and proof of income for the year before last.
Of the approximately 1,000 different scholarships available in Germany, only 13 exclude BAföG funding - all others can be applied for in parallel with BAföG. If you want to get a good overview, we recommend the website → e-fellows.net.
Siblings are very important so that your funding amount is as high as possible! Your parents should include all children (including stepchildren and foster children!) in Form 3, regardless of what they are doing and where they are: Daycare, school, training, studies, doctorate, FSJ, au pair or unemployed. It is not important whether they live with their parents or not - this only plays a role in the calculation later on. Only siblings who earn their living entirely on their own do not need to be entered on Form 3.
If you are married or get married during your studies, the BAföG calculation also includes proof of income from your spouse or registered partner and Form 3.
The BAföG law is complex. The professionals at the BAföG office will be happy to advise you. Arrange your individual consultation appointment for BAföG now - either in person on site or conveniently by phone!