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Apply for Berufsausbildungsbeihilfe (BAB)

Agentur für Arbeit · grant during an apprenticeship

OnlineGrant

The Berufsausbildungsbeihilfe is a grant from the Agentur für Arbeit for apprentices in a workplace-based apprenticeship whose pay is not enough to cover their own living costs. It does not have to be repaid – unlike the loan portion of BAföG (federal training assistance for students and school pupils).

The decisive hurdle is not the money but your living situation. Under § 60 SGB III BAB is generally only paid if you live away from your parents' household and the training company cannot be reached from your parents' home within a reasonable time. There are exceptions to this rule, however, that many people overlook – more on that below.

We deliberately avoid a simple statement about the amount: there is no fixed maximum amount. The need is made up of several items, from which your apprenticeship pay and – depending on your age and situation – your parents' income are deducted. Two apprentices with identical pay can therefore receive completely different amounts. Anyone who gives you a simple figure is guessing.

On timing, the otherwise strict advance rule of this authority does not apply here. § 324 Abs. 2 SGB III expressly allows an application after the event. However, § 325 Abs. 1 SGB III limits the retroactive effect: BAB is paid at the earliest from the start of the month in which it was applied for. Crossing into a new month therefore costs a whole month.

Last updated27 August 2026
Legal basis§ 56 SGB III · § 60 · § 61 · § 324 Abs. 2 · § 325 Abs. 1
VerificationChecked against gesetze-im-internet.de
Written and reviewed byAndrés Sánchez Botta
Independent information site: we are not the Agentur für Arbeit, not an authority and not a paid advice service — we do not submit applications on your behalf. All information comes from official sources and is explained here in simple terms; the competent authority always has the final say. The amount of BAB is calculated individually; only the notice (Bescheid) from the Agentur für Arbeit is binding. All information is provided without guarantee. We are neither lawyers nor tax consultants: we document administrative procedures and check the information against the official source — this is information, not legal or tax advice.
AmountIndividualNo fixed maximum amount
RepaymentNoneA pure grant
RequirementUsually living away from homeWith exceptions
Retroactive effectFrom the start of the monthOf the application month
Required documents

What you need

Apprenticeship contract

Proof of your workplace-based apprenticeship, with its start, duration and agreed apprenticeship pay. This pay is the most important deduction in the calculation: it is set against your assessed need.

Tenancy agreement or proof of accommodation

The key piece of evidence, because § 60 SGB III generally requires accommodation away from home. The tenancy agreement also shows the cold rent and utility costs, which feed into your assessed need – up to a maximum amount for accommodation.

Proof of your parents' income

Usually the income tax assessment notice for the second-to-last calendar year. This surprises many people: it is not your parents' current income that counts. If it has fallen significantly since then – for example due to unemployment, illness or retirement – you can apply to have it updated so the new figure counts instead.

Evidence for the exceptions under § 60

If you stay living in your parents' home and still want BAB: proof of having turned 18, of marriage or a registered civil partnership, or of having your own child. Each of these situations replaces the requirement to live away from home.

Information about your journey to work

The distance and travel time between your parents' home and the training company, as well as the vocational school. From this, the agency checks whether the company could be reached from home within a reasonable time – the point on which most applications succeed or fail.

Your own bank account

BAB is paid to you monthly, not to the company and not to your parents. An account in your own name is therefore required.

Step by step

How to proceed

  1. 1

    Calculate in advance with the BAB calculator

    The Bundesagentur provides an official BAB calculator. It is non-binding but shows whether an entitlement is realistic at all and roughly what amount you can expect. Because there is no fixed maximum amount, this is the only reliable way to get a figure.

  2. 2

    Honestly check your living situation

    Under § 60 SGB III, BAB generally requires that you do not live in your parents' household. First check whether one of the exceptions applies: having turned 18, being married or in a civil partnership, having an own child – or whether serious personal circumstances speak against living with your parents.

  3. 3

    Apply within the current month

    Do not wait at the start of your apprenticeship until all documents are complete. § 325 Abs. 1 SGB III pays retroactively at the earliest from the start of the application month. Anyone who applies on the 30th gets the whole month; anyone who waits until the 1st of the following month loses the previous month entirely. The application can also be submitted incomplete – documents can be provided later.

  4. 4

    Get proof of income

    Your parents' tax assessment notice for the second-to-last calendar year is usually the bottleneck. Request it early. If their income has fallen significantly since then, explicitly apply for an update to the current year – otherwise the agency will calculate using an income that no longer exists.

  5. 5

    Submit online or in person

    The application is submitted via the Bundesagentur's eServices or in person at the agency responsible for the district where your place of training is located. Keep the confirmation of receipt – it proves the application month, on which the retroactive effect depends.

  6. 6

    Check the notice and report changes

    Check the assessed need, the pay taken into account and your parents' income as factored in. You can lodge an objection (Widerspruch) free of charge within one month against any errors. You must report changes in rent, pay or your parents' income – including those that work in your favour.

Fee information

Costs and payment

Amount and timingWhy we don't give a figure here
ApplicationFree of charge
RepaymentNone
Fixed maximum amountDoes not exist
DeductedPay, parents' income
Parents' income fromThe second-to-last calendar year
Retroactive effectFrom the start of the application month

Catchy figures for the amount of BAB circulate online. We deliberately give none, because there is no fixed maximum amount: the grant results from an individually assessed need – accommodation, living costs, travel costs, and childcare where applicable – from which your apprenticeship pay and, depending on your age and situation, your parents' income are deducted. Two apprentices with identical pay can therefore receive very different amounts, or one may get nothing at all. Only the agency can calculate the binding amount; a reliable advance estimate is only given by the Bundesagentur's official BAB calculator. For your parents' income, the second-to-last calendar year generally counts – if it has fallen significantly since then, explicitly apply for the update. And on timing: unlike with the Bildungsgutschein (education voucher) or the start-up grant, the advance rule in § 324 Abs. 1 SGB III does not apply here. § 324 Abs. 2 allows an application after the event, but § 325 Abs. 1 limits it to the start of the month of application. An application on the 30th secures the whole month; two days later, that month is lost. So submit the application incomplete rather than late.

Good to know

Important notes

Better incomplete than a month late. § 325 Abs. 1 SGB III pays retroactively at the earliest from the start of the application month. Missing documents can be provided later, but a month that has passed cannot.

Exceptionally, the advance rule of § 324 Abs. 1 does not apply here. For the Bildungsgutschein, AVGS or start-up grant, an application made after the event is fatal. For BAB and Ausbildungsgeld, § 324 Abs. 2 expressly allows it – just with the monthly limit of § 325 Abs. 1.

Few people know about the exceptions under § 60. Even someone living with their parents can have an entitlement: having turned 18, being married or in a civil partnership, having an own child – or if serious personal circumstances speak against living in the parental home.

Your parents' second-to-last calendar year is what counts. Not their current income. If it has fallen significantly since then, apply for the update – otherwise the agency calculates with figures that are out of date.

BAB is not apprenticeship pay and not a loan. It is not repaid and is not deducted by the company. It supplements the pay, it does not replace it.

BAB and BAföG are mutually exclusive. BAB is for workplace-based apprenticeships, BAföG for school and university. A school-based training course therefore does not fall under BAB – check Schüler-BAföG (pupils' BAföG) there instead.

Report changes immediately. New rent, changed pay, moving back in with your parents: all of this affects your entitlement. Unreported changes lead to repayment demands that add up over months.

For people with disabilities, there is Ausbildungsgeld. It follows its own rules, but is covered by the same provision on application timing – here too, § 324 Abs. 2 in conjunction with § 325 Abs. 1.

Avoid these mistakes

Common mistakes

Letting the application sit until the month changes. The most expensive and most common mistake. Because § 325 Abs. 1 SGB III only applies retroactively from the start of the application month, a single day's delay across a month-end costs an entire month.

Waiting until all documents are ready. The application secures the month, not completeness. Submit the tax assessment notice and tenancy agreement later.

Assuming BAB only applies if you have your own flat. That is the standard case, but § 60 SGB III has exceptions – being 18 or over, marriage or civil partnership, an own child, or serious personal circumstances. Many therefore needlessly forgo applying.

Giving your parents' current income instead of the relevant one. The calculation is generally based on the second-to-last calendar year. Anyone who doesn't explicitly apply for the update after an income drop gets too little.

Taking a figure found online at face value. There is no fixed maximum amount. Anyone who plans around someone else's figure miscalculates – use the official BAB calculator.

Not reporting changes. Moving, new pay, changed parental income: if this is not reported, the repayment demand often arrives only after many months – and then as a lump sum.

Frequently asked questions

Questions and answers

How much is BAB?

This cannot be stated as a flat figure, and we deliberately give none: there is no fixed maximum amount. The grant results from an individually assessed need – accommodation, living costs, travel, and childcare where applicable – from which your apprenticeship pay and, depending on your age and situation, your parents' income are deducted. Two apprentices with the same pay can therefore receive completely different amounts. Only the Bundesagentur's official BAB calculator gives a reliable estimate.

Do I have to repay BAB?

No. The Berufsausbildungsbeihilfe is a pure grant with no loan portion – unlike BAföG, which is partly repaid. Repayment is only demanded for amounts wrongly paid, for example because a change in rent, pay or parental income was not reported.

Do I get BAB if I live with my parents?

Generally not – § 60 SGB III requires you to live outside your parents' household and for the company not to be reachable from there within a reasonable time. There are exceptions, though, which are often overlooked: if you have turned 18, if you are married or in a civil partnership, if you have an own child, or if serious personal circumstances speak against living with your parents. An application is therefore worthwhile even if you live at home.

Can I apply for BAB retroactively?

Yes, but only to a limited extent – and this is the most important deadline on this page. § 324 Abs. 2 SGB III expressly allows an application after the event for BAB and Ausbildungsgeld; the otherwise strict advance rule of § 324 Abs. 1, on which the Bildungsgutschein and start-up grant founder, therefore does not apply here. However, § 325 Abs. 1 SGB III limits the retroactive effect: BAB is paid at the earliest from the start of the month in which it was applied for. An application on the 30th secures the whole month, while an application on the 1st of the following month forfeits the previous month entirely. So submit the application incomplete rather than late.

Which of my parents' income counts?

Generally that of the second-to-last calendar year, proven by the income tax assessment notice – not their current income. If it has fallen significantly since then, for example due to unemployment, illness, separation or retirement, you can apply for an update to the current year. This must be done explicitly; the agency otherwise calculates using the old notice.

What is the difference between BAB and BAföG?

The type of training decides. BAB is paid by the Agentur für Arbeit for a workplace-based apprenticeship; BAföG is for school and university. Both at once is excluded. A second, practically important difference: BAB is a pure grant, while with BAföG for students a portion usually has to be repaid as a loan.

Do I also get BAB for a school-based training course?

No. The Berufsausbildungsbeihilfe requires a workplace-based apprenticeship. For school-based training, Schüler-BAföG (pupils' BAföG) is available instead, administered by the relevant Amt für Ausbildungsförderung (BAföG office). Check there before submitting a BAB application that has no chance of success.

What do I have to report during my apprenticeship?

Anything that changes your assessed need or the income taken into account: moving, changed rent, an increase in apprenticeship pay, a change of employer, breaking off or interrupting the apprenticeship, and changes in your parents' income. These are often not reported because they seem unfavourable – the repayment demand then comes later and as a lump sum. Also report changes that work in your favour; nothing is increased retroactively otherwise.

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