Cooperation plan instead of the integration agreement
Jobcenter · Potential assessment and cooperation plan under § 15 SGB II
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Jobcenter · Potential assessment and cooperation plan under § 15 SGB II
The integration agreement, which many persons entitled to benefits will still remember from the time before Bürgergeld (citizen's benefit), no longer exists. It was abolished on 1 July 2023; since then, § 15 of Book Two of the Social Code (SGB II) has carried the official heading “Potential assessment and cooperation plan”. So if you receive an invitation from your Jobcenter today, it is not about an agreement for you to sign, but about a jointly developed plan that, under § 15 Abs. 3 SGB II, you are handed in text form.
The difference is not merely one of wording. The integration agreement was a contract under public law that, if it was not concluded, was replaced by an integration administrative act. The cooperation plan, by contrast, is drawn up jointly, and the law expressly requires only text form for it. Unilaterally binding obligations arise only under § 15a SGB II: under this provision, the employment agency (Agentur für Arbeit) can require you, by written administrative act, to make personal efforts, to take up or continue reasonable work, training or an employment relationship funded under § 16e SGB II, or to take part in a measure, an integration course under § 43 AufenthG or occupation-related German language support under § 45a AufenthG. This requires that you fail, without good reason, to attend a meeting to which you have been invited (§ 15a Abs. 1), fail to carry out the steps set out in the plan (§ 15a Abs. 2), or that a cooperation plan is not agreed or cannot be updated (§ 15a Abs. 3). An existing cooperation plan must be taken into account when this administrative act is issued.
The next reform came into force on 1 July 2026. By law, Bürgergeld is now called Grundsicherungsgeld (basic income support benefit for jobseekers; § 19 Abs. 1 SGB II), priority of placement applies again – it is checked first whether immediate placement into work is possible, with qualification and further training taking a back seat – and parents' obligation to work now begins once the child has completed its 14th month of life, instead of at the age of three as before (§ 10 Abs. 1 Nr. 3 SGB II). For the cooperation plan, this means that placement goals take priority, and the question of childcare becomes relevant much earlier.
Older guides, and even letters from individual Jobcenter offices, still refer to an “integration agreement”. In that case, check what you actually have in front of you: a cooperation plan under § 15 SGB II, which is drawn up jointly, or an administrative act under § 15a SGB II with a Rechtsbehelfsbelehrung (instructions on legal remedies). This page explains the complete process, the documents, the coverage of costs and the benefit reductions you actually face if you breach your obligations. If you first need to clarify your entitlement to benefits, you will find the details under Applying for Grundsicherungsgeld and Continuation application; if an official notice (Bescheid) imposing a reduction has already been issued, Objecting to a sanction will help you further.
There is no nationwide application form for the potential assessment and cooperation plan – you do not submit an application, but are invited instead. What matters is that you bring everything to the meeting that can provide evidence of your abilities, your limitations and your efforts so far. Anything you cannot prove will simply not be taken into account in the plan.
The procedure begins with a written invitation from the Jobcenter. Under § 15 Abs. 4 SGB II, the first meeting to draw up the potential assessment and cooperation plan takes place in person at the Jobcenter; a different form is only permitted in justified exceptional cases, for example where immobility has been proven. If you cannot attend the appointment, cancel it beforehand by phone or in writing and submit proof of the good reason – for example a medical certificate – without delay. Allow around 45 to 60 minutes for the meeting, depending on the Jobcenter, and make use of your right to be accompanied by a person you trust.
Under § 15 Abs. 1 SGB II, the employment agency determines, without delay and together with you, the personal characteristics, professional abilities and suitability required for integration into training or work. This covers professional experience, qualifications, language skills, mobility, health-related capacity to work, and childcare and care responsibilities. There is no statutory processing period; in practice the assessment takes place at the initial meeting or over a few consecutive appointments. Have the result read out to you and have any incorrect or incomplete information corrected immediately, because all the goals and obligations of the cooperation plan are built on it.
Immediately after the potential assessment, the employment agency, in agreement with the municipal institution, draws up the cooperation plan together with you (§ 15 Abs. 2 SGB II). It contains a personal offer of advice, support or placement and sets out the integration goal in plain language. It also specifies which jobs or training you are to be placed in, which personal efforts are required, which integration benefits may be considered, whether an integration course or occupation-related German language support makes sense, whether benefits from other institutions are included, and whether steps are taken to encourage applications for participation benefits under § 5 SGB IX. The needs of persons with disabilities must be appropriately taken into account. Put forward your own proposals and insist that the Jobcenter's commitments are also recorded in writing in the plan.
Under § 15 Abs. 3 SGB II, you receive the cooperation plan in text form, that is on paper, as a PDF, or via the jobcenter.digital inbox. Take your time to check three points: are the required personal efforts specific and realistic in number, form and deadline? Are the promised benefits actually included? Are your health and family limitations correctly recorded? The law requires text form for the plan, not your signature – you can ask for changes and have a differing view recorded. If necessary, take the draft home with you and ask in writing for it to be corrected.
Carry out the personal efforts, start any measures you have been assigned, and attend all reporting appointments. Submit the proof in the agreed form and within the agreed deadline, and obtain a receipt for the submission or send it in a way that can be proven. Since 1 July 2026, priority of placement applies again: it is checked first whether immediate placement into work is possible, and only then are qualification and further training considered. Report changes – illness, a move, taking up work, pregnancy, a need for care – immediately, because otherwise the plan will continue on an outdated basis.
The cooperation plan is to be jointly updated and carried forward no later than every six months (§ 15 Abs. 3 SGB II). This involves comparing what has been achieved, which goals have changed, and which funding makes sense next. You do not have to wait for the six months: if your circumstances change, you can request a meeting to adjust the plan at any time. Also ask for the updated version again in text form.
If you fail, without good reason, to attend a meeting to which you have been invited, fail to carry out the steps set out in the plan, or if no cooperation plan is agreed at all, the employment agency requires you, by written administrative act, to carry out the necessary acts of cooperation. For personal efforts, this administrative act must, under § 15a Abs. 4 SGB II, expressly specify which specific efforts are to be made, how often, and in what form and by what deadline they are to be proven; the frequency and deadline must be reasonable. An existing cooperation plan must be taken into account. Unlike the plan, this administrative act can be challenged – check the Rechtsbehelfsbelehrung and observe the deadline stated there.
The procedure itself is free of charge: under § 64 Abs. 1 SGB X, the administrative procedure under the Social Code is free of charge. Money flows in two directions here – the Jobcenter can cover application, travel and further training costs, and it must reduce the Grundsicherungsgeld if a breach of obligation or a repeated failure to report is established.
| Benefit or legal consequence | Amount / legal basis |
|---|---|
| Potential assessment, cooperation plan, advice | Free of charge (§ 64 Abs. 1 SGB X) |
| Application costs (postage, folders, photos) | Can be covered on application – discretionary benefit from the placement budget (§ 16 Abs. 1 SGB II in conjunction with § 44 SGB III) |
| Travel costs to interviews and measures | Can be covered on application; the amount and flat rates are set by the competent Jobcenter |
| Further training and qualification | Can be funded (discretionary); priority of placement applies from 1 July 2026 |
| First breach of obligation (§ 31 SGB II) | −30% of the relevant standard needs = €168.90 on €563 (§ 31a Abs. 1 Satz 1 SGB II) |
| Duration of the reduction | 3 months = up to €506.70 in total (§ 31b Abs. 2 Satz 1 SGB II) |
| Repeated breaches of obligation or failures to report | A maximum of 30% in total (§ 31a Abs. 4 Satz 1 SGB II) |
| Repeated failure to report (§ 32 SGB II) | −30% for one month; the first failure has no consequences |
| Three consecutive failures to report | Loss of entitlement to benefits due to unreachability (§ 7b Abs. 4 SGB II) |
| Costs of accommodation and heating | Are not affected by a reduction; if the entitlement is calculated to be nil, Grundsicherungsgeld of €1 per month is awarded (§ 31a Abs. 4 Satz 2 and 3 SGB II) |
Important regarding funding: application and travel costs are discretionary benefits, not an automatic entitlement. Always submit the application before the costs are incurred, and have the approval given to you in writing – receipts submitted afterwards are usually rejected. Whether your Jobcenter settles costs individually or works with an annual flat rate, and how high this is, is not regulated uniformly nationwide and depends on the competent Jobcenter. Ask about this point directly during the meeting on the cooperation plan and have the commitment recorded in the plan.
The amounts of the reduction are always calculated from the relevant standard needs under § 20 SGB II, not from the total payment amount. For a single person with standard needs of €563, 30% therefore means €168.90 per month; for other standard needs rates, the amount is correspondingly lower. Additional needs allowances and the costs of accommodation remain unaffected by the reduction.
Consequence: Anyone relying on a tiered model with a warning and 10% will be caught out by surprise at the first reduction. § 31a Abs. 1 Satz 1 SGB II provides for 30% of the relevant standard needs already on the first breach of obligation – €168.90 per month on €563 – and § 31b Abs. 2 Satz 1 SGB II provides for a duration of three months. Over the whole period, that means up to €506.70 is missing.
Consequence: A repeated failure to report results, under § 32 SGB II, in a 30% reduction of the relevant standard needs for one month. It hits you considerably harder the third time: anyone who, despite the notice of legal consequences, fails to comply with three consecutive reporting requests without good reason is deemed, under § 7b Abs. 4 SGB II, to be unreachable. The entitlement to benefits lapses; for one calendar month, Grundsicherungsgeld is only provided without the benefits covering standard needs, and after that it lapses until the end of the approval period – unless you report in person at the Jobcenter beforehand.
Consequence: Without evidence, the reason is deemed not to have been proven and the reduction is established. In § 31 Abs. 1 and § 32 Abs. 1 Satz 2 SGB II, the law expressly requires both setting out and proving the reason. A phone call to the caseworker does not replace a medical certificate; send the proof in a traceable way, by email, inbox (Postfach) or Einwurf-Einschreiben (registered letter delivered to the recipient's letterbox).
Consequence: Dropping out of, or not starting, a reasonable measure, an integration course or occupation-related German language support is a breach of obligation under § 31 Abs. 1 SGB II and leads to a 30% reduction for three months. Raise problems – being overwhelmed, illness, childcare, bullying in the course – beforehand with your integration specialist and have an adjustment to the cooperation plan examined.
Consequence: Under § 10 Abs. 1 SGB II, in principle any work is reasonable, and since 1 July 2026 priority of placement applies again. A refusal on the grounds of it being “beneath your level” is therefore not a recognised reason and is treated as a refusal under § 31 Abs. 1 SGB II. Only rely on the statutory exceptions and prove them, for example with a medical certificate regarding your capacity to work.
Consequence: § 31 Abs. 1 SGB II links the breach of obligation to the lack of proof, not to the lack of an application – anyone who has applied but cannot prove it is in the same position as someone who did nothing. Keep an ongoing list with the date, employer and outcome, and keep confirmations of receipt, rejections and screenshots. Submit the proof in the form and within the deadline specified in the plan or the administrative act.
Consequence: If the deadline stated in the Rechtsbehelfsbelehrung expires, the notice becomes final and the reduction remains in place, even if it was flawed. In particular, check the notice of legal consequences, the good reason, the case of hardship under § 31a Abs. 3 SGB II, and the six-month deadline under § 31b Abs. 1 Satz 3 SGB II. For how to proceed, see Objecting to a sanction.
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