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Request your Versicherungsverlauf

Deutsche Rentenversicherung · Overview of all periods

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The Versicherungsverlauf (insurance history) is the complete list of all periods stored in your pension account: contribution periods, credited periods, child-raising periods, education periods, unemployment and care periods. It is the basis of every pension calculation – and therefore the document on which errors show up first.

Under § 149 SGB VI, the pension insurance scheme must inform you regularly about the stored social data that is relevant to your pension entitlements. You receive the history with the Renteninformation (annual pension information), can retrieve it at any time via the eServices or request it in writing – in every case free of charge.

What matters is not the requesting but the checking. Anyone who files the history away unchecked risks the six-year rule: data not yet determined that is more than six calendar years old is determined with binding effect if you do not lodge an objection (Widerspruch) within six calendar months. A silently accepted error thus becomes a final determination.

Last updated26 August 2026
Legal basis§ 149 SGB VI · § 109
VerificationChecked against gesetze-im-internet.de and the Deutsche Rentenversicherung
Written and reviewed byAndrés Sánchez Botta
Independent information site: We are not the Deutsche Rentenversicherung, not an authority and not a paid advisory service — we do not submit applications on your behalf. All information comes from official sources and is explained here in plain terms; the competent body is always authoritative. The Versicherungsverlauf reflects the data on record and does not replace a pension calculation. 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.
CostsFree of chargeOnline and on paper
Online immediatelyDirectly availableBy post around 1–2 weeks
Time to object6 monthsOtherwise the data is determined
RenteninformationFrom 27, annuallyRentenauskunft every 3 years from 55
Required documents

What you need

Pension insurance number

The only mandatory piece of information for a request. It is stated on the Versicherungsnummernachweis (proof of your pension insurance number), on every Renteninformation, on every Rentenbescheid (pension notice) and on your payslip. Without it, the account cannot be matched.

Access to the eServices

For online retrieval you need an account with the Deutsche Rentenversicherung’s eServices. You can log in with the electronic identity card (eID) or with access data sent to you by post. Online, you receive the history immediately instead of after several days.

Identity card for identification

For requests at an advice centre or when activating the online services. The Versicherungsverlauf contains social data and is only issued to the entitled person themselves – or to a person with a written power of attorney.

Your own documents for comparison

The actual working material. Get references from employers, training contracts, enrolment certificates, children's birth certificates, and unemployment benefit notices ready. Without this comparison, the history is just a sheet of paper.

Step by step

How to proceed

  1. 1

    Request the history

    The fastest way is online via the eServices, where the Versicherungsverlauf is available for immediate retrieval. Alternatively, request it by phone via the nationwide service number, in writing or in person at an information and advisory office; dispatch then usually takes one to two weeks. In every case it is free of charge.

  2. 2

    Go through it line by line

    Check the history chronologically from your first employment to today. Watch for two things: missing periods and periods that are wrongly classified. School and study periods, months of training, child-raising, care, military or civilian service, and short periods of employment are often not recorded at all, or only incompletely.

  3. 3

    Name and document the gaps

    For each missing period, note what you were doing at the time and look for the matching evidence. Request missing certificates early from schools, universities, former employers, health insurance funds, or the employment agency – this step takes the longest.

  4. 4

    Respond within six months

    Object to incorrect entries in good time. If you do not respond for six calendar months, data not yet determined that is more than six calendar years old is determined with binding effect – including errors. An informal letter is enough to start with.

  5. 5

    Initiate a Kontenklärung

    If there are gaps, apply for a Kontenklärung (account clarification) using form V0100 or online. For child-raising periods the separate form V0800 is provided. The pension insurance scheme then checks the entire history and adds the evidenced periods.

  6. 6

    Repeat it regularly

    Request the history again every few years, especially after the birth of a child, periods of care, longer unemployment, or a stay abroad. This keeps the account up to date and makes the later pension application straightforward.

Fee information

Costs and payment

The Versicherungsverlauf is free of chargeOnline, by phone, in writing, and in person
Retrieval via the eServicesFree of charge
Mailing by postFree of charge
Renteninformation from 27Free of charge, annually
Rentenauskunft from 55Free of charge, every 3 years
AdviceFree of charge
Subsequent KontenklärungFree of charge

No fees arise for the Versicherungsverlauf in any variant – neither for the online retrieval nor for dispatch by post, nor for the Kontenklärung that follows it. The Renteninformation and the Rentenauskunft under § 109 SGB VI are also sent free of charge and unprompted. Costs can arise only indirectly if you need to reorder certificates for the comparison, for example birth certificates from the Standesamt (registry office) for around €10 to €15. Paid third-party offers that promise a “request for the pension account” for a fee are unnecessary.

Good to know

Important notes

A history is not the same as a calculation. The Versicherungsverlauf lists periods but does not calculate a pension amount. A projection is only included in the Renteninformation, and a detailed calculation in the Rentenauskunft from age 55.

The six-year rule is the real reason to check it. Under § 149 Abs. 5 SGB VI, data not yet determined that is more than six calendar years old is determined by notice if you do not object within six calendar months. Silence makes errors final.

Renteninformation from 27, Rentenauskunft from 55. Under § 109 SGB VI, insured persons receive a Renteninformation every year from the age of 27; once they have reached the age of 55, it is replaced every three years by the more detailed Rentenauskunft.

Online is immediate. Via the eServices the history is available straight away, while the postal route takes one to two weeks. To log in, the electronic identity card or access data sent by post is enough.

Watch for periods wrongly classified, not just for gaps. Employment recorded merely as a credited period, or a wrongly assigned child-raising period, does not stand out when flicking through quickly, but has a direct effect on waiting periods and earnings points.

Even minor periods matter. Short periods of employment and individual contribution months can decide whether a waiting period of 35 or 45 years is met – and therefore whether deductions of four figures a year apply.

The history contains social data. It is only issued to the insured person themselves or to authorised representatives with written power of attorney. Even relatives cannot obtain it as a matter of course.

Keep old histories. Older printouts help to trace changes and serve as evidence that a period was once recorded differently. That can be decisive in objection proceedings.

Avoid these mistakes

Common mistakes

Filing the history away unchecked. The most common and most consequential mistake. After six calendar months without an objection, data more than six calendar years old is determined with binding effect – errors included.

Only watching for gaps. Periods wrongly classified are just as costly as missing ones. Check not only whether a period is recorded, but also as what.

Checking without your own documents. A history cannot be checked from memory. Without references, contracts, and certificates for comparison, you overlook exactly the periods that are missing.

Treating the Renteninformation as the history. The Renteninformation contains a projection but not necessarily the complete list of all periods. For the check, you need the Versicherungsverlauf itself.

Requesting it only shortly before retirement. By then there is no time left to obtain evidence – especially not for periods abroad, clarifying which can take a year or longer.

Paying for the request. The Versicherungsverlauf is free of charge in every variant. Paid brokering offers provide nothing that you cannot handle yourself in a few minutes.

Frequently asked questions

Questions and answers

What is stated in the Versicherungsverlauf?

All periods stored in your pension account: compulsory contribution periods from employment and self-employment, voluntary contributions, credited periods such as school, study, illness and unemployment, child-raising periods, periods taken into account (Berücksichtigungszeiten) and periods of care. It shows what is stored – but it does not calculate a pension amount.

How do I request the Versicherungsverlauf?

The fastest way is online via the Deutsche Rentenversicherung's eServices, where it is available immediately. Alternatively by phone via the nationwide service number, in writing or in person at an information and advisory office – the postal route usually takes one to two weeks. Essentially, all you need is your pension insurance number.

What does the Versicherungsverlauf cost?

Nothing. Neither the online retrieval nor dispatch by post costs anything, nor does the Renteninformation, the Rentenauskunft or the subsequent Kontenklärung. Paid third-party offers that promise a request for a fee are unnecessary.

Why do I need to check the history?

Because of the six-year rule in § 149 Abs. 5 SGB VI: data not yet determined that is more than six calendar years old is determined conclusively by a Feststellungsbescheid (notice of determination) if you do not object within six calendar months. Anyone who files the history away unchecked thereby also lets incorrect or missing entries become final.

What should I watch for when checking?

Two things. First, gaps: periods with no entry at all, typically school, study, training, child-raising, care, military or civilian service, unemployment, and stays abroad. Second, periods wrongly classified – for example employment recorded as a mere credited period. Both have a direct effect on waiting periods and earnings points.

What is the difference from the Renteninformation and Rentenauskunft?

The Versicherungsverlauf lists the stored periods. The Renteninformation additionally contains a projection of the expected pension and, under § 109 SGB VI, is sent every year from the age of 27. From the age of 55, the more detailed Rentenauskunft takes its place every three years.

What do I do if periods are missing?

Apply for a Kontenklärung using form V0100 or online via the eServices and enclose the evidence. For child-raising periods the separate form V0800 is provided. The pension insurance scheme then checks the entire history and adds the evidenced periods. Act quickly – evidence becomes harder to obtain over the years.

Do relatives also receive the history?

No. The Versicherungsverlauf contains social data and is issued exclusively to the insured person themselves. Other persons need written power of attorney; in the case of a legal guardianship (Betreuung), the guardian’s certificate of appointment (Betreuerausweis) must be presented.

Related official procedures

Account clarification (Kontenklärung)
Have gaps added afterwards
Free of charge
Rentenauskunft
Detailed calculation from 55
Free of charge
Child-raising periods
Most common missing period
Free of charge

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