Versorgungsamt procedures

Free application to the Versorgungsamt (online or in writing). Enclose medical findings. From GdB 50, you receive the pass with disability codes (Merkzeichen).

Two things. First, since 1 January 2026, the Versorgungsämter have transmitted a newly determined or changed GdB electronically to the Finanzamt — provided you have given your Steuer-ID and consented to the transmission. This automates the proof, not the deduction: you still have to claim the disability lump-sum allowance in your tax return. For notices issued before 2026, proof continues to rely on the notice or the pass. Second, since the sixth amending regulation to the Versorgungsmedizin-Verordnung (Medical Assessment Ordinance, VersMedV), in force since 3 October 2025, the benchmark has shifted: it is not the diagnosis that decides, but the concrete restriction of participation.

A personal contribution must be paid for the travel token, payable for either a full year or half a year. Ask the Versorgungsamt for the current amount: § 228 SGB IX — Social Code Book IX (Sozialgesetzbuch Neuntes Buch) — sets out a base amount that is adjusted periodically, so the figure printed in the statute need not be today’s figure. It is free of charge for the disability codes H and Bl and when you receive Grundsicherungsgeld, assistance with living expenses (Hilfe zum Lebensunterhalt) or basic income support in old age and in the event of reduced earning capacity (Grundsicherung im Alter und bei Erwerbsminderung) — it must still be applied for. And the pass alone does not entitle you to travel: you need the supplementary sheet (Beiblatt) and the travel token as well.

Yes, within 1 month of the notice. Free of charge. Legal action before the social court is likewise free of charge. Social associations (VdK, SoVD) help free of charge.

The disability lump-sum allowance (Behinderten-Pauschbetrag) under the Income Tax Act (Einkommensteuergesetz, EStG), § 33b EStG — not a range but ten fixed bands, from €384 at GdB 20 to €2,840 at GdB 100, and €7,400 for the disability codes H, Bl and TBl. In addition, five working days of additional paid leave under § 208 SGB IX, pro-rated for a different weekly working time. There is also special protection against dismissal, free transport with the travel token for the disability codes G, aG, H or Gl, the parking permit for aG or Bl, and the old-age pension under § 37 SGB VI — Social Code Book VI (Sozialgesetzbuch Sechstes Buch) — from 65 without, and from 62 with, pension deductions. Each benefit must be applied for at a different body — the pass itself grants none of them.

Since 1 January 2024, SGB XIV has regulated four grounds in one act: injury caused by acts of violence (§§ 13 to 20, formerly the Victim Compensation Act), by the effects of both world wars (§§ 21 and 22, formerly the Federal War Victims Relief Act), by events during civilian service (§ 23), and by vaccinations or other specific prophylaxis measures (§ 24, formerly § 60 of the Protection against Infection Act). There is no deadline for applying; the one year often mentioned concerns only the backdating of benefits.

Not everywhere — and that is the most common misconception. § 112 SGB XIV merely provides that the authorities designated under state law have substantive jurisdiction. In Bavaria, the ZBFS handles both. In North Rhine-Westphalia, the districts and district-free cities determine the GdB, while social compensation is handled by the regional associations LVR and LWL. There is also a special feature for vaccine injury: under § 113 Abs. 5 SGB XIV, the federal state responsible is the one in which the vaccination was given — not the one of your place of residence.