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Social compensation under the SGB XIV

Versorgungsverwaltung (social care administration) · Compensation under a duty of state responsibility

Since 1 January 2024Four groundsNo deadline for applying

Social compensation law was brought together into a single Act on 1 January 2024, and the most important sentence about it is this: there are four grounds, not one. § 1 SGB XIV names them expressly — damage caused by acts of violence (§§ 13 to 20, formerly the Victims’ Compensation Act), by the effects of the two world wars (§§ 21 and 22, formerly the Federal War Victims Relief Act), by events during civilian service (§ 23), and by vaccinations or other specific prophylactic measures (§ 24, formerly § 60 of the Protection against Infection Act). Anyone who only knows one of these generally overlooks the one that applies to them.

What links these four cases is a special duty of the state to make amends — not that anyone is liable. This is exactly where the practical value lies: for an act of violence, the compensation does not depend on whether the perpetrator is caught, convicted or able to pay. Civil-law claims for pain and suffering continue to exist alongside it, but they run to nothing if no one can pay. Social compensation does not.

The point at which most people give up before they have even started is the question: “But I cannot prove that it comes from that.” The law does not require that proof either. § 4 Abs. 4 SGB XIV lets the probability of the causal link suffice, and defines it expressly: it exists “where, according to the current state of medical science, more speaks for than against a causal link”. More for than against — that is a markedly lower standard than the civil-law standard of proof. If the cause remains unresolved in medical science, subsection 6 also applies, the so-called discretionary provision (Kann-Versorgung): the consequence can nevertheless be recognised with the consent of the Federal Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs.

And if documents are missing, a second form of relief comes into play, which hardly anyone knows about: under § 117 SGB XIV, your own statements can be made the basis of the decision if evidence is not available, cannot be obtained, or has been lost through no fault of your own — “insofar as they appear credible in the circumstances of the case”. Credible is not the same as proven: it is enough that, among several possibilities seriously to be considered, one is relatively the most probable. Missing files are therefore an obstacle, but not a ground for exclusion.

Last updated28 August 2026
Legal basis§ 1 SGB XIV
VerificationChecked against SGB XIV, IfSG and the transitional provisions
Written and reviewed byAndrés Sánchez Botta
Independent information website: we are not the Versorgungsamt, 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 plain language; binding information always comes from the competent body. No legal advice and not an official authority. We are neither lawyers nor tax consultants: we document official procedures and check the information against the official source – this is information, not legal or tax advice.
GroundsFour§ 1 SGB XIV
Application deadlineNoneThe year concerns retroactive payment
Standard of proofProbabilityMore for than against
Payment fromGdS 30Irrespective of income
Required documents

What you need

An informal application or one on the official form

Benefits are only provided on application. It can be made informally to the competent authority — more important than the form is the date, because payment is made from the month the application is submitted.

What is available on the damaging event

Criminal complaints, file numbers, hospital reports, vaccination record, witness statements — depending on the case. If something is missing, that is not a ground for exclusion: § 117 SGB XIV then allows your own statements to suffice, provided they appear credible.

Medical documents on the course of events

Findings and reports that follow the event in time. They support the causal assessment, for which probability under § 4 Abs. 4 is sufficient — not proof.

Information on place of residence and place of the event

Both, because local jurisdiction is determined differently depending on the ground: for acts of violence according to place of residence, for vaccination injuries according to the federal state in which the vaccination was given.

Earlier notices, if any exist

Including refused ones. For an event before 2024, the timing of your application back then determines which law applies — this is set out in § 142 SGB XIV and cannot be established without the old notices.

Step by step

How to proceed

  1. 1

    Determine your own ground

    Act of violence, war effect, civilian service or vaccination. Not only the requirements depend on this, but also the responsible body — the grounds have different rules on jurisdiction.

  2. 2

    Ask about the competent authority instead of assuming it

    § 112 SGB XIV leaves this determination to state law (Landesrecht). In some federal states it is the same body as for the severe disability pass (Schwerbehindertenausweis), in others it expressly is not — in North Rhine-Westphalia, for example, it is the regional associations (Landschaftsverbände).

  3. 3

    Submit the application even if documents are missing

    The date secures the benefit from the month the application is submitted. Documents can be submitted later; a lost year cannot be made up for.

  4. 4

    In the event of psychological strain, use the fast-track assistance immediately

    The trauma outpatient clinic and case management are available before a decision has been made on the application. The first two sessions and the first contact are paid for under § 11 Abs. 5 even if, in the end, no entitlement exists.

  5. 5

    Lodge an objection (Widerspruch) against a refusal notice

    The usual social-law route applies: objection, then an action before the social court (Sozialgericht). Proceedings there are free of court costs for the affected person.

Fee information

Costs and payment

Costs, deadlines and scopeThe procedure is free of charge for applicants
ApplicationFree of charge
Application deadlineNone
Retroactive effectOn application within one year
Standard of proofProbability, § 4 Abs. 4
Payment fromGdS 30, § 83 SGB XIV
IncomeNot taken into account

§ 83 SGB XIV staggers the amount of the monthly compensation payment in five stages according to the degree of impairment caused by the damaging event (Grad der Schädigungsfolgen, GdS). The specific amounts are adjusted and are deliberately not given here — the information from the competent authority is binding.

Good to know

Important notes

Where the application goes is the question on which most accounts move too fast. § 112 SGB XIV only provides that the authorities designated under state law have substantive jurisdiction — and the federal states have resolved this differently. In Bavaria, the ZBFS handles both, the law on severe disability and social compensation. In North Rhine-Westphalia, it does not: there, the districts and district-free cities determine the GdB, while social compensation is handled by the regional associations LVR and LWL. So it is not the same body everywhere as for the Schwerbehindertenausweis — ask about this explicitly, rather than sending the application to wherever you last had dealings.

A claim circulates about the deadlines that stops people from even asking: “you only have one year.” This is a mix-up. § 11 SGB XIV does not regulate by when you may apply, but from when payment is made: benefits are, in principle, paid from the month the application is submitted, and by way of exception also for periods before that, if the application was submitted within one year of the injurious event. The one year therefore concerns only the backdating. There is no deadline for applying — an application can still be made even after decades, simply without back payment for the past.

For events from the time before 1 January 2024, a two-part rule applies, and you need to know it before you build up hopes. § 142 SGB XIV covers only two groups: anyone who had already been granted benefits with final and binding effect by 31 December 2023 continues to receive them under the old law; and an application made by that date but not yet decided with final and binding effect is decided under the law in force at the time the application was submitted. A new application, by contrast, is governed by the SGB XIV, even if the event is older. But — and this is the part that is often left out — for acts before 1 January 2024, the requirements of the OEG, BVG, ZDG or IfSG, in the version in force at the time of the act, must have been satisfied. So the new procedure applies retroactively, but the new grounds for entitlement do not.

Two abbreviations here look confusingly alike and measure different things. The GdB (degree of disability, Grad der Behinderung) of severe disability law covers all a person’s impairments, whatever their origin. The GdS (degree of impairment caused by the damaging event, Grad der Schädigungsfolgen) under § 5 SGB XIV covers only the consequences of the damaging event. Both are assessed in steps of ten — and yet they are not interchangeable: it is entirely normal to have a high GdB and a markedly lower GdS, because one reflects the whole of a person’s health and the other only the portion for which the state is responsible. The thresholds also differ: you are severely disabled from GdB 50; the monthly compensation payment under § 83 SGB XIV, on the other hand, starts from a GdS of 30 and rises in five stages. It is paid irrespective of income.

Avoid these mistakes

Common mistakes

Knowing only one of the four grounds. § 1 SGB XIV names acts of violence, war effects, civilian service and vaccinations — your own case is often the one you did not look for.

Treating the one-year period as an application deadline. It concerns retroactive payment; there is no deadline for the application.

Holding back the application until all documents are in. The date of the application determines when the benefit begins; documents can be submitted later.

Assuming it is the same body as for the degree of disability (Grad der Behinderung, GdB). § 112 SGB XIV leaves this to state law, and the federal states have regulated it differently.

Not applying at all for lack of evidence. § 4 only requires probability; § 117 allows your own statements to suffice where evidence is missing.

Frequently asked questions

Questions and answers

Which cases does the SGB XIV cover?

Four. § 1 SGB XIV names damage caused by acts of violence (§§ 13 to 20, formerly the Victims’ Compensation Act), by the effects of the two world wars (§§ 21 and 22, formerly the Federal War Victims Relief Act), by events connected with civilian service (§ 23), and by vaccinations or other specific prophylactic measures (§ 24, formerly § 60 of the Protection against Infection Act). These four previously separate sets of rules were brought together into a single Act on 1 January 2024.

Is there a deadline for the application?

No. The SGB XIV does not provide for an application deadline — an application can still be made even after many years. What does exist is a rule on retroactive payment: under § 11 Abs. 2, benefits for periods before the application are only provided if the application was submitted within one year of the damaging event. After that, the benefit begins with the month the application is submitted.

Do I have to prove that my harm comes from the event?

No, you do not have to prove it. § 4 Abs. 4 SGB XIV lets the probability of the causal link suffice and defines it: it exists where, according to the current state of medical science, more speaks for than against a link. If the cause remains unresolved in medical science, subsection 6 additionally allows the so-called discretionary provision (Kann-Versorgung).

Is the Versorgungsamt that also determines the GdB responsible?

Not everywhere. § 112 SGB XIV only provides that the authorities designated under state law have substantive responsibility. In Bavaria, the ZBFS handles both. In North Rhine-Westphalia, by contrast, the districts and independent cities determine the GdB, while social compensation lies with the regional associations LVR and LWL. Ask expressly, therefore, about the competent authority.

My event occurred before 2024 — which law applies?

For a new application, the SGB XIV applies, even if the event is older. For events before 1 January 2024, however, the requirements of the former law — OEG, BVG, ZDG or IfSG — in the version in force at the time of the act must have been satisfied. Anyone who had already been granted benefits with final and binding effect by 31 December 2023 continues to receive them under the old law, under § 142 SGB XIV.

What is the difference between GdB and GdS?

The GdB of severe disability law covers all a person’s impairments, whatever their origin. The GdS (degree of impairment caused by the damaging event, Grad der Schädigungsfolgen) under § 5 SGB XIV covers only the consequences of the damaging event. Both are assessed in steps of ten, but are not interchangeable — a high GdB alongside a markedly lower GdS is entirely normal. The thresholds also differ: severely disabled from GdB 50, monthly compensation payment from GdS 30.

Related official procedures

Vaccine injury
Responsibility lies with the federal state where the vaccination was given
§ 24 SGB XIV
Compensation for victims of crime
Psychological violence included too — with no duty to report
§§ 13 ff. SGB XIV
Trauma outpatient clinic
Up to 15 sessions without recognition
First two always free

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