Important information

1. You can use the online application to apply for parental allowance for the first time. If there are any changes to an application you have already submitted, you must notify your parental allowance office in writing.
2. Please submit the parental allowance application online or in paper form.
3. Please do not submit applications with the same content more than once.

After you have entered your location below, you can access the online application on the authorities service portal via the link shown. You will be guided step-by-step through the online application and only the questions relevant to you will be displayed. You also have the option of temporarily saving your data at any time. You can also create and save the online application before your child is born.

To submit the application online, you need a BundID account. If you do not yet have a BundID account, you can create one at the start of the online application. The "Username and password" access type is sufficient for the online application. Instructions on registration and further information on BundID can be found on the BundID website.

Once you have submitted your application data, you will receive your personal application documents in your BundID mailbox. Please send the signed signature page together with the required documents to your parental allowance office. It will soon be possible to submit the application completely digitally.

If you do not wish to take advantage of the online application, you can also complete the application on paper. You can download the paper application here under Forms and information. Alternatively, you can obtain the paper application from your local parental allowance office.

All information on parental allowance can be found in detail on the parental-allowance page on the Familienportal.NRW.

Parental allowance depends on the amount of your income before the birth of your child and the type of parental allowance you choose. Find out how much parental allowance you are entitled to on the page Höhe des-elterngeldes.

In order to receive parental allowance, you must meet certain requirements. You can find out what these are on the page Requirements for parental allowance.

What documents do I need to apply for parental allowance?

After completing the online application, you will receive a list of documents in your BundID mailbox. The list of documents lists all the documents that are required to process your parental allowance application and provides information on the documents that you have already submitted electronically with your application. Please submit any missing documents together with the signature page by post to your parental allowance office.

Typically, you will need at least the following documents:

• The child's birth certificate with the intended use for parental allowance (or for social purposes) in the original. You can obtain this from the registry office with the birth certificate.
• Proof of income: The last 12 payslips before the birth or before maternity leave are required for parental allowance. If you are self-employed, submit your tax assessment for the previous year of the birth. If you are also employed in addition to being self-employed, you will also need the tax assessment notice from the previous year of the birth as well as the wage and salary statements from the previous year of the birth. If your income from self-employment is comparatively low, you can choose whether the parental allowance should be calculated from the income in the calendar year before the birth or from the income from the last twelve months before the birth. If you receive an allowance for maternity pay from your employer: a corresponding certificate from your employer.
• If you have statutory health insurance: the health insurance certificate confirming that you are receiving maternity pay after the birth.
• If you have private health insurance, submit the certificate confirming the daily sickness allowance during maternity leave.

The processing time for parental allowance is usually between 2 and 6 weeks.

Parental allowance is regulated in the Act on Parental Allowance and Parental Leave.

If your parental allowance has been calculated incorrectly, you must lodge a written appeal against the decision of the parental allowance office within one month of receipt. The social courts are responsible for appeals against the decision.