Loan write-off: passing the exam and starting a business
The most underrated part of the statute. Passing the examination writes off half the remaining fee loan, and starting your own business within three years writes off the whole remainder.
✓ Verified: 11/08/2026
WHAT TO DO
› Details and tips
Submit the examination certificate as soon as you have it. Only the portion not yet due is written off, so every instalment already paid shrinks the benefit.
The start-up write-off is barely known and is the most generous part of the law. If a workshop of your own is on your mind after the Meister, mark those three years in your calendar.
Useful Tools
- Weiterbildungssuche der Bundesagentur education
Official training search: shows courses that the employment agency funds through a voucher.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
What does passing the examination achieve? ▾
On passing the advancement examination and presenting the certificate, 50 per cent of the loan for course and examination fees that has not yet fallen due at that point is written off.
What does starting a business achieve? ▾
If within three years of finishing the course you found or take over a business or a freelance practice in Germany, or expand an existing one, and bear the predominant entrepreneurial responsibility, the remaining fee loan is written off in full on application — provided the examination was passed and the required evidence is supplied.
Is the entire debt written off? ▾
The write-off covers the loan for course and examination fees and applies to the portion not yet due when you apply. It therefore pays to act promptly rather than after several instalments have gone out.
What if my income after the course is low? ▾
A different mechanism applies: on application you can be released from repayment while your income does not exceed the amount set by law. If the excess is smaller than the minimum monthly instalment of 128 euro, the instalment is reduced to that excess.
How long can such a release last? ▾
The law caps it at five years. It is a deferral for periods of low income, not a write-off — unlike the bonus for passing the exam or for founding a business.