Read the decision and check when insurance starts
What matters in the decision is not only the words employment or self-employment, but the date insurance begins and the point at which contributions fall due.
✓ Verified: 11/08/2026
WHAT TO DO
Deutsche Rentenversicherung (DRV)
Public bodyPension, account clarification and rehabilitation all run through the Deutsche Rentenversicherung — with in-person advice and online services (eService).
› Details and tips
The date in the decision weighs more than its outcome. The same finding of employment differs, between the start date of the work and the date of the decision, by the sum of every month in between.
If a client works with a dozen contractors on one template, the statement on identical relationships saves ten separate procedures. A copy has to be handed to each contractor.
Useful Tools
- BMAS — Bundesministerium für Arbeit und Soziales legal-info
Federal Ministry of Labour: official guidance on employment law, leave and working time.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
When does insurance start if employment is established? ▾
As a rule from the start of the work. But if the application was filed within one month of starting, the day the decision is announced counts as the day of entry into employment, on two conditions: the employee consents, and for the interim period held cover against illness and for old age equivalent in kind to statutory health and pension insurance.
When do the contributions fall due? ▾
The total social insurance contribution only falls due at the point when the decision that employment exists has become final and unappealable. Before that there is no duty to pay.
What is the expert statement on identical contracts? ▾
Once the DRV has decided an individual case, on the client application it issues an expert statement on the status of contractors in identical contractual relationships — identical means the type and circumstances of the work match and uniform agreements underlie them. On concluding such a contract, the client must hand the contractor a copy.
How long does that statement carry? ▾
The protective rule covers contracts concluded within two years of receipt of the expert statement. After that the question is open again.
Are other insurance bodies bound by the decision? ▾
Yes. In assessing compulsory insurance arising from this contractual relationship, other insurance bodies are bound by the decision of Deutsche Rentenversicherung Bund.