ROUTE

Aufstiegs-BAföG: funding for Meister and advanced training

Who qualifies under the AFBG, how much is paid for the course and living costs, what is never repaid, and how the loan is written off.

✓ Checked: 11/08/2026

Aufstiegs-BAföG does not fund students. It funds people who already hold a trade and are working towards the next rung: the Meister, Techniker, Fachwirt and Erzieher examinations. It runs under its own statute rather than student BAföG and is built quite differently: there is no age limit, and part of the money is never reclaimed. Course and examination fees are covered up to 15,000 euro, and exactly half of that is paid as an outright grant.

1

STEP

Check whether you qualify

Aufstiegs-BAföG runs under its own statute, not the student BAföG. There is no age limit, and the law sets out exactly who qualifies — including foreign nationals holding certain residence permits.
2

STEP

Understand what is actually paid

The support has two distinct parts: a contribution to course costs and, only for full-time courses, a contribution to living costs. Not all of it is repayable — half the course contribution never is.
3

STEP

File the application with the state authority

The application goes not to a federal body but to the state education funding office. Procedures and forms differ between states, so identifying the right recipient comes first.
4

STEP

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.

› More about this route

This route runs from checking eligibility through to repayment: who qualifies, including foreign nationals on various residence permits and people holding a Duldung; which two parts the funding consists of and which of them flows back; where the application goes when a state authority rather than the federal government is responsible; and above all how the loan is written off. Passing the examination removes half the remaining fee loan, and founding a business within three years removes the rest entirely. We do not assess your particular situation — the route shows how the statute is built and where money is lost or kept.

REQUIRED DOCUMENTS

All possible documents for this route

('Course and examination fees', 'up to 15,000 €', 'half of it is paid as a grant and never reclaimed')
('Practical piece for the Meister examination', 'up to 2,000 €', 'up to half of the necessary material costs')

WHERE PEOPLE MOST OFTEN LOSE MONEY AND TIME

Dismissing the scheme at the word loan. Half the course contribution is never reclaimed, and the living contribution is not repayable at all.
Letting the three-year window for the start-up write-off pass. It is the most generous rule in the statute and runs from the end of the course.
Submitting the examination certificate late. Only the portion not yet due is written off, so each instalment shrinks the benefit.
Assuming this is closed to foreign nationals. The law lists the qualifying groups expressly, including several residence permits and Duldung holders after fifteen months.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS ABOUT THIS ROUTE

Who is this route for?▾

People who already hold a trade and want to move up a level: journeymen heading for the Meister, skilled workers aiming at Fachwirt, childcare professionals. Anyone choosing a first occupation or studying at a university needs entirely different routes.

How does it differ from the employment agencys Bildungsgutschein?▾

The Bildungsgutschein is issued by the employment agency, usually where unemployment exists or threatens, and the agency decides which course it will pay for. Here you have a statutory claim to funding for a specific advancement qualification, whether or not you are in work.

Can I study part-time alongside my job?▾

Yes, the law distinguishes full-time from other formats. The format does not affect entitlement to fee funding; it determines whether a living contribution is additionally due, which exists only for full-time courses.

Is this a debt owed to the state?▾

The part arranged as a loan agreement is, and it runs through the KfW. But the statute offers two ways to shrink it: the write-off on success and release from repayment on low income for up to five years.

WHAT USUALLY COMES NEXT

Retraining funded by the employment agencyThe education voucher is discretionary: who qualifies, how to prepare for the decisive meeting, and what follows once it is issued.Dual training: place, contract, payCompany plus vocational school, paid from month one. What the contract must contain, what is void in it, and which assistance you can claim.BAföG: Student FundingUp to 992 € per month from the state: half is a grant, half an interest-free loan capped at 10 010 € repayment. Many foreign residents qualify too.Craft business: entry in the HandwerksrolleWhether your craft needs authorisation, the four bases for entry, the exceptional permit, and the route for EU nationals.