ROUTE

Having a Baby (Geburt)

Step-by-step checklist after having a baby in Germany: birth registration, Kindergeld (€259/month), Elterngeld, child health insurance, and Kita enrolment. Your personalised route based on family status.

✓ Checked: 15/08/2026

After a birth in Germany a chain begins in which almost everything depends on one document: without the birth certificate there is no health insurance for the child, no parental allowance and no child benefit. The route is built around it — you apply at the registry office where the child was BORN, not where you live, within a week, and you order six to eight certified copies straight away.

Tailor the route to you

Answer a few questions and only the steps you actually need will remain. We will hide the rest.

Are the parents not married to each other?

Are both parents foreign nationals?

1

STEP

Hebamme & Kinderarzt: Find Your Midwife and Pediatrician

Severe shortage: find a Hebamme immediately after your positive test, a Kinderarzt 2–3 months before your due date. Without a registered pediatrician there is nowhere to do the mandatory U2 check-up on days 3–10.
2

STEP

Vaterschaftsanerkennung: Recognising Paternity

For unmarried couples only. Best done at the Jugendamt before the birth — otherwise the father won't appear in the Geburtsurkunde and a separate correction will be needed later.
3

STEP

Mutterschaftsgeld: Maternity Pay

Triggered exactly 7 weeks before your due date. Submit the doctor's certificate (Ärztliches Zeugnis) to your Krankenkasse — receive up to €13/day from the insurer plus a top-up from your employer to your full net salary.
4

STEP

Standesamt: Obtaining the Geburtsurkunde

The first and most critical document after birth. Without the Geburtsurkunde, health insurance, parental allowance, child benefit, and all other documents are blocked. Deadline: 1 week.
5

STEP

Familienversicherung: Enrolling Your Child in Health Insurance

As soon as you have the Geburtsurkunde — send a copy to your Krankenkasse. The child gets their own insurance number (Krankenversichertennummer) and is covered free of charge under GKV from day one.
6

STEP

Kindergeld: Child Benefit

€259 per month for each child. Apply via the Familienkasse — online or using form KG1. Key document: the child's Steuer-ID (tax ID), which arrives by post 2–3 weeks after the Standesamt registration.
7

STEP

Elterngeld: Parental Allowance

65–67% of your net income during parental leave. Apply within 3 months of birth — Elterngeld is NOT paid retroactively! In Bavaria, the Bayerisches Familiengeld is automatically granted after approval.
8

STEP

Pass & Aufenthaltstitel: Documents for Your Child

For children of parents without German citizenship. A two-stage process: first a national passport via the consulate, then a residence permit (Aufenthaltstitel) via the Ausländerbehörde.
9

STEP

Kita-Anmeldung: Getting on the Nursery Waiting List

Krippe (nursery for under-3s) and Kita places are allocated 12–18 months in advance. Join the waiting list as soon as you have the Geburtsurkunde. From age 1, every child has a legal right to a place.

› More about this route

Half the route happens before the birth, and it is the half most often postponed. You look for a midwife right after a positive test, book a delivery ward by around week twenty, and choose a paediatrician two to three months before the due date, because the U2 check-up falls between the third and tenth day of life. Unmarried couples do well to acknowledge paternity in advance, otherwise the father is initially missing from the birth certificate.

Money arrives from three directions, each with its own deadline. Maternity pay is applied for exactly seven weeks before the expected date of delivery. Child benefit is €259 a month. Parental allowance is 65–67 per cent of net income, at least €300 and at most €1,800 a month, and the application must be filed within three months of the birth: it is not paid retroactively, so every month of delay is a payment lost.

WHERE PEOPLE MOST OFTEN LOSE MONEY AND TIME

Filing for parental allowance later than three months after the birth. It is not backdated: applying in month five costs several monthly payments for good.
Going to the registry office where you live. The office at the child's place of birth is the competent one, and that appointment should be planned before you leave hospital.
Ordering one or two copies of the birth certificate. The health insurer, the family benefits office, the parental allowance office and the consulate all want one at the same time — six to eight certified copies get used in full.
Looking for a paediatrician after the birth. The U2 check-up takes place on the third to tenth day of life, and available slots go long before that — the search starts two to three months before the due date.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS ABOUT THIS ROUTE

Which deadlines on this route cannot be missed?▾

Four. The birth certificate: within a week of the birth. Parental allowance: three months, with no backdating. The medical certificate for maternity pay: exactly seven weeks before the expected date of delivery. And the U2 check-up on the third to tenth day of life, which requires the paediatrician to be lined up in advance.

What can be done before the birth?▾

Most of the preparation. Find a midwife right after a positive test, register with a delivery ward by around week twenty, choose a paediatrician two to three months before the due date, and book an antenatal class — your health insurer covers it in full. Unmarried couples handle the acknowledgement of paternity at the youth welfare office, free of charge, together with a joint custody declaration.

Which benefits are available and how do they fit together?▾

Three. Maternity pay during maternity protection: the insurer pays up to €13 a day and the employer tops it up to your full net wage. Parental allowance: 65–67 per cent of net, no less than €300 and no more than €1,800 a month, running 12+2 months in the basic version or twice as long at half the rate as ElterngeldPlus. And child benefit at €259 a month per child.

How many copies of the birth certificate should be ordered?▾

Six to eight certified ones. That is arithmetic rather than hoarding: they are needed simultaneously by the health insurer, the family benefits office for child benefit, and the parental allowance office — and for parents without German citizenship, by the consulate and immigration office too. Reordering means another appointment and delay across the whole chain.

WHAT USUALLY COMES NEXT

Getting a Kita SpotFrom waitlist to contract: the legal claim from age 1 (§24 SGB VIII), the Kita voucher, fees and the Elterngeld combo.Getting Married in GermanyMarrying with foreign documents: apostilles and the certificate of no impediment (2–4 months!), registering at the Standesamt, and the paperwork after the ceremony.WorkPersonal step-by-step checklist for starting work in Germany: Steuer-ID, Krankenkasse, Sozialversicherung and Steuerklasse. Adapts to your situation — employee or self-employed.Child maintenance after separationHow the amount is set, free help from the youth welfare office, adjusting for age and income — and why contact must not be linked to money.