ROUTE

P-Konto: Protecting Your Account

An account seizure freezes everything — rent, food, transport. One request turns your Girokonto into a P-Konto: a base amount for living is protected by law, more with children.

✓ Checked: 18/07/2026

An account attachment freezes everything on it: rent, food, transport, childcare. An ordinary current account protects nothing, and the money stays out of reach even for basic subsistence.

1

STEP

Account Seizure: What Happens and the Deadlines

A creditor with a court title blocks the account through your bank. You have a one-month protective window — act, and your living money survives.
2

STEP

P-Konto: Converting Your Account

The bank must convert your Girokonto free of charge within 4 business days. The one rule: one person — one P-Konto.
3

STEP

P-Konto: Raising the Protected Amount

The base allowance covers a single person. Children, a dependent spouse, child benefit and social payments raise the protection — but only with a certificate.
4

STEP

P-Konto: Daily Life and the Way Out

Unused balance carries over for up to three months, card and online banking keep working. In parallel, the debt itself belongs on the table.

› More about this route

This four-step route covers the whole situation: what happens during an attachment and on what timescales, how to convert your account into a protected one with a single request to the bank, how to raise the protected amount where you support children or others, and how daily life works with such an account.

Worth knowing first: the bank is obliged to convert and may not refuse. The request needs no particular form, and conversion also affects an attachment already in place — so it is worth doing even once the money is frozen.

WHERE PEOPLE MOST OFTEN LOSE MONEY AND TIME

Waiting for the situation to resolve itself. An attachment does not lapse with time, and a protected account can be arranged at any point, including afterwards.
Opening a new account at another bank instead of converting. Only one protected account is permitted, and concealed accounts make matters worse.
Not raising the protected amount. The basic figure covers one person; supporting children or others increases it on production of a certificate.
Missing the renewal of the certificate. Evidence for a raised amount is time-limited and must be extended.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS ABOUT THIS ROUTE

Can the bank refuse to convert my account?▾

No. Customers may demand conversion of their current account into a protected one, and the bank must comply within a short period. Refusal is unlawful, and the right does not depend on any creditor’s consent.

How much money stays protected?▾

A monthly basic amount is protected automatically and is calculated for one person. Where you support children or others, or receive certain benefits, the amount increases on production of evidence.

Who issues the certificate for a higher amount?▾

An employer, the family benefits office, the social welfare office, a debt advice service or other recognised bodies, depending on the ground. The certificate goes to the bank, which then applies the higher threshold.

Can I hold two protected accounts?▾

No, only one is permitted. A second is detected through data exchange and costs you the protection, so convert the account your income arrives in.

WHAT USUALLY COMES NEXT

Personal insolvencyA complete creditor list, free advice with the compulsory settlement attempt, two applications to court, three years of obligations and the limits of discharge.Court Dunning Order & Debt CollectionA yellow court dunning order or a debt-collection letter? Do not pay blindly, do not ignore it. How to check the claim, object within 2 weeks and prevent an enforcement order.Opening a Bank AccountThe basic-account right even without SCHUFA, opening via VideoIdent in an evening, and the three first-week settings: rent, salary, direct debit.