How to fill in the Kindergeld application (KG 1)

What the form is for

With the KG 1 you apply to the Familienkasse (family benefits office) for Kindergeld. It is €259 per child per month, the same for every child, and it does not depend on your income. Only one person receives it for each child, usually a parent.

The KG 1 is the main form with details about you, your partner and your bank account. For each child you apply for, you add a separate Anlage Kind (child annex). Some people need further annexes, such as the Anlage EU.

You can also apply online on the Familienkasse website; with a BundID account you don't need to print or sign anything. The paper form is useful if you prefer to send it by post or want help understanding it first.

Who needs it

You can usually apply if your child lives with you and you care for them (this also covers stepchildren, grandchildren and foster children), and you live in Germany or another EU/EEA country or Switzerland.

• Children under 18. Older children only in specific cases, for example up to 25 while in education or training, or up to 21 if registered as a job seeker.
• Citizens of EU/EEA countries: fill in the Anlage EU too. If you have just moved to Germany, there is generally no Kindergeld for the first three months, unless you have income in Germany, for example from a job (§ 62 (1a) Income Tax Act, EStG).
• Other nationalities (not EU/EEA or Swiss): attach your residence permit. Not every permit gives a right to Kindergeld. It does, for example, with a settlement permit (Niederlassungserlaubnis), an EU Blue Card or most permits that allow you to work for at least six months; some study, training and humanitarian permits count only under extra conditions (§ 62 (2) EStG). The Familienkasse decides.
• Both you and your child need a German tax ID. If you moved from abroad, you get yours by post after registering your address (Anmeldung); a baby born in Germany gets one automatically.
• Apply soon: Kindergeld is paid back for at most six months before the month your application arrives.

Before you start

• Your tax ID and your child's (11 digits each), and your partner's if they live with you.
• The IBAN (and BIC) of the account where the money should go.
• One completed Anlage Kind per child, and the Anlage EU if you are an EU/EEA citizen.
• Non-EU citizens: a copy of your residence permit.
• For a child born abroad: official documents proving you are the parent, for example the foreign birth certificate. For a child born in Germany, the birth certificate is only needed if the Familienkasse asks.
• Your Kindergeld number, if you already receive Kindergeld for another child.

Section by section

The form is in German. Here is what each part asks, in plain words, in the order it appears.

1. 1

   Top of page 1

   Kindergeld-Nr.: only if you already have one (three digits, the letters FK, six digits); otherwise leave it empty. Then a daytime phone number and the number of "Anlage Kind" sheets you are attaching.

2. 2

   1 Angaben zur antragstellenden Person (you)

   Your tax ID, family name, academic title (leave empty if none), first name, birth name or earlier married name, date and place of birth, sex, nationality and full address. Under Familienstand tick your marital status (ledig = single, verheiratet = married, geschieden = divorced, verwitwet = widowed, dauernd getrennt lebend = permanently separated) and, if not single, the date since when.

3. 3

   2 Partner or other parent in your household

   Details of your spouse, registered partner, or the child's other parent or step-parent if they live with you: tax ID, names, date of birth, nationality and sex. Their address only if it is different from yours. Leave this part empty if nobody lives with you.

4. 4

   3 Angaben zum Zahlungsweg (bank account)

   IBAN, BIC and the bank's name. Tick whether the account holder is you or someone else; if someone else, write their name.

5. 5

   4 Send the decision to someone else (optional)

   Only if the decision letter should go to someone else, such as a tax adviser. Most people leave it empty.

6. 6

   5 Children you already get Kindergeld for

   Only children you already receive Kindergeld for, with the Familienkasse and Kindergeld number. The child you are applying for now does not go here: they go on an Anlage Kind.

7. 7

   6 Your other children, paid to someone else

   Your own children for whom another person receives Kindergeld, for example the other parent: name, date of birth, sex, who receives it and from which Familienkasse.

8. 8

   Signatures

   Date and your signature. Your spouse, partner or the other parent living with you signs the second line to agree that you receive the Kindergeld.

9. 9

   Anlage Kind (one per child)

   The child's details, whether they live with you (and if not, why), the parent-child relationship to you, your partner and the other parent (write "verstorben" if a parent has died), and extra questions for children over 18, work in the public sector and family benefits from abroad.

Common mistakes

• Putting the new child in section 5

  Section 5 is only for children you already get Kindergeld for. Each child you are applying for needs its own Anlage Kind.

• Forgetting the Anlage Kind or the Anlage EU

  Without one Anlage Kind per child the application is incomplete. EU/EEA citizens add the Anlage EU; non-EU citizens attach their residence permit.

• Missing tax IDs

  Kindergeld requires the tax IDs of the applicant and the child. If yours hasn't arrived yet, check that your Anmeldung is done.

• Only one signature

  If your partner or the other parent lives with you, they should sign too, to agree that you receive the money.

• Waiting too long

  Payment goes back only six months before the month your application arrives. Send it even while you wait for a document, and send that later.

• A wrong IBAN or account holder

  Copy the IBAN from your bank card or app and check who the account holder is: the money goes exactly where the form says.