Applying for Maternity Pay (Mutterschaftsgeld) 2026 – Claim with Your Health Insurer and Employer
Last updated: 24 May 2026. German maternity pay (Mutterschaftsgeld) has two parts: a statutory health insurer share of up to €13 per day (§ 24i SGB V — Social Code Book V) and an employer top-up (§ 20 MuSchG — Maternity Protection Act), which bridges the gap to your previous net income. You apply in two places at once: your statutory health insurer (gesetzliche Krankenkasse) and your employer. This step-by-step guide explains the order of events, the deadlines, and the special rules for the privately insured, mini-jobbers and the self-employed — useful even if you arrived in Germany only recently and have never dealt with the system before.
The legal basis: § 24i SGB V and the MuSchG
Maternity pay is anchored in two pieces of legislation:
- § 24i SGB V — the health insurer share of up to €13 per calendar day for those with statutory cover (GKV).
- §§ 19 to 24 MuSchG (Maternity Protection Act) — maternity pay for women without a GKV entitlement, plus the employer top-up.
- § 3 MuSchG — the protection periods before and after birth (six weeks before the due date, eight or twelve weeks afterwards).
- § 9 MuSchG — protection against dismissal during pregnancy and for four months after birth.
- § 24 MuSchG — full reimbursement of the employer top-up via the U2 levy procedure.
The design ensures that, in net terms, a mother is no worse off financially during the protection period than she was before the pregnancy. The employer is reimbursed through the U2 procedure — they pay first and get the money back, so they carry no net cost.
When can you apply?
You can apply to your health insurer as soon as you hold the medical certificate confirming your expected date of delivery (ET, errechneter Geburtstermin) — at the earliest seven weeks before that date. Your gynaecologist or midwife issues this certificate. Apply earlier than seven weeks and you will be turned away; apply later and you lose nothing — payment is made retroactively from the start of the protection period.
Step by step: from the due-date certificate to the first payment
Step 1 — Get the medical certificate (from week 33)
From your gynaecologist or midwife: the standard form "medical certificate of the expected date of delivery". It states the due date, carries the doctor's or midwife's signature and the practice stamp. It is issued no earlier than seven weeks before the due date.
Step 2 — Apply to your health insurer
At the large statutory insurers (TK, AOK, Barmer, DAK, IKK, KKH) the application runs digitally through an app or member portal. You provide personal details, employer information, the uploaded due-date certificate, and your IBAN. If you prefer paper, download the form from the insurer's website and post it. Confirmation arrives by email or letter.
Step 3 — Notify your employer in writing
No later than alongside the insurer application, send your employer a letter stating the expected date of delivery, the start of the protection period (six weeks before the due date) and a copy of the certificate. The employer reports the maternity protection to the health insurer and calculates the top-up. Use a method that leaves a record: a letter with acknowledgement of receipt, an email with a read receipt, or hand delivery against signature.
Step 4 — Track the first payment
Once all three conditions are met (application, certificate, employer report), the insurer transfers the money within one to two weeks. If you need liquidity quickly, you can ask for an advance, which is offset against the later regular payment.
Step 5 — Submit the birth certificate (within a week)
As soon as the registry office (Standesamt) issues the birth certificate, send it to both the insurer and the employer. It matters for: the start of the post-birth protection period, the extension to twelve weeks in the case of a premature birth, and the correct settlement of the final stretch.
Step 6 — Prepare the parental allowance application in good time
Apply for parental allowance (Elterngeld) at the responsible office no later than four weeks after birth. Maternity pay ends when the post-birth protection period expires; parental allowance then takes over. Apply too late and the three-month retroactivity cap can cost you money.
Document checklist
| Document | Purpose | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Medical due-date certificate | Insurer application + employer report | Gynaecologist / midwife |
| ID card or passport | Identification | Your own records |
| IBAN | Payment | Your own records |
| Last 3 payslips | Calculating the employer top-up | Employer |
| Insurer membership certificate | Proof of GKV status | Health insurer |
| Birth certificate (after birth) | Post-birth protection period | Registry office (Standesamt) |
| Proof of premature birth (medical note) | Extension of the post-birth period | Hospital / maternity unit |
| Employment contract (if queries arise) | Clarifying the employment relationship | Your own records |
Three real-world examples
Ms Yilmaz in Berlin, due date 15 October 2026. She has statutory cover with TK, works full-time and nets €2,400. Her certificate is dated 27 August 2026 (seven weeks before the due date). She applies online via the TK app the same day and emails her employer the certificate as a PDF. The first payment arrives on 8 September 2026 (TK granted an advance on request). The employer top-up runs with her normal salary payment. Her protection period starts on 3 September 2026. From 3 to 30 September the insurer pays 28 × €13 = €364, the employer 28 × €67 = €1,876.
Ms Hoffmann in Munich, due date 12 January 2027, a multiple pregnancy. Her protection period begins on 1 December 2026 (six weeks before the due date). The post-birth period is twelve weeks. She applies to AOK on 25 November 2026. Because the employer had not yet filed its report, AOK chased it directly — the report came three days later and the first payment landed on 19 December 2026 for the December portion. A key point in her case: with multiples, the certificate must explicitly mention the multiple pregnancy so the insurer can record the twelve-week post-birth period.
Ms Schneider in Cologne, an employee with voluntary private health cover. Due date 4 March 2027. She files online with the BAFzA (the Federal Office for Family Affairs) — a one-off payment of €210. In parallel she notifies her employer, who pays the top-up up to her previous net pay. There is no ongoing monthly payment from a statutory insurer; only the €210 from BAFzA and the employer top-up are paid out. On a net income of €2,800, she receives roughly 98 × €80 = €7,840 in employer top-up over 14 weeks, plus the €210.
The privately insured and mini-jobbers: the BAFzA application
Employees with private health cover and mini-jobbers without compulsory GKV insurance receive no ongoing insurer payment, but a one-off payment of €210 from the Federal Office for Family Affairs and Civil Society Tasks (Bundesamt für Familie und zivilgesellschaftliche Aufgaben, BAFzA).
- Application: online at bafza.de or by post.
- Documents: proof of employment, the due-date certificate, bank details.
- Processing time: roughly four to six weeks.
Note: a mini-jobber who simultaneously holds a main job with GKV cover receives the normal insurer benefit (up to €13/day), not the €210. BAFzA does not pay twice.
What happens if… — four edge cases
- …I change employer during pregnancy? Maternity protection continues, and the top-up is calculated against the new employment. Important: present the due-date certificate to the new employer immediately.
- …I am dismissed during maternity protection? Dismissal during pregnancy and for up to four months after birth is permitted under § 17 MuSchG only in exceptional cases with the approval of the supervisory authority. If a dismissal is unlawful, maternity pay continues; the entitlement is protected by law.
- …I am placed on an early employment ban (e.g. a high-risk pregnancy)? An employment ban before the regular protection period is governed by § 16 MuSchG. During that time the mother receives full pay from the employer (maternity protection wage, Mutterschutzlohn), not maternity pay. The procedure only switches over once the regular protection period begins (six weeks before the due date).
- …I am a student and not compulsorily covered by GKV? Students in student GKV can receive maternity pay if they hold a job. Without employment there is no maternity pay — but parental allowance after birth at the minimum rate of €300.
Three common reasons for rejection
- Certificate too old or incomplete. The insurer accepts certificates issued within the two weeks before application that contain all mandatory details (due date, practice stamp, signature). Outdated or incomplete certificates trigger a follow-up request.
- Employer report missing. Without it, the insurer cannot pinpoint the start of the protection period. Payment is delayed; the insurer reminds the employer by letter.
- Wrong type of insurance stated. Anyone moving from family cover to their own policy, or vice versa, must state their current status correctly. Wrong details lead to rejection; only then can the right body (insurer or BAFzA) recognise the claim.
After the birth: submit the birth certificate
Send the birth certificate to your insurer and employer promptly — ideally within a week of the registry office issuing it. It is the precondition for:
- Extending the post-birth period to twelve weeks (premature birth/multiples).
- Correctly settling the post-birth protection period.
- A seamless transition to the parental allowance process.
Special case: pregnancy as a civil servant
Civil servants (Beamtinnen) are not covered by the MuSchG but by the relevant maternity protection ordinance of their employing authority (the federal or a state regulation). During the protection period they receive their full official remuneration from their employer — there is no statutory-insurer maternity pay, because the civil-servant relationship is not GKV-insured. The application runs through the HR department, not the health insurer.
Special case: pregnancy during parental leave
Someone already on parental leave (Elternzeit) who is expecting another child is again entitled to maternity pay. It is then calculated on the basis of the last earnings before the first parental leave. Important: parental leave does not end automatically when the protection period for the second child begins — it must be ended explicitly, otherwise the maternity protection wage and the parental-leave status collide.
Using the calculator
If you want to plan the exact cash flow from the insurer share and the employer top-up in advance, use the maternity pay calculator. It scales the daily rate up from your last net income and projects the total over 14 or 18 weeks.
Further resources
- Maternity pay calculator 2026 — an advance calculation with current rates.
- Maternity pay payout 2026 — when the money arrives and how it is calculated.
- Parental allowance calculator — the follow-on benefit after the protection period ends.
- Applying for parental allowance 2026 — an application guide.
- BAFzA.de for the privately insured and mini-jobbers (the €210 one-off payment).