Where do I apply for advance maintenance payments?

At the youth welfare office (Jugendamt) of the town or municipality where the child has its main place of residence — not at the family benefits office (Familienkasse). In Hamburg, Bremen and Berlin the application can be made fully digitally via BundID; in most other federal states as a PDF form to print or in person. In a shared-custody model, the Jugendamt at the predominant place of residence is responsible.

How high is advance maintenance in 2026?

The maximum is €227 for children up to 5 years, €299 for ages 6–11 and €394 for ages 12–17 per month. For children under 12, half the child benefit (€129.50) is offset, so €97.50 or €169.50 respectively is paid out net. For the 12–17 age group there is no child-benefit offset, and the full amount is paid. If the other parent pays partial maintenance, that is offset one to one.

How long does processing the UVG application take?

At most youth welfare offices, processing takes 4–8 weeks. In big cities such as Berlin, Munich and Cologne, 10–12 weeks is usual. With complete documents it goes faster. Payment is made retroactively from the month of application — so there is no gap, as long as you apply early enough. Where paternity is not established, the procedure can be extended by several months.

What happens if the other parent pays maintenance?

Every payment by the parent liable for maintenance is offset one to one against the advance maintenance. Example: for an 8-year-old child the UVG is €169.50 net. If the father pays €100, you receive a further €69.50 from the Jugendamt. You are obliged to report every payment without delay. Concealed payments lead to a claw-back and can be prosecuted as benefit fraud.

Do I have to name the father even if I have no contact?

Yes, the duty to cooperate (§ 1 (3) UhVorschG) requires you to give the name, address and — as far as known — the employer of the other parent. If paternity is not established, you must cooperate with the guardianship to establish it. Where there is a justified fear of violence or stalking, protective measures are available — raise this with the Jugendamt before applying.

Can I receive UVG if I claim citizen's benefit (Bürgergeld)?

Yes, UVG and citizen's benefit can be combined. However, the UVG is counted as income against the citizen's benefit — so no extra amount remains net. For children aged 12 and over there is an additional point: if you receive citizen's benefit, the €600 earned-income threshold does not apply. The Jugendamt automatically informs the job centre about the UVG. Economically, UVG here is worthwhile above all as a bridge for the recovery process.

What happens if the child moves abroad or was born abroad?

UVG is paid only for children who live in Germany. If you move abroad, the entitlement ends immediately — reporting it to the Jugendamt is mandatory. If the child was born abroad, UVG can be applied for from the month in which it moves to Germany and is registered here. EU citizens and recognised refugees have the same rights as German nationals.

How does a new relationship affect the UVG?

Marriage or a registered civil partnership with the biological parent ends the UVG entitlement immediately. With a new relationship to a third person, the UVG continues as long as you do not marry — mere cohabitation is harmless. If you marry a third person, the entitlement generally remains, provided the child is not adopted. Changes must be reported within 4 weeks.

How high is the UVG for several children?

The UVG is calculated and paid individually per child. For two children (e.g. aged 5 and 9) you receive €97.50 + €169.50 = €267 per month. For three children, correspondingly more. Each child has its own decision and its own recovery file. When age groups change, the Jugendamt adjusts the amounts automatically — a new application is not needed.

Applying for Advance Maintenance Payments (Unterhaltsvorschuss) 2026 – With the Youth Welfare Office, with a Checklist and Examples

Last updated: 24 May 2026. If you raise a child on your own and receive no maintenance — or too little — from the other parent, you are entitled to advance maintenance payments (Unterhaltsvorschuss, UVG). The responsible body is the youth welfare office (Jugendamt) at the child's main place of residence — not the family benefits office (Familienkasse). This guide walks you through every step of the application, shows from concrete family cases what works and what doesn't, and answers the most common worries about the duty to cooperate and the state's recovery of the money.

At a glance

Maximum amounts 2026: €227 (ages 0–5), €299 (ages 6–11), €394 (ages 12–17) per month
Where to apply: the Jugendamt of the town or municipality where the child is registered
Duration: until the 18th birthday, with no upper time limit
Processing time: usually 4–8 weeks, up to 12 weeks in big cities
Retroactivity: from the month of application — every lost month means real money gone
Child benefit offset: for under-12s, half the child benefit (€129.50) is deducted

Who is entitled to advance maintenance in 2026?

The entitlement under § 1 UhVorschG (Advance Maintenance Payments Act) requires five conditions, all of which must be met together:

The child is under 18 and lives in Germany.
The child lives with a single parent.
The other parent pays no maintenance, pays irregularly, or pays too little.
The applying parent is not remarried (and not in a registered civil partnership) and does not live in one household with the other parent.
For children aged 12 and over there is an additional condition: the applying parent has their own gross income of at least €600 per month, or does not receive citizen's benefit (Bürgergeld).

Anyone who fails to meet one of these conditions receives no UVG. Where there is a dispute over the definition of "single parent" (for example in a shared-custody arrangement), the Jugendamt decides on a case-by-case basis.

Maximum amounts by age — how much the state pays in 2026

Age group	Maximum UVG	Minus half the child benefit	Net payment
0 to 5 years	€227	– €129.50	€97.50
6 to 11 years	€299	– €129.50	€169.50
12 to 17 years	€394	no deduction	€394

Important: the "maximum amount" is paid only if the parent liable for maintenance pays nothing at all. If they pay partial amounts, the UVG is reduced accordingly (a one-to-one offset).

Step by step to the UVG application

Step 1: Find the responsible Jugendamt

What counts is the child's main place of residence — not the applying parent's. For separated parents with a shared-custody model, the Jugendamt at the predominant place of residence is responsible. Find the address via the city administration or at jugendaemter.com.

Step 2: Obtain the application form

Most youth welfare offices provide the form online (a PDF to print). Some federal states such as Hamburg, Bremen and Berlin offer fully digital application paths via the BundID login. In rural regions an in-person visit is often still required.

Step 3: Gather your documents

Complete documents are the single biggest lever for fast approval. If a document is missing, the application is paused until it is supplied — and the payment start date does not move.

Document	Needed for	Where to get it
Child's birth certificate (original or certified copy)	Proof of the child's identity	Registry office at the place of birth
Registration certificate for the joint household	Proof of single-parent status	Residents' registration office
Applying parent's ID card/passport	Proof of the parent's identity	–
Tax ID of child and parent	Identification, cross-check with the tax office	Federal Central Tax Office
Details of the other parent (name, address, date of birth, employer)	Preparing recovery	Your own records, registry office
Divorce decree or custody ruling	If a court arrangement exists	Family court
Acknowledgement of paternity (for children born out of wedlock)	Clarifying legal paternity	Registry office or Jugendamt
IBAN for payment	Where to transfer the money	Your own bank details
For children ≥ 12: payslips or citizen's-benefit notice	Proof of the parent's income	Employer or job centre
School certificate (for school-age children, as proof of age)	Confirmation of residence with the applying parent	School

Step 4: Fill in the form completely

The form usually runs to 6–8 pages. The most critical fields:

"The child's living situation" — state truthfully whether the child lives exclusively with you or whether contact takes place
"Previous payments by the other parent" — with dates and amounts for the last 12 months
"Occupation and income of the other parent, as far as known" — give estimates or hearsay too; the Jugendamt checks itself

Do not leave fields blank — write "unknown" or "not reachable". Blank fields trigger follow-up queries.

Step 5: Submit the application in person, by post or digitally

In-person submission has an advantage: you get a date stamp immediately and can clear up gaps in conversation. If you post the application, choose registered post with acknowledgement of receipt — otherwise, if it goes missing, you have no proof of the application month.

Step 6: Attend the hearing appointment

In complex cases the Jugendamt invites you to a personal meeting — usually 2–4 weeks after the application arrives. Topics: clarifying paternity, options for cooperation, the need for protection in cases of violence.

Step 7: Check the decision and secure payment

The decision contains:

The approved monthly amount
The start and end date (often 12 months, then a follow-up application)
The offset of any payments by the other parent
A note on reporting duties

The first payment is made at the latest in the month after the decision is delivered — retroactively from the month of application.

Three real-world examples

The Demir family in Cologne — the father pays nothing

Yasmin Demir (34) lives with her son Eren (4) in Cologne-Nippes. The child's father has been insolvent since the separation in 2024 (insolvency proceedings). Yasmin applies for UVG in March 2026, and the decision arrives after 6 weeks. Payment from March: €227 minus €129.50 (half the child benefit) = €97.50 a month. Until Eren's 6th birthday in 2028 she receives this amount; it then rises to €169.50.

The Hoffmann family in Leipzig — the father pays irregularly

Anna Hoffmann (29) has two children (Lina 8, Felix 11). For 18 months the father has paid sometimes €250, sometimes nothing. Anna applies for UVG for both children. Approved: per child €299 minus €129.50 = €169.50 net per child, €339 a month in total. As soon as the father pays again (say €200 per child), the Jugendamt cuts the UVG to €99 per child. Anna must report payments immediately.

The Wagner family in Stuttgart — the father is unknown

Sandra Wagner (26) has a daughter (Mia, 1) from a short relationship. The biological father is not registered, and Sandra has no contact with him. The Jugendamt supports her with a guardianship for establishing paternity (Beistandschaft) — free of charge. During the proceedings UVG continues (€97.50 net/month). If paternity is established, the Jugendamt can claim maintenance retroactively.

The duty to cooperate — what you must do

As the applying parent you commit to active cooperation in the recovery process:

Give the name, address and — as far as known — employer of the other parent
If paternity is not established: cooperate with the guardianship
Report every payment by the other parent without delay
Pass on any change of address of the other parent

If you avoid contact out of fear of violence, stalking or serious threat, you can agree protective measures with the Jugendamt — such as a confidentiality marker in the registration register, anonymous correspondence, or separate file-keeping. Raise this with your caseworker before applying.

What happens if…

…the father is unreachable or unknown? The Jugendamt checks its own avenues (registration enquiries, pension-insurance enquiries). UVG continues to be paid; recovery is paused.
…the child lives in a shared-custody model? There is a UVG entitlement only if the child lives predominantly with one parent. In a genuine 50/50 model there is usually no entitlement.
…the other parent lives abroad? UVG continues to be paid; recovery runs through the Federal Office of Justice (under the Foreign Maintenance Act) — which can take years.
…I remarry or move in with someone? The entitlement ends immediately if the new partner is the biological parent. With a new partner who is not the biological parent, UVG continues — but the marriage must be reported.
…the parent liable for maintenance dies? UVG ends; a half-orphan's or orphan's pension from the statutory pension insurance applies instead. The transition must be applied for separately.
…my child turns 18? UVG ends automatically on the 18th birthday. For an adult child, maintenance must be claimed directly from the other parent (the guardianship also ends).

Common reasons for rejection and delay

Incomplete details about the other parent: without an address or date of birth, recovery is impossible. The Jugendamt may suspend the application.
Missing birth certificate with a current note: older certificates often have to be re-ordered from the registry office (about €12).
Income proof for children ≥ 12 missing: without a current payslip, the application is paused.
The applicant has not had their own paternity acknowledged: for children born out of wedlock without an acknowledgement of paternity, there is additional clarification work.

Federal states and their particularities

Federal state	Particularity
Bavaria	UVG applications mostly via the district administrative authority (KVB) or the city youth welfare office
Berlin	The borough office — each borough has its own Jugendamt with special consultation hours
Hamburg	A fully digital application via Hamburg Service, BundID login required
NRW	Municipal youth welfare offices; in big cities often weeks-long waits for appointments
Saxony	District and city youth welfare offices; mobile advice in rural areas
Baden-Württemberg	City and district youth welfare offices, often with their own online application forms

Next steps

Calculate your UVG entitlement with the advance maintenance calculator, including the child-benefit offset.
For adult children: read the guide on calculating the maintenance entitlement with the Düsseldorf Table 2026.
For payment dates and weekend rules: UVG payment dates 2026.
If you want to check further benefits in parallel: the overview single-parent benefits 2026.
Also: the guide to the relief amount for single parents — an annual €4,260 tax allowance.

How the Jugendamt recovers the money

With the approval, the child's maintenance claim against the other parent passes automatically to the state (§ 7 UhVorschG). The Jugendamt then reclaims the amounts paid — by reminder, wage garnishment, or court order for payment.

For the applying parent this means: you regularly receive letters ("status notifications") about the state of recovery. These are informational — you need not respond, as long as you receive no payments yourself. If the parent liable for maintenance later does pay, the money flows directly to the Jugendamt; you continue to receive the UVG. The recovered amounts stay with the state — you have no claim to a later payout.

Submit the follow-up application in time

UVG is usually approved for 12 months. About 8 weeks before it expires you receive a reminder letter. Fill in the follow-up application immediately — even if nothing has changed in your circumstances. Anyone who waits gets a payment gap that the Jugendamt cannot close retroactively (the entitlement runs only from the renewed application month).

Required for the follow-up application: an updated registration certificate, a current payslip (from children ≥ 12) and a brief statement on any changes (a move, a new job, contact with the other parent). Reporting no changes speeds up processing considerably — the follow-up decision often comes within 2–3 weeks.