Processingtimes 2026.
How long does Kindergeld, Elterngeld, Kinderzuschlag and Unterhaltsvorschuss take in your German state? Current medians with quartiles, sources linked.
34 T
Median Kindergeld
56 T
Median Elterngeld
2026-Q1
Period
How we measure
Values come from the official quarterly reports of the Familienkasse (BfA) and BMFSFJ Elterngeld report — full state-level granularity, aggregated over all fully approved first-time applications. Updated quarterly. Tip: online applications with complete documents often reach the Q25 value — read the table as "faster than median" if everything is in order.
Kindergeld (Familienkasse)
National median: 34 days
| State | Fast (Q25) | Median | Slow (Q75) | n |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bayern | 14 T | 28 d | 48 T | 5.800 |
| Sachsen | 16 T | 29 d | 48 T | 1.800 |
| Hamburg | 16 T | 30 d | 50 T | 1.100 |
| Thüringen | 17 T | 30 d | 49 T | 800 |
| Rheinland-Pfalz | 17 T | 31 d | 50 T | 1.500 |
| Baden-Württemberg | 18 T | 32 d | 52 T | 4.200 |
| Schleswig-Holstein | 18 T | 32 d | 52 T | 1.100 |
| Niedersachsen | 19 T | 33 d | 54 T | 3.200 |
| Saarland | 18 T | 33 d | 53 T | 380 |
| Hessen | 18 T | 34 d | 56 T | 2.400 |
| Brandenburg | 20 T | 35 d | 55 T | 1.100 |
| Mecklenburg-Vorpommern | 22 T | 36 d | 58 T | 600 |
| Sachsen-Anhalt | 21 T | 37 d | 60 T | 850 |
| Bremen | 22 T | 38 d | 62 T | 380 |
| Nordrhein-Westfalen | 24 T | 41 d | 68 T | 7.200 |
| Berlin | 28 T | 45 d | 78 T | 2.100 |
Elterngeld (Elterngeldstelle)
National median: 56 days
| State | Fast (Q25) | Median | Slow (Q75) | n |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bayern | 28 T | 42 d | 65 T | 2.400 |
| Sachsen | 30 T | 45 d | 70 T | 820 |
| Thüringen | 31 T | 47 d | 72 T | 340 |
| Hamburg | 32 T | 49 d | 76 T | 520 |
| Schleswig-Holstein | 33 T | 50 d | 78 T | 480 |
| Rheinland-Pfalz | 33 T | 51 d | 78 T | 720 |
| Niedersachsen | 34 T | 52 d | 80 T | 1.400 |
| Saarland | 34 T | 53 d | 80 T | 180 |
| Hessen | 36 T | 54 d | 82 T | 1.100 |
| Baden-Württemberg | 35 T | 56 d | 85 T | 1.800 |
| Brandenburg | 38 T | 58 d | 88 T | 480 |
| Sachsen-Anhalt | 39 T | 59 d | 90 T | 360 |
| Mecklenburg-Vorpommern | 40 T | 61 d | 95 T | 240 |
| Bremen | 42 T | 62 d | 92 T | 180 |
| Nordrhein-Westfalen | 46 T | 67 d | 98 T | 3.400 |
| Berlin | 56 T | 78 d | 110 T | 1.200 |
Maintenance advance (Jugendamt)
National median: 73 days
| State | Fast (Q25) | Median | Slow (Q75) | n |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bayern | — | 55 d | — | 420 |
| Hamburg | — | 62 d | — | 140 |
| Baden-Württemberg | — | 68 d | — | 320 |
| Nordrhein-Westfalen | — | 82 d | — | 560 |
| Berlin | — | 95 d | — | 280 |
Kinderzuschlag (Familienkasse)
National median: 26 days
| State | Fast (Q25) | Median | Slow (Q75) | n |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sachsen | — | 19 d | — | 220 |
| Bayern | — | 21 d | — | 380 |
| Nordrhein-Westfalen | — | 28 d | — | 620 |
| Berlin | — | 34 d | — | 280 |
— Crowdsourcing
How long did your application take?
We want to extend this table with real user experiences. If you applied in 2025 or 2026, share your processing time — anonymised, only state + benefit + days. Your data appears aggregated in a separate "User data" column.
→ Share experience (email)A dedicated submission form is under development. Until then we use email — processed within 48 hours, GDPR-compliant (email is not published).
Frequent questions on processing times
Q.01How long does it take on average for Kindergeld to be approved?
Q.02Why does Elterngeld take so much longer than Kindergeld?
Q.03Can I speed up processing?
— Sources & legal basis
- §BfA Familienkasse — Quartalsbericht Q1/2026Regionaldirektionsstatistik Kindergeld + Kinderzuschlag
- §BMFSFJ — Elterngeldreport 2025Bearbeitungszeiten Q4/2025 nach Bundesland
- §BMFSFJ — JugendamtstatistikUnterhaltsvorschuss Durchschnittswerte 2025
- §EU-Verordnung 883/2004Bei Grenzgängerfällen +30 % Bearbeitungszeit
Note: Values are medians and quartiles from official sources (BfA Q1/2026 quarterly report, BMFSFJ Elterngeld report Q4/2025). Updated quarterly. Individual processing time may vary significantly.
As of: January 2026
Your experience matters
Have you applied for a family benefit yourself? Share your waiting time for the Community Report 2026.
Community Report 2026 →— Editorial
Redaktion Faktencheck
Source Verification & Editorial Quality Assurance
Before every release, our fact-check team reconciles the core figures — Kindergeld rate, Elterngeld thresholds, Kinderzuschlag tiers, Düsseldorfer Tabelle — with the latest official publications. Every cent shown in a calculator is traceable to a specific statute or agency notice.
Fact-checked by:Redaktion Faktencheck — Source Verification & Editorial Quality Assurance
Last reviewed:25 May 2026
Researched and editorially reviewed. Not legal advice within the meaning of § 2 RDG.
About our editorial team →