Requirements for statutory family insurance

In the field “Name” please enter the last name(s) of the child, or in other words, the family name(s) or surname(s) of the child as written in the child’s official identification documents (e.g., Passport / Residence title).

In the field “Vorname”, please enter the first name(s) of the child as written in the child’s official identification documents (e.g., Passport / Residence title).

Please enter the date of birth of your child in the European format: dd.mm.yyyy.

If you need support to fill out the family insurance application, please contact our English Service Hotline on 0800 333 0060 (from abroad +49 202 568 333 0060) or visit one of our service points – our customer service advisors are always happy to assist you.

• A spouse or a registered partner according to the German Civil Partnership Act (Lebenspartnerschaftsgesetz). A registered partner refers to people in same sex relationships who live together in a partnership equivalent to a marriage.
• Children, either biological or adopted, up to a specific age limit
• Stepchildren and grandchildren who live with you in the same household
• Stepchildren and grandchildren who do not live in the same household but whom you support financially as the main insured person
• Foster children whom you do not care for as part of your job.

A specific income ceiling applies to qualifying for family insurance: family members are co-insured if their monthly income does not exceed 535 euros, or 556 euros if they have a Minijob (part-time marginal employment). These income ceilings apply to all categories of people – including children, students and retired relatives.

The above amounts apply to:

• Gross wages from employment, including one-off payments such as Christmas bonuses
• Income from self-employment
• Investment income, such as interest income or income from securities
• Severance payments
• Rental or lease payments subject to tax
• Maintenance payments subject to tax
• Retirement benefits and pensions
• Other income

Parental Allowances (Elterngeld), Child Benefit (Kindergeld) and student grants under the BAföG scheme are not taken into account when determining the income ceiling for family insurance.

Note: a person with a total monthly income of more than 535 euros, or 556 euros if they have a Minijob, no longer qualifies for coverage in non-contributory family insurance. This does not apply to short-term employment which is limited to a maximum of three months or only 70 working days per calendar year, though.

In addition to the completed application form, please send us the following documents:

• a copy of the current school or university / college enrolment certificate if your child is 23 years old or over,
• a birth certificate or a marriage certificate if surnames have changed,
• a copy of the certificate of service if a person has completed military service or statutory voluntary service,
• proof of income, e.g. the income tax statement if the person to be insured is self-employed,
• a certificate of income, such as a payslip or an income tax statement, if the spouse or registered partner has private health insurance.

If eligible family members do not earn any income from their work, for example, through an unpaid internship, this does not have any effect on their insured status in terms of family insurance.

You can co-insure your spouse or registered partner as a family member if he or she:

• is not self-employed as a main occupation,
• is neither subject to mandatory insurance, nor legally free to choose between statutory health insurance and private health insurance,
• is not exempt from the mandatory insurance obligation,
• does not have a regular total monthly income of more than 535 euro or 556 euro if he or she has a Minijob.

Anyone who is self-employed as their main occupation cannot be co-insured under family insurance. However, self-employed persons who work part-time can be insured under family insurance, as long as they:

• earn their living from income other than self-employment,
• work a maximum of 20 hours a week, including preparatory and follow-up work, and
• do not receive a subsidy from the Bundesagentur für Arbeit (Federal Employment Agency) to support a business start-up. In these cases, the self-employed activity is their main occupation.

If you are self-employed and do not meet the criteria for inclusion in family insurance, you are welcome to join the voluntary health insurance scheme for self-employed persons.

Yes, anyone can switch to family insurance from voluntarily health insurance if the above requirements are met. In this case, the existing voluntary health insurance must be cancelled, and the usual twelve-month commitment period does not apply. It is best to find out before you cancel as to whether your application has actually been approved, and when exactly your family insurance starts.

Pensioners can be co-insured under family insurance if:

• they are neither compulsorily insured nor exempt from health insurance or exempt from the health insurance obligation,
• their personal monthly income does not exceed 535 euros, or 556 euros if they have a Minijob.

Children are eligible for family insurance:

• up to their 18th birthday,
• up to their 23rd birthday if they are not yet gainfully employed,
• up to their 25th birthday where children with family insurance meet specific requirements.

• Biological and adopted children
• Stepchildren and grandchildren who live in the same household as the main insured person or are mainly supported by them
• Foster children who live in the same household as the main insured person and have a parent-child relationship with them

The family insurance is extended until their 25^th birthday if the child:

• is still at school or college,
• is in vocational training without remuneration,
• is studying at a university, or
• is completing voluntary military service or voluntary youth service.

If your child's military or voluntary youth service interrupts their education, their family insurance can be extended by a further twelve months.

If you have children with a disability who cannot look after themselves, they will remain permanently covered by family insurance. Please note: this is only possible if the disability first occurred within the specified age limits for family insurance.

Parents with statutory health insurance can co-insure both adopted and foster children free of charge if the parents do not care for them as part of their job or have not taken them into their household for the purposes of their own gainful employment.

Are you or your partner not covered by statutory health insurance, but privately insured, for example? If so, non-contributory family insurance for children is excluded (Section 10 (3) of Book V of the German Social Code [SGB V]) if the following applies:

• The parents are married or have a registered civil partnership.
• The parent without statutory health insurance earns more than the parent with statutory health insurance.
• The total monthly income of the person without statutory health insurance exceeds one twelfth of the annual ceiling for income from employment*.

* As of 2025: The annual ceiling for income from employment is 73,800 euros.

If both parents have statutory health insurance, you can decide for yourself with which parent your child or children should be insured – regardless of your income. Simultaneous family insurance with both parents is not possible, though. If you would like special health benefits for your children, the additional coverage from our partner, HUK-COBURG health insurance, is ideal for you.

If young adults are paid a wage during their Voluntary Social, Cultural or Ecological Year, they cannot remain covered by family insurance – regardless of the amount of their wage. In this case, they are insured as employees and their employer pays the full health insurance contributions.

If young adults complete their voluntary youth service without being paid and meet all other requirements for family insurance, they remain insured free of charge through their family until their 25th birthday. After that, they must take out their own health insurance – or their spouse or registered partner will add them to their family insurance.

Another alternative is voluntary health insurance with Barmer.

Students who have not yet reached the age of 25 continue to enjoy all the benefits of family insurance. Students can be covered by family insurance through their parents, but also through their spouse or partner.

There are special situations, however. For example, if a student has a part-time job. Detailed information on special situations and how you are insured as a student is provided on our information page for student health insurance.

If you start a part-time job as a student with family insurance for a maximum of three months, you will continue to be covered by your family insurance – regardless of the amount you earn. Exception: the employment is subject to compulsory health insurance.

If it is a regular part-time job, the following applies: students who do not earn more than 535 euros per month in total, or 556 euros if they have a Minijob, can remain covered by family insurance. Family insurance is not possible if the employment is the employment is subject to compulsory health insurance.

No, student grants under the BAföG scheme are not taken into account when calculating the income ceiling for family insurance.

If you have private health insurance, you can switch to family insurance if you meet the above requirements for family insurance.

Exception: It is not possible to switch straight to family insurance during the maternity leave period or during parental leave. In addition, the special conditions of cancellation for the private insurance must also be observed.

Good to know: You must retroactively cancel your private health insurance within three months of the start of family insurance. Otherwise, cancellation is only possible at the end of the month in question. This means that if you miss the deadline, you will be covered by two health insurance schemes at the same time – and you will continue to pay the premium for your private insurance. You should also remember to submit your Barmer membership certificate to your former private health insurance company within two months. The certificate serves to justify your change to statutory family insurance.

If one parent has private health insurance, joint children can be insured free of charge if one of the two following conditions applies:

• The total regular income of the privately insured spouses or registered partners is a maximum of 6,150 euros per month.
• The privately insured person exceeds this limit, but the parent with statutory insurance has a higher monthly income than them.

Do these conditions not apply to you? We will be happy to insure your child voluntarily. In this case, you will pay

• a minimum monthly contribution of 215.84 euros for your child’s health insurance, and
• 44.94 euros for their long-term care insurance for as long as your child is under 23 years of age, and
• 52.43 euros for their long-term care insurance if your child has reached the age of 23 and is childless

You can switch from private health insurance to statutory family insurance if you meet the above conditions. Please note, however, that your private health insurance will not end automatically. You must cancel it retroactively within three months of starting your family insurance. Otherwise, you will be a member of both insurance schemes at the same time.

Please note: your private health insurance company must have received a membership certificate from your new health insurance provider within two months, in which you also state the reasons for your change.