🧒 Daycare place and childcare
In brief
From their first birthday until they start school, children have a legal entitlement to early childhood support in a daycare centre or with a childminder (§ 24 SGB VIII). For children under one year, there is an entitlement if the support is necessary for their development or a parent is employed, looking for work or in training.
For primary school children, since the 2026/2027 school year there is also a legal entitlement to all-day care being phased in: children starting first grade from this school year have, from starting school until the beginning of fifth grade, an entitlement to eight hours of support per day on working days.
Step by step
- Register earlyRegister your child as early as possible, ideally right after birth, via the municipal daycare portal or the Jugendamt – waiting lists are long in many places.
- Justify the needFor a childcare need under one year, explain why the support is necessary for your child's development or that you are employed, looking for work or in training.
- File an objection if refusedIf you do not get a place despite the legal entitlement, file an objection (Widerspruch) within the deadline and get advice on an urgent application to the administrative court.
- Document lossesIf you suffer provable financial losses because of a missing place (e.g. lost earnings), document them for a possible official liability claim.
- Register for all-day care at primary schoolWhen your child starts school from the 2026/2027 school year, register them for all-day care, provided they attend first grade.
Deadlines
- A legal entitlement does not automatically mean a place close to home or at suitable hours – the municipality may in principle refer you to reasonable alternative offers.
- If the legal entitlement is violated, under the 2020 case law of the Federal Court of Justice an official liability claim against the municipality may exist under certain conditions – for this you must prove the loss (e.g. loss of earnings) concretely.
- All-day care at primary school age is being introduced in phases by grade; whether and how quickly further grades follow after first grade could not be conclusively verified at the editorial deadline – ask your municipality.
- Parental fees for daycare and after-school care are a matter for the federal states and are in part graded or free of charge – there is no nationwide uniform rule.
In depth · legal basis, figures and practice – for advisers and professionals
Three age levels of the legal entitlement (§ 24 SGB VIII)
For children under one year, the entitlement exists if the support is necessary for the child's development or the persons with parental responsibility are employed, looking for work, in training or comparable grounds exist. From the first until the third birthday there is an unconditional legal entitlement to early childhood support in a daycare centre or with a childminder. From the third year until starting school, the entitlement is primarily to a place in a daycare centre; childminding comes into consideration in case of special need (gesetze-im-internet.de, retrieved September 2026).
All-day entitlement at primary school age
Under § 24 Abs. 4 SGB VIII, a child who attends first grade in the 2026/2027 school year or a following school year is entitled, from starting school until the beginning of fifth grade, to support in a daycare facility for eight hours on working days. The entitlement is already deemed fulfilled through lessons, all-day offers at school and youth work offers during school holidays.
Enforcement and official liability
If you are not provided with a childcare place despite meeting the requirements, you can enforce the entitlement through urgent legal protection before the administrative court. Following a landmark decision of the Federal Court of Justice from 2020 on the under-3 legal entitlement, in case of culpable non-fulfilment an official liability claim (§ 839 BGB in conjunction with Art. 34 GG) against the municipality also comes into consideration, for instance for provable loss of earnings due to a delayed return to work.
A question about your situation that this page does not answer? Write to us or use the contact form – we will tell you which office is responsible and what to bring. Free of charge, without individual legal advice.