🪪 Applying for a severe disability ID
In brief
From a degree of disability (GdB) of 50 you count as severely disabled (§ 2 Abs. 2 SGB IX) and can apply for a severe disability ID. The responsible office is the Versorgungsamt (pension office) or the corresponding authority of your federal state (the name varies: Versorgungsamt, Amt für Soziale Angelegenheiten, Zentrum Bayern Familie und Soziales, etc.). The ID proves your disability and any disability markers (Merkzeichen) that entitle you to certain compensation for disadvantages.
If your GdB is between 30 and 50, you can apply to the Agentur für Arbeit (employment agency) for equivalence status (Gleichstellung) with severely disabled people (§ 2 Abs. 3 SGB IX) if, without it, you cannot keep your job or cannot find a suitable job. Equivalence status gives access to employment-law compensation for disadvantages, but not an ID with disability markers.
Step by step
- Get the application formThe application form is available online or directly from the responsible Versorgungsamt in your federal state.
- Gather medical documentsEnclose test results, medical reports and diagnoses for all relevant conditions – the more complete, the faster the processing.
- Submit the applicationSubmit the application in writing to the Versorgungsamt; the office obtains further medical opinions and expert reports if needed.
- Wait for the decisionYou receive a notice of assessment (Feststellungsbescheid) with the overall GdB and any disability markers. If it is granted, the ID is issued.
- Use the ID and report changesIf your condition worsens significantly, you can apply for a reassessment at any time; if it improves, the office may review the GdB on its own initiative.
Deadlines
- The overall GdB is not formed by adding up the individual GdB values, but by an evaluative overall assessment under the Versorgungsmedizin-Verordnung (VersMedV) – two values of 30 do not automatically make 60.
- Incomplete medical documents are the most common cause of long processing times – if possible, enclose all relevant findings with the application.
- A time-limited ID loses its validity once the period expires; submit the extension application in good time before expiry so that there is no gap.
- Equivalence status (GdB 30–50) does not apply retroactively to before the application to the Agentur für Arbeit and does not replace an ID with disability markers.
In depth · legal basis, figures and practice – for advisers and professionals
Procedure under the SchwbAwV
The procedure for issuing the ID is governed by the Schwerbehindertenausweisverordnung (SchwbAwV). The assessment of disability and GdB itself is carried out under § 152 SGB IX by the responsible state authority (usually the pension administration), with the medical evaluation under the Versorgungsmedizin-Verordnung (VersMedV) and its Versorgungsmedizinische Grundsätze (principles of medical assessment) as an annex.
Forming the overall GdB
Under Part A No. 3 of the annex to § 2 VersMedV, the GdB is first determined for the functional impairment with the greatest effect; further impairments are only taken into account if they actually increase the extent of the disability. A purely arithmetical addition of individual values is expressly impermissible.
Equivalence status, § 2 Abs. 3 SGB IX
The Agentur für Arbeit is responsible for equivalence status. The requirement is a GdB of at least 30 but less than 50, and that the job would be at risk without equivalence status. People with equivalence status receive, among other things, access to special protection against dismissal and to benefits of supportive assistance in working life, but not to the compensation for disadvantages that is linked to the ID or to disability markers (e.g. extra leave, Wertmarke).
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.