🔁 Request for review under § 44 SGB X

Notice is final but wrong? Under the basic SGB X rule, social benefits can be paid retroactively for up to four years (basic income support, Grundsicherungsgeld, and social assistance: only one year).

request for review § 44 SGB X withdrawal finality four years back payment social benefit

In brief

Your notice on a social benefit is already final. You think it was wrong. Then you can file a request for review (§ 44 SGB X).

The authority must withdraw an unlawful notice if social benefits were wrongly not provided or contributions wrongly levied. Exception: you deliberately gave false information.

Back payments are made for a period of at most four years before the withdrawal (or before the application). A year is counted from 1 January.

For Bürgergeld/Grundsicherungsgeld (SGB II), one year applies instead (§ 40 Abs. 1 Satz 2 SGB II), likewise for social assistance and basic income support in old age (§ 116a SGB XII).

Step by step

Identify the notice and the errorWhich notice, which benefit, what was wrong?
Write the requestRequest review under § 44 SGB X, name the notice, state the period.
Secure the dateThe date of the request counts for the four-year period.
Wait for the noticeAn objection is possible again against the decision (deadline 1 month).

Deadlines

up to 4 years

Basic rule: retroactive provision of social benefits (SGB II and SGB XII: 1 year, § 40 Abs. 1 Satz 2 SGB II; § 116a SGB XII); the calculation starts at the beginning of the year of the withdrawal or of the application.§ 44 Abs. 4 SGB X

Watch out – common mistakes

Applies only to social benefits (SGB), not to notices in other areas of law.
In case of deliberately false information, the claim to withdrawal lapses (§ 44 Abs. 1 SGB X).
If withdrawal is only with effect for the future (§ 44 Abs. 2), back payments are not a given.
The retroactive period (four years, one year in SGB II and SGB XII) gets shorter the longer you wait.

In depth · legal basis, figures and practice – for advisers and professionals

Provision

Under § 44 Abs. 1 SGB X, an administrative act must be withdrawn with effect for the past, even after it has become incontestable, to the extent that it turns out in the individual case that the law was applied incorrectly or that the facts assumed were incorrect when it was issued, and social benefits were therefore wrongly not provided or contributions wrongly levied. The case of deliberately false information by the person concerned is excepted. Under para. 2, another unlawful non-beneficial administrative act can be withdrawn. Under para. 3, the competent authority also decides on the withdrawal of notices of other bodies.

Four years

Under para. 4, social benefits are provided for a period of at most four years before the withdrawal; the period starts at the beginning of the year in which the administrative act is withdrawn. If an application is made, the application takes the place of the withdrawal. The exact wording of para. 4 should be read in the full text. For SGB II (Bürgergeld/Grundsicherungsgeld), § 40 Abs. 1 Satz 2 SGB II shortens the period to one year, and for social assistance and basic income support in old age (SGB XII) § 116a SGB XII does likewise.

Who is responsible

Benefit provider that issued the notice
Social court in case of refusal
Recognised advice centres

Quick questions

Worum geht es bei „Request for review under § 44 SGB X“?

Which deadlines and figures matter?

up to 4 years: Basic rule: retroactive provision of social benefits (SGB II and SGB XII: 1 year, § 40 Abs. 1 Satz 2 SGB II; § 116a SGB XII); the calculation starts at the beginning of the year of the withdrawal or of the application. (§ 44 Abs. 4 SGB X)

What should I do first?

Identify the notice and the error: Which notice, which benefit, what was wrong?
Write the request: Request review under § 44 SGB X, name the notice, state the period.
Secure the date: The date of the request counts for the four-year period.

What do I need to watch out for?

Applies only to social benefits (SGB), not to notices in other areas of law.
In case of deliberately false information, the claim to withdrawal lapses (§ 44 Abs. 1 SGB X).
If withdrawal is only with effect for the future (§ 44 Abs. 2), back payments are not a given.

Evidence

Gesetze im Internet, § 44 SGB X, retrieved 20 September 2026
Gesetze im Internet, § 84 SGG, retrieved 20 September 2026

As of

September 2026 · Sources and method

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