Wegweiser Care leavers · Transition out of youth welfare Deutsch

⚖️ Securing certificates, documents and your own file

School certificates, birth certificate, support plans: what you should collect before youth welfare ends – and how to get access to your file later.

File access (Akteneinsicht) § 25 SGB X Youth welfare file Right of access to information Art. 15 DSGVO (GDPR)

In brief

When youth welfare ends, ongoing access often ends too to documents that the facility, foster family or Jugendamt has so far kept for you – birth certificate, vaccination record, school and training certificates, earlier support plans. It is worth actively asking for these documents before contact ends. For your own youth welfare file you also have, in principle, a right of file access or information, which you can still assert years later.

Step by step

  1. Make a list of documentsBefore the placement ends, make a list of important original documents (birth certificate, ID, certificates, vaccination record, social insurance card, bank statements/contracts).
  2. Request missing originalsRequest missing originals (e.g. birth certificate) from the registry office (Standesamt) and certificates from the school or vocational school.
  3. Make digital copiesMake digital copies of all important documents and keep them safe.
  4. Apply for file accessIf needed, submit an informal application for file access or information under § 25 SGB X or Art. 15 DSGVO to the Jugendamt and, if applicable, the facility.
  5. Check the reasons if refusedExamine a refusal of file access carefully (protection of third parties is a permissible, but not a blanket ground for refusal) and get advice.

Deadlines

No statutory cut-off period
There is no nationwide cut-off period for file access itself; how long files are kept is regulated differently by state law or by municipality.§ 25 SGB X
Watch out – common mistakes
  • File access can be restricted where legitimate interests of third parties (e.g. information about biological parents or siblings) stand in the way – so there is not always a full entitlement to every page of the file.
  • How long a youth welfare file is kept could not be verified uniformly nationwide here – the figure "10 years after the end of support" occasionally circulates, but it is based on municipal or state-law file regulations and not on a single nationwide SGB VIII provision; do not rely on your file being kept indefinitely.
  • Do not confuse file access (inspection of administrative records, § 25 SGB X) with the general data protection right of access (Art. 15 DSGVO) – both can be asserted side by side, but follow different rules.
In depth · legal basis, figures and practice – for advisers and professionals

Legal bases of file access

§ 25 SGB X grants parties to an administrative procedure access to the files concerning the procedure, to the extent this is necessary to protect their legal interests; under Abs. 3 the authority may refuse access to the extent records must be kept secret because of legitimate interests of parties or third parties. In addition, Art. 15 DSGVO grants a general right of access to the personal data stored about you.

Practical tip "Meine Akte" (My File)

Under the keyword "Meine Akte" (My File), Careleaver e. V. offers practical tips on careleaver.de on how to word an application for file access and what to do if it is refused.

Who is responsible
  • The Jugendamt or facility/foster family that keeps the file
Further reading
Guardianship and assistance: what ends at the age of majorityAdvice and contact points for care leavers

Quick questions

Worum geht es bei „Securing certificates, documents and your own file“?
School certificates, birth certificate, support plans: what you should collect before youth welfare ends – and how to get access to your file later.
Which deadlines and figures matter?
No statutory cut-off period: There is no nationwide cut-off period for file access itself; how long files are kept is regulated differently by state law or by municipality.
What should I do first?
  • Make a list of documents: Before the placement ends, make a list of important original documents (birth certificate, ID, certificates, vaccination record, social insurance card, bank statements/contracts).
  • Request missing originals: Request missing originals (e.g. birth certificate) from the registry office (Standesamt) and certificates from the school or vocational school.
  • Make digital copies: Make digital copies of all important documents and keep them safe.
Evidence
  • § 25 SGB X (gesetze-im-internet.de, retrieved September 2026)
  • Art. 15 DSGVO
  • Careleaver e. V., "Meine Akte", careleaver.de, retrieved September 2026
As of

September 2026 · Sources and method

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.