🧾 Compensation as a witness (JVEG)

For your time, travel costs and loss of earnings as a witness in court you are entitled to compensation under the JVEG – you have to apply for it.

JVEG witness compensation § 19 JVEG § 22 JVEG loss of earnings § 2 JVEG

In brief

If you are summoned to a court hearing as a witness, you are entitled to compensation under the Judicial Remuneration and Compensation Act (Justizvergütungs- und -entschädigungsgesetz, JVEG). Reimbursed are, among other things, travel costs, other expenses and loss of earnings for the time spent attending the hearing, including necessary waiting time and travel there (§§ 19 to 22 JVEG). The reimbursable loss of earnings is capped by law in amount (§ 22 JVEG).

The compensation is not paid out automatically but must be applied for from the court – as a rule as soon as possible after the hearing, as a statutory cut-off period applies.

Step by step

Keep the summonsKeep the summons as proof of the hearing.
Document your expensesProvide proof of travel costs, loss of earnings (e.g. through confirmation from your employer) and other out-of-pocket expenses.
Submit the application to the courtAfter the hearing, submit an application for compensation under the JVEG to the cashier's office of the court at which the hearing took place.
Observe the deadlineSubmit the application within three months of the hearing or of learning of the circumstances giving rise to the claim, otherwise the claim lapses.

Deadlines

3 months

Cut-off period for asserting the compensation claim, beginning at the end of the hearing or at its conclusion.§ 2 JVEG

Watch out – common mistakes

The application must be made actively – without an application the court does not pay anything on its own initiative.
The reimbursable loss of earnings is capped by law (hourly rate under § 22 JVEG); with a high income it may therefore not cover the full actual loss of earnings.
After the three-month period expires, the claim in principle lapses – a late application can therefore lead to the complete loss of compensation.

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

§§ 19–22 JVEG: scope of compensation

The JVEG regulates the compensation of witnesses for travel costs (§ 19 JVEG), other expenses (§ 20 JVEG), disadvantages in running the household (§ 21 JVEG) and loss of earnings (§ 22 JVEG). The reimbursable loss of earnings is calculated at a statutorily set hourly rate, which is adjusted regularly.

§ 2 JVEG: cut-off period

The claim for compensation lapses if it is not asserted within three months; the period begins at the time the person called upon learns of the fact giving rise to the claim, but at the latest with the end of the relevant stage of the proceedings.

Relationship to trial support and joint plaintiff status

JVEG compensation concerns the role as a witness and must be applied for independently of any participation as a joint plaintiff or psychosocial trial support; it does not cover legal fees, only your own expenses in connection with the hearing.

Who is responsible

Cashier's office of the summoning court

Quick questions

Worum geht es bei „Compensation as a witness (JVEG)“?

For your time, travel costs and loss of earnings as a witness in court you are entitled to compensation under the JVEG – you have to apply for it.

Which deadlines and figures matter?

3 months: Cut-off period for asserting the compensation claim, beginning at the end of the hearing or at its conclusion. (§ 2 JVEG)

What should I do first?

Keep the summons: Keep the summons as proof of the hearing.
Document your expenses: Provide proof of travel costs, loss of earnings (e.g. through confirmation from your employer) and other out-of-pocket expenses.
Submit the application to the court: After the hearing, submit an application for compensation under the JVEG to the cashier's office of the court at which the hearing took place.

What do I need to watch out for?

The application must be made actively – without an application the court does not pay anything on its own initiative.
The reimbursable loss of earnings is capped by law (hourly rate under § 22 JVEG); with a high income it may therefore not cover the full actual loss of earnings.
After the three-month period expires, the claim in principle lapses – a late application can therefore lead to the complete loss of compensation.

Evidence

§§ 2, 19, 20, 21, 22 JVEG (gesetze-im-internet.de)

As of

As of September 2026. · Sources and method

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