Sources and method – Students

These 15 topic pages are based primarily on statutory texts (gesetze-im-internet.de: BAföG, EStG, SGB V, SGB XI, SGB IV, SGB III, BGB, WoGG, VwGO, InsO, ZPO), on publications of the Federal Office of Administration (Bundesverwaltungsamt), the Federal Employment Agency/Familienkasse (family benefits office), the German Pension Insurance, KfW and the German Student Services Association (Deutsches Studentenwerk). The "Sources" field of each topic page names the specific references.

Sources

1. Gesetze im Internet (gesetze-im-internet.de), Federal Ministry of Justice and Federal Office of Justice, retrieved September 2026: consolidated versions of the Federal Training Assistance Act (BAföG, esp. §§ 5, 6, 7, 10, 11, 13, 13a, 15, 15a, 17, 18, 18a, 21, 23, 24, 25, 48), Income Tax Act (EStG, esp. §§ 32, 62, 70, 74), SGB V (§§ 5, 10), SGB XI (§ 20), SGB IV (§ 8), SGB III (§§ 38, 142, 147), Civil Code (Bürgerliches Gesetzbuch) (§§ 543, 549, 551, 573c, 575, 195, 199), Housing Benefit Act (§ 20 WoGG), Code of Administrative Court Procedure (§§ 70, 74, 166 VwGO), Insolvency Code (§§ 4a, 287, 305), Code of Civil Procedure (§§ 692, 694), Basic Law (Art. 3) as well as the Scholarship Programme Act (StipG) and the Legal Advice Assistance Act (BerHG). Basis for all sections cited in the text.
2. Bundesverwaltungsamt (BVA), Cologne (bva.bund.de), information on repayment of the BAföG loan portion, retrieved September 2026. Basis for the repayment and deferral process; individual euro amounts (repayment cap, exemption threshold) could not be conclusively verified against the authority's original text in this research, see below.
3. Bundesagentur für Arbeit (Federal Employment Agency) / Familienkasse (arbeitsagentur.de, familienkasse.de), retrieved September 2026, and press release "Kindergeld steigt ab Januar 2026" (child benefit rises from January 2026) of 5 January 2026. Basis for the child benefit amount (€259/month since January 2026) and the procedure at the Familienkasse; the underlying statutory provision on the amount (§ 66 EStG/§ 6 BKGG) was not additionally cross-checked in full text.
4. German Pension Insurance (Deutsche Rentenversicherung) (deutsche-rentenversicherung.de), encyclopaedia entry "Werkstudentenprivileg" (working student privilege), retrieved September 2026. Basis for the 20-hour rule, the exceptions during the lecture-free period and the continuing pension insurance liability.
5. Social Insurance Calculation Values Ordinance 2026 (Sozialversicherungsrechengrößen-Verordnung 2026) and press release of the German Pension Insurance Baden-Württemberg of 22 December 2025 ("Minijob earnings limit rises to €603 in 2026"): reference value of €3,955/month, of which 1/7 = €565/month as a guide value for the income limit of family insurance (§ 10 SGB V), as well as the minijob limit of €603/month or €7,236/year. These values were confirmed through several consistent specialist and official sources; the text of the ordinance itself was not reviewed in full text – see below.
6. KfW Bankengruppe (kfw.de), overview of terms for the KfW student loan (174), retrieved September 2026. Basis for the process, payout instalment and half-yearly interest adjustment; the specific interest rate is deliberately not stated here because it changes on 1 April and 1 October each time.
7. Deutschlandstipendium (deutschlandstipendium.de) and Scholarship Programme Act (StipG), retrieved September 2026. Basis for the funding model, exemption from offsetting up to €300/month (§ 21 Abs. 3 BAföG) and the application route via the university.
8. Deutsches Studentenwerk / Studierendenwerke (student services organisations) (studierendenwerke.de), information pages on BAföG, housing and housing benefit, retrieved September 2026. Basis for administrative practice regarding halls of residence, advice services and the exclusion from housing benefit under § 20 WoGG.
9. DAAD (daad.de) and the Erasmus+ Programme Guide of the European Commission, retrieved September 2026. Basis for funding of semesters abroad and the relationship between Erasmus+ and BAföG for study abroad.
10. State higher education acts and examination/enrolment regulations of individual universities, reviewed as examples, retrieved September 2026 – as evidence that leave of absence, compensation for disadvantages and challenging exam results are, according to the available information, regulated by state or university law and not uniformly across the federal level.

Where information is expressly marked as uncertain

For some figures and administrative practices, no direct official primary source with an exact value could be found in the course of the research, or checked against the statutory text itself. This applies in particular to:

• the exact breakdown of the maximum monthly BAföG rate (around €992 according to several consistent secondary sources) into basic requirement, housing supplement and health/long-term care insurance supplement (§§ 13, 13a BAföG) – individual items were stated differently in different sources (see "Applying for BAföG");
• the exact amount of the BAföG parental allowances under § 25 BAföG for September 2026 (see "Applying for BAföG");
• the exact amount of the capped BAföG repayment limit (€10,010 according to secondary sources) and the point at which a remaining debt is waived (20 years according to secondary sources) – neither value was checked individually against the statutory text or a BVA primary source (see "BAföG objection and repayment");
• the income limit under § 18a BAföG that is decisive for deferral of BAföG repayment – stated inconsistently in secondary sources (see "BAföG objection and repayment");
• the current effective interest rate of the KfW student loan (174) – changes half-yearly on 1 April and 1 October and is therefore deliberately not given here as a fixed figure (see "Student loans and scholarships");
• the exact total monthly contribution to student health and long-term care insurance (secondary sources state approx. €115–125, derived from the BAföG rate) – no individually verified official value for September 2026 found (see "Health insurance for students");
• the marginal employment threshold of family insurance (§ 10 Abs. 1 Nr. 5 SGB V), which is linked to the reference value or the minijob limit: €565/month (1/7 of the reference value of €3,955) is circulating as a guide value for 2026, confirmed through several consistent specialist and official sources, but without our own review of the text of the Social Insurance Calculation Values Ordinance 2026 itself (see "Health insurance for students");
• the minijob limit of €603/month (2026) is considered reliable according to a press release of the German Pension Insurance Baden-Württemberg of 22 December 2025, but is regularly adjusted to the minimum wage and should be checked again for later periods (see "Part-time jobs and working students", "Health insurance for students");
• the exact amount of the BAföG basic allowance for own income under § 23 Abs. 1 BAföG (see "Part-time jobs and working students");
• detailed thresholds on how often and for how long the 20-hour limit of the working student privilege may exceptionally be exceeded (marginal times, several fixed-term jobs) – the principle of at most 26 weeks with more than 20 hours per twelve-month period is documented via the DRV encyclopaedia; individual detailed thresholds also come from secondary sources (see "Part-time jobs and working students");
• the statutory provision on the child benefit amount that was cross-checked (§ 66 EStG/§ 6 BKGG) – the amount of €259/month since January 2026 is documented via a press release of the Federal Employment Agency, not additionally checked against the ordinance or statutory text itself (see "Child benefit during studies");
• whether and how an entitlement to child benefit continues in individual cases during a leave semester – the statutory text does not expressly regulate this case; the practice described relies on generally known administrative practice of the Familienkassen, which could not be documented with an up-to-date primary source in this research (see "Child benefit during studies", "Leave semester and illness");
• whether and to what extent BAföG continues to be paid during a leave of absence due to illness – there is no conclusive rule individually verified against the statutory text in this research (see "Leave semester and illness");
• the usual approval period for housing benefit (often twelve months) as well as the legal classification of student hall of residence contracts (tenancy agreement under the BGB or a separate right of use) and the usual deadline for return of the deposit (up to six months) – in each case administrative practice or case law, not directly statutory text (see "Housing benefit for students", "Housing: student halls and shared flats");
• the exact amount of possible BAföG supplements abroad for tuition fees, travel costs or increased living costs outside the EU (see "Semester abroad and funding");
• the specific design of compensation for disadvantages in exams as well as the deadlines and grounds for a leave semester – both are regulated by state or university law and are therefore not uniform nationwide (see "Challenging exam results and compensation for disadvantages", "Leave semester and illness").

In all these cases the relevant topic page expressly names the uncertainty instead of presenting a figure or assessment as settled law. Where a figure is regarded as "certain", it comes from a statutory text reviewed directly on the day of research or a named official press release.

What this platform does – and what it does not

• Figures, deadlines, amounts and legal bases come from the sources named. Nothing was added that is not documented there. Where a statement could not be reliably verified, this is stated on the relevant page instead of guessed.
• Rules that differ under state law (e.g. leave of absence, compensation for disadvantages, examination regulations) are marked as "state-specific" or "university-specific" instead of being given an invented nationwide rule.
• Student financing, social insurance law and child benefit law change frequently – in particular BAföG rates, allowances, contribution rates and interest rates. The information does not replace legal advice in an individual case and is not an up-to-date statement from the responsible office.
• Deadlines are often short and run from service of a notice of decision (Bescheid). If in doubt, contact the BAföG office, the health insurance fund, the Familienkasse or an advice centre immediately – see Advice and contact points.