Apply for one-time benefits

If you have little or no income or assets, you can apply for citizen benefit for one-off benefits in special situations. It doesn't matter whether you have received money from the job center or not. Situations in which you may be entitled to one-off...

If you have little or no income or assets, you can apply for citizen benefit for one-off benefits in special situations. It doesn't matter whether you have received money from the job center or not. Situations in which you may be entitled to one-off benefits include when:

You are expecting a child and therefore need new equipment and clothing.
You need furniture or household appliances for the first time or have to buy new ones after a divorce.
You need orthopedic shoes or need to have them repaired.
You need to have therapeutic devices or equipment repaired.

In these and other cases, you can apply for either cash or non-cash benefits (vouchers) from the job center.
Contact your regional job center before submitting an application. In many cases, the job center uses its own application form, sometimes an informal application with a reason is sufficient. The amount of the one-time benefits can vary from region to region.

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Important notes

Prerequisites

If you are able to work and will probably not be able to cover your living expenses financially at the moment or in the next 6 months, you can apply for citizen benefit for one-time benefits in cash or in kind (voucher). The one-off service must also be necessary. The service is then to be used exclusively for what is applied for, i.e. for

the initial furnishing of the apartment,
the initial equipment for clothing and initial equipment for pregnancy and childbirth,
the purchase and repair of orthopedic shoes,
the repairs of therapeutic devices and equipment and the rental of therapeutic devices.

Documents required

ID card or passport
proof of income
if applicable:
- Proof of assets
- Lease agreement, proof of rent payment or house encumbrances
- Maternity pass or medical certificate of the due date
- Recipe
- estimates

Please ask the job center responsible for you which documents you need to submit for your case.

Please note

The one-time benefits according to § 24 paragraph 3 sentence 1 number 1 and 2 SGB II are provided under the responsibility of the municipal authorities. The level of benefits can therefore vary from region to region.

Deadlines

Submit the application before you make the purchases, as one-off services are only provided if the need is not yet covered

Procedure & Fees

Procedure

For one-time benefits, contact your local job center by phone, email or in person. There you will receive further information and an application form if you need one. Alternatively, you can also apply for the benefits online with the digital application for citizen's income.

Fill out the application form or write a reasoned, informal application, depending on the specifications of your responsible job center.
Send the application to the job center. In this you must prove your need. Attach the necessary documents requested by the job center that prove the need and are required for the check.
The job center will check your application. Evidence from third parties (e.g. your landlord) may be required to check whether you need one-off services. Ultimately, the authority makes a case-by-case decision. You will then receive notification from the job center. There are three possible decisions:
- the application is approved
- the application is partially approved,
- The request will be denied.
The job center will pay you the approved amount or send you the benefit in kind (voucher).

Processing time

It may take several weeks to process your application.

Fees

There is no cost to you if you have an account. If you do not have an account, you will receive a payment instruction for a cash payment (ZzV-Bar). This is a check. However, this will incur costs that will be deducted directly from the service to which you are entitled. Since the amount of the costs for the payment order can vary, please contact your local job center for more information. You can have the check paid out in cash. Payment is made exclusively via the Postbank branches. The ZzV-Bar is a means of payment from Postbank AG, the use of which was agreed separately between the Federal Employment Agency and Postbank.

Legal notes

Legal remedies

If the job center rejects your application and/or you do not agree with the job center's decision, you can appeal the decision within one month.

Legal basis

Section 24 paragraph 3 sentence 1 of the second book of the Social Code (SGB II)

https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/sgb_2/__24.html