Applying for benefits and filing an objection

Legal status: 08.10.2026 (German federal law, checked against the statutory text). Which authority is responsible and which particularities apply depends on the benefit. The versions in force at the time of your application are decisive. Legal terms are translated here for understanding; the German wording of the law is what counts. This article describes the legal situation in Germany.

Making the application

Note when you made the application, and keep a copy or proof of submission. Deadlines are based on the receipt of the application. ^[1] The authority may not refuse to accept an application that falls within its area of responsibility on the grounds that it considers it inadmissible or unfounded on the merits. ^[2]

Practical tip from the editorial team (not derived from the law): Describe concretely what you need and why, and attach existing reports. Concrete examples help the authorities with classification.

Who decides, and within what period

For participation benefits, section 14 SGB IX applies:

• The rehabilitation provider checks within two weeks of receiving the application whether it is responsible. If it is not responsible at all, it forwards the application without delay to the provider it considers responsible and informs you. ^[1]
• If the application is not forwarded, the provider determines the need and provides the benefits. If no expert opinion is needed, it decides within three weeks of receiving the application. If an expert opinion is required, a decision is made within two weeks after the opinion is available. ^[1]
• If the application is forwarded, these periods apply to the provider to which it was forwarded; the period begins with the receipt of the application by it. ^[1]

This applies to participation benefits under SGB IX. For other benefits, such as care insurance, there are rules of their own, for example on assessment (see Care level for autism).

Your rights in the procedure

• Investigation by the authority. The authority investigates the facts of its own motion. It determines the type and scope of the investigation and is not bound by your submissions and by requests for evidence. It must take into account all circumstances significant for the individual case, including those favourable to you. ^[2]
• Hearing. Before an administrative act is issued that interferes with the rights of a party, you must be given the opportunity to comment on the facts relevant to the decision. This may be dispensed with only in the cases named in the law, for example where there is danger in delay. ^[3]
• Access to files. The authority must allow parties to inspect the files, as far as knowing them is necessary to assert or defend their legal interests. If the files contain information about health circumstances, the authority can instead have the content communicated by a doctor. You can make copies yourself or have photocopies provided; the authority can demand reimbursement of its expenses to a reasonable extent. ^[4]

Filing an objection

• Deadline. The objection must be submitted within one month of the announcement of the notice, within three months if announced abroad. ^[5]
• When the deadline starts. A written notice that is sent by post within Germany is deemed to have been announced on the fourth day after it was posted; the one-month period begins then. This does not apply if the notice did not arrive or arrived later; in case of doubt the authority must prove receipt and the date. ^[8] If the end of the deadline falls on a Saturday, Sunday or public holiday, it ends at the end of the next working day. ^[9]
• Form and address. In writing, electronically in the forms named by the law, or recorded in minutes at the body that issued the notice. The deadline is also regarded as met if the objection has been received by another domestic authority or by an insurance provider; that body must forward it without delay to the responsible body. ^[5]
• Instruction on legal remedy. The period begins to run only if you have been instructed in writing or electronically about the legal remedy, the body or court where it must be lodged, its seat and the period to be observed. If the instruction was omitted or given incorrectly, the legal remedy is admissible within one year of service (exceptions: force majeure or an instruction that no legal remedy exists). ^[6]

To be safe, file the objection early and record its receipt (for example by registered mail with delivery confirmation or an acknowledgement of receipt). If necessary, you can submit a detailed statement of reasons later; discuss this with an advice centre.

When no decision is made

If an application has not been decided within a reasonable period without sufficient reason, a lawsuit is admissible at the earliest after six months from the application; if no decision has been made on an objection, a period of three months counts as reasonable. If there is sufficient reason for the delay, the court stays the proceedings. ^[7] For participation benefits, the shorter decision periods under section 14 SGB IX also apply. ^[1] Whether and how you proceed in such a situation, get advice beforehand.

Advice

For questions in the individual case, on wording an objection or on a lawsuit, advice centres and specialist lawyers for social law can help. An overview of who is responsible for what: Understanding the support system.

Sources and literature

1. § 14 SGB IX – Leistender Rehabilitationsträger. Sozialgesetzbuch Neuntes Buch (www.gesetze-im-internet.de/sgb_9_2018/__14.html). – Statute (German federal law, in German)
2. § 20 SGB X – Untersuchungsgrundsatz. Sozialgesetzbuch Zehntes Buch (www.gesetze-im-internet.de/sgb_10/__20.html). – Statute (German federal law, in German)
3. § 24 SGB X – Anhörung Beteiligter (www.gesetze-im-internet.de/sgb_10/__24.html). – Statute (German federal law, in German)
4. § 25 SGB X – Akteneinsicht durch Beteiligte (www.gesetze-im-internet.de/sgb_10/__25.html). – Statute (German federal law, in German)
5. § 84 SGG – Widerspruchsfrist. Sozialgerichtsgesetz (www.gesetze-im-internet.de/sgg/__84.html). – Statute (German federal law, in German)
6. § 66 SGG – Rechtsbehelfsbelehrung und Fristen (www.gesetze-im-internet.de/sgg/__66.html). – Statute (German federal law, in German)
7. § 88 SGG – Untätigkeitsklage (www.gesetze-im-internet.de/sgg/__88.html). – Statute (German federal law, in German)
8. § 37 SGB X – Bekanntgabe des Verwaltungsaktes (www.gesetze-im-internet.de/sgb_10/__37.html) – Statute (German federal law, in German)
9. § 64 SGG – Fristberechnung. Sozialgerichtsgesetz (www.gesetze-im-internet.de/sgg/__64.html) – Statute (German federal law, in German)