Bundestag Approves Application-Free Child Benefit – Launch of Payments Starting in 2027
Berlin, July 09, 2026
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Summary
The Bundestag paved the way on Thursday in Berlin for the introduction of application-free child benefit. In future, the Family Benefits Office (Familienkasse) is to pay the benefit automatically after the birth of a child as a rule, eliminating around 300,000 applications per year.
Berlin, July 09, 2026
The Bundestag paved the way on Thursday in Berlin for the introduction of application-free child benefit, thereby setting in motion one of Germany's least bureaucratic family benefits.
Passed with Votes from the Union, SPD, and Greens
Parliament passed the federal government's corresponding draft law in Berlin on Thursday. The draft was adopted with the votes of the Union, SPD, and Greens. The AfD and a faction of the Greens had put their own draft bills to a vote in parliament, but they failed to win a majority.
Under the plans, as a rule child benefit will in future be paid automatically to parents after the birth of a child. In future, the existence of an IBAN account number will be sufficient for automatic payment. Only in cases of uncertainty should parents continue to have to submit an application. The Familienkasse will continue to verify eligibility in all cases; however, the information required for this is to be exchanged between authorities without requiring transmission by the parents.
Federal Finance Minister Lars Klingbeil (SPD) expects that the reform will eliminate around 300,000 child benefit applications per year. The reform makes life easier "for many young families"… Automatic child benefit payments mean for them: "More time for the baby instead of tedious bureaucracy." Child benefit currently amounts to 259 euros per month per child, regardless of income. Last year the Familienkasse paid out around 55 billion euros in child benefit for more than 17 million children.
How the Automated Data Flow Works
The coalition has agreed: with a comprehensive reform package on taxes, labor, and reducing bureaucracy, the Union and SPD aim to lead Germany out of the economic crisis. The decision on child benefit is part of this package. The Union pushed to ensure that child benefit is paid out to the mother as a matter of principle. The draft law states: it is paid out to the person who regularly cares for the child.
Data will in future flow directly between authorities. The Federal Central Tax Office (Bundeszentralamt für Steuern) assigns a tax ID for every newborn child. It receives the information about the birth from the registry offices via the registration authorities. It then informs the Familienkasse about the birth of a child. On this basis, the Familienkasse can initiate payment, provided all facts material to the decision are known.
The legal text states verbatim: "Die Möglichkeit zur antragslosen Kindergeldgewährung soll die Familienkasse nutzen, wenn alle entscheidungserheblichen Tatsachen bekannt sind, keine Zweifel an der Anspruchsberechtigung bestehen und eine Kontoverbindung bekannt ist." The prerequisite for the automated procedure is to be that at least one parent lives in Germany together with the child, one parent works in Germany, and that the bank account details are available.
Two Stages Starting in 2027: First Second-Born, Then First-Born
Two steps are planned. The reform is to be implemented gradually starting in 2027. In an initial stage, however, it is to apply only after the birth of a second child, since all required data are already available in such cases. In a first step – expected in March 2027 – child benefit is to be paid out automatically for every additional child of parents who already have at least one older child. It will then go to the person who currently receives the child benefit.
In the second stage – expected from November 2027 – child benefit is also to be paid out without an application for first-born children. According to the draft law, the first expansion stage covers births starting with the second child, since the Familienkasse can continue to use known data for first-born children. The regulation is later to be extended to first-born children. The law is to enter into force at the beginning of January 2027.
This news was broadcast on 09.07.2026 on the Deutschlandfunk program. The Bundestag has paved the way for the introduction of application-free child benefit. The Bundesrat must still give its consent before the law can enter into force.
Reactions from the Parliamentary Groups
CDU politician Anne König said: "Mit dem antragslosen Kindergeld bauen wir Bürokratie spürbar ab und entlasten Familien in den ersten Wochen nach der Geburt." In doing so, the Union underscored the bureaucracy-reducing character of the reform. König belongs to the CDU/CSU Bundestag faction, which passed the draft together with the SPD and Greens.
SPD politician Parsa Marvi said in the Bundestag: "Leistungen sollten schnell, unkompliziert und ohne unnötige Bürokratie bei den Menschen ankommen." He spoke of a step toward a modern state that makes life easier for people. In doing so, both the governing coalition parties and parts of the opposition framed elements of the reform project as a modernization of public administration.
The Greens want to make additional child-related benefits easier to access beyond automatic child benefit. The Greens had introduced their own draft bill into the Bundestag, which however did not win a majority in the vote. The AfD wants to adjust child benefit for children living abroad in the EU to the level of local living costs – this proposal was likewise not adopted.
Criticism and Approval: Children's Aid Organization Sees Gaps
The German Children's Aid Foundation (Deutsches Kinderhilfswerk) welcomed the new regulation. It could be a first step toward making it easier for families to receive benefits to which they are entitled, and thereby have positive effects on the material security of children. Holger Hofmann, Federal Managing Director of the Deutsches Kinderhilfswerk, also expressed criticism.
Holger Hofmann criticized that parents who are not gainfully employed would be excluded from the procedure and that births of first-born children would not be covered initially. It is also problematic that application-free child benefit is being implemented in several expansion stages, according to Hofmann. The Children's Aid Foundation thus pointed to a gap: families in which one parent is not gainfully employed are to continue to have to submit an application for the time being.
"Das Ziel ist es, Bürokratie abzubauen, ohne das zusätzliche Risiko ungerechtfertigter Auszahlungen einzugehen," according to the federal government. Under the reform, existing data that already flow between registration authorities, registry offices, the Federal Central Tax Office, and the Familienkasse are to be used specifically for child benefit payments. This is intended to prevent money from being paid out to eligible persons who are not entitled to it.
Outlook: Bundesrat Approval Still Pending
It also remains unclear how many families will actually benefit from the elimination of applications. In the first step, only parents with a second child or beyond benefit; parents with non-working partners are initially excluded from the automated procedure. Only with the second stage, expected from November 2027, will the procedure be extended to first-born children, so that a significantly larger group of families will then be able to receive automatic payment.
With the decision in the Bundestag, a central building block of the black-red coalition's bureaucracy-reduction package under Friedrich Merz has been finalized. Whether and when the project fully enters into force now depends on the vote in the Bundesrat. Only once the chamber representing Germany's states also gives its approval can the law enter into force at the beginning of January 2027 and the first automatic payments be made from March 2027.
Questions & Answers
When does application-free child benefit take effect?
The law is to enter into force at the beginning of January 2027. In a first stage, expected in March 2027, child benefit will be paid out automatically for additional children; the extension to first-born children is expected to follow from November 2027.
Who receives application-free child benefit automatically?
As a rule, child benefit is to be paid out automatically to parents after the birth of a child in future, provided that at least one parent lives in Germany with the child, one parent works in Germany, and an IBAN account number is available.
Why is there criticism of application-free child benefit?
Holger Hofmann of the Deutsches Kinderhilfswerk criticizes that non-working parents are initially excluded and that first-born children are only covered at a later stage. The reform is nevertheless welcomed as a possible first step toward easier access to family benefits.
