Apply for care assistance
If you are in need of care and cannot bear the costs of care yourself, not even with the help of long-term care insurance, you may be entitled to "care assistance"
You may be eligible for care assistance if you are in financial need,
- if you are not covered by social long-term care insurance (statutory or private),
- if your need for care is not expected to last for at least six months and you will not receive any long-term care insurance benefits for this reason, or
- You have long-term care insurance but have not yet completed the qualifying period for long-term care insurance benefits,
- if the benefits from long-term care insurance, which are limited in amount, are not sufficient.
Care assistance includes, for example
- home care
- Care aids
- Care allowance
- partial inpatient care
- Short-term care
- Measures to improve the living environment
- inpatient care (for example in nursing homes)
- digital care applications
Responsible authority
- for determining the need for long-term care for those insured under statutory or private long-term care insurance: the responsible long-term care insurance fund. This is usually your health insurance fund
- for the application for care assistance: the social welfare office responsible for your place of residence
Contact
Details
Prerequisite
- You have a need for care from care level 2. If you have care level 1, you may be entitled to care aids, measures to improve your living environment or digital care applications. In addition, if the requirements are met, relief benefits of up to EUR 125.00 per month can be granted.
- Care insurance benefits
- you are not entitled to or
- you are entitled to, but they are not sufficient.
- Your income and assets are not sufficient to cover the costs of care. The income and assets of spouses or partners who are not separated must also be taken into account.
- With a few exceptions, assets must be used. For example, financial assets of up to EUR 10,000 for single persons and a total of EUR 20,000 for spouses or partners are not to be taken into account. Also not to be taken into account is an owner-occupied property or an owner-occupied flat.
Procedure
If you are covered by statutory or private long-term care insurance, you should first contact them to clarify which long-term care insurance benefits you are entitled to.
You must apply for care assistance at your local social welfare office. Use the form provided for this purpose, which you can obtain from your local social welfare office or which may also be made available to you online
If you do not have long-term care insurance, the social welfare office will arrange for the need for long-term care to be assessed by the Medical Service of the health insurance funds or another suitable organisation. Based on the information and documents you provide, the social welfare office will check your personal and financial circumstances.
Deadlines
There are no time limits.
Please note: You will not receive care assistance for the past, but only once the social welfare organisation is aware of your needs. You should therefore contact your social welfare office as early as possible by telephone, in person or in writing.
Required documents
Depending on the individual case, different proofs and documents are required, for example
- Identity card or passport of the applicant
- Proof of income at the time of application
- Proof of existing assets (e.g. savings books)
- Proof of expenses (e.g. rental costs)
- Notification from the care insurance fund about the existence of a care degree
Note: Clarify in a personal appointment with your social welfare office which evidence and documents you need to submit in your specific case.
Costs
none
Miscellaneous
none
Detailed information
Legal basis
Zwölftes Sozialgesetzbuch (SGB 12)
- § 19 Leistungsberechtigte
- §§ 61-66a Hilfe zur Pflege
Release note
machine generated, based on the German release by: Sozialministerium Baden-Württemberg, 19.08.2025