If your child is born in a hospital or birth center, the birth of your child will be automatically reported or displayed to the registry office. Home birth is different. Here you or your partner have to, because you should take care of yourself, take care of it yourself. The birth must be registered at the registry office within the first 7 days of the birth. The following documents are required for this:

For married couples:

• valid passport (with registration certificate) or identity card of both parents
• certified copy of the family register (marriage between January 1st, 1958 and December 31st, 2008) or marriage certificate/marriage certificate and the birth certificates of both parents
• a joint, informal declaration of the child's first name, and if the name is kept separately, also of the child's family name
• if applicable, certificates of naturalization, certificates of citizenship or declarations of acquisition and certificates of change of name of the parents

For unmarried couples:

• valid passport (with registration certificate) or identity card of both parents
• Acknowledgment of paternity and custody
• a joint informal declaration of the child's first name and surname
• if applicable, certificates of naturalization, certificates of citizenship or declarations of acquisition and certificates of change of name of the parents

Your child will only receive a birth certificate after registering at the registry office. There are three versions of this: one for applying for child benefit, one for the parental benefit office and one for your child’s health insurance company.

If you want your parental leave to follow on from maternity leave, you must register your parental leave now if you have not already done so.

See also our summary in the pregnancy cycle -> link to the legal pregnancy cycle.

You can find a detailed article on this in the Pregnancy cycle. Linking to Pregnancy: 3.4 Legal

Child benefit is a state benefit that is provided by the family benefits office of the Federal Employment Agency. Parents receive this benefit in order to relieve them of tax burdens. Strictly speaking, it is not a government grant, but a refund of taxes that parents pay when they spend on their children. The legal basis for child benefit is the Income Tax Act (EStG) and the Federal Child Benefit Act (BKGG)

The entitlement to child benefit is always per child. The amount of child benefit for 2022:

First child and second child
Monthly child benefit: 219 euros

third child
Monthly child benefit: 225 euros

Each additional child
Monthly child benefit: 250 euros

You will receive child benefit if you meet the following requirements:

• you generate income in Germany and have your domicile or habitual abode in Germany
• your child is under 18 years old

To apply for child benefit, you need a tax identification number for your child. You will receive this about 3 months after the birth of your child from the Federal Central Tax Office if the registration authority (usually the registry office) has transmitted the data.

You can find more information and the online application here: https://www.arbeitsagentur.de/familie-und-kinder