Mutterschaftsgeld
Maternity benefit
Up to €13/day from the German Krankenkasse plus an employer top-up to full net wage — paid during the 14-week maternity protection period around the birth.
Start application →Mutterschaftsgeld is the wage-replacement benefit paid to pregnant women and new mothers in statutory health insurance during the Mutterschutz (maternity protection) period. Governed by the Mutterschutzgesetz (MuSchG, modernised in 2017) and § 24i SGB V. The protection period covers 6 weeks before and 8 weeks after birth as standard — extended to 12 weeks after birth for premature births, multiple births, or babies with a disability. The Krankenkasse (statutory health-insurance fund) pays up to €13/day (~€390/month); the employer tops up to the average net wage of the last three settled calendar months (Arbeitgeberzuschuss zum Mutterschaftsgeld per § 20 MuSchG). Self-employed women, mini-jobbers, and voluntary insured have limited or no claims and need to check whether they qualify for Mutterschaftsgeld from the Bundesamt für Soziale Sicherung. File the application with the Krankenkasse 7 weeks before the expected due date with a doctor's certificate.
Eligibility
You qualify for Mutterschaftsgeld if:
- you are in compulsory social insurance employment in Germany or voluntarily insured in the statutory health-insurance system
- you are pregnant and have a doctor's certificate stating the expected due date
- you are within the maternity-protection period (6 weeks before + 8 or 12 weeks after birth)
- your employment relationship exists (also during parental leave, probation, or as a mini-jobber with limited entitlement)
- Self-employed: only if voluntarily insured in statutory health insurance with sickness-benefit entitlement
- Privately insured pregnant women do not receive Krankenkasse Mutterschaftsgeld but may receive a one-off €210 from the Bundesamt für Soziale Sicherung in Bonn