Which Kindergeld forms do I need, and how do I fill them in?

The four forms at a glance

In cross-border cases the Familienkasse asks for these forms. The versions below are the current ones, read on 23 October 2026 (Stand means version date).

• Anlage EU (KG 1-AnEU) is not needed when you attach Anlage Ausland anyway.
• Self-employed parents add proof such as a copy of the Gewerbeanmeldung or a Steuerbescheid.
• A person with a German pension uses KG 51R instead of KG 51.
• For a child over 18 who is looking for work or has no training place, add form KG 11a.

Get the forms in your language

Download the forms from the Bundesagentur für Arbeit page Kindergeld-Antrag: Merkblätter und Formulare. The Romanian, Bulgarian and Polish versions are bilingual: your language and German on the same page, so the Familienkasse can read every line.

The translated KG 51 asks you to write in Latin capital letters. The German one says Bitte in Druckschrift ausfüllen (please print). This matters for Bulgarian families: write names and places in Latin letters, not Cyrillic.

KG 1: the application, point by point

KG 1 is written in the name of the person who applies. Usually that is the parent the children live with, so often your partner at home.

• Point 1, Angaben zur antragstellenden Person: the applicant's German tax ID (steuerliche Identifikationsnummer, required if one was given), name, birth date, nationality, address and marital status.
• Point 2: the spouse or partner, or the other parent in the same household, with their tax ID if they have one.
• Point 3, Angaben zum Zahlungsweg: IBAN, BIC, bank and account holder.
• Point 4: if the decision (Bescheid) should go to someone else, such as a Steuerberater (Empfangsbevollmächtigte).
• Points 5 and 6: children you already get Kindergeld for, and your children someone else gets it for, with the Familienkasse and the Kindergeld number.
• Two signatures: the applicant, and the person named in point 2. With that second signature the partner agrees that the applicant receives the Kindergeld.

Anlage Kind: one for each child

Fill in one Anlage Kind for every child, even for twins. Only the applicant signs it.

• Point 1: the child's tax ID if there is one, name, birth date and nationality, and the child's address if it is not yours.
• Point 2, Kindschaftsverhältnis: how the child is related to you, to your spouse and to any other person, for example the other parent, with that person's last known address.
• Point 3: only for a child who is 18 or about to turn 18: school, study, training, job seeking, voluntary service, work and weekly hours.
• Point 4: who got Kindergeld for this child before, with the Familienkasse and Kindergeld number.
• Point 6: any child benefit from an office outside Germany in the last 5 years: who, which benefit, monthly amount in euro, period, office and file number (Aktenzeichen).
• Point 7: work outside Germany, or work in Germany for an employer based abroad (for example as a posted worker), in the last 5 years.

Anlage Ausland (KG 51): where everyone lives and works

KG 51 is needed when at least one parent or child lives or works abroad, or gets benefits from abroad. At the top it asks for the applicant's tax ID, or else an identification or insurance number (Kenn-Nummer/Versicherungsnummer), and the spouse's insurance number.

• Point 1: the date you came to Germany (month and year).
• Point 2: which child lives abroad, in which country, since when, with the child's ID or insurance number.
• Point 3: family benefits from outside Germany in the last five years, applied for or received.
• Point 4: your work in the last five years: employer, weekly hours, place, breaks for illness or child care, pensions. If you still work in Germany, you must add payslips or bank statements and the employer form KG 54.
• Point 5: the same questions for your spouse or the other parent.
• If the applicant lives in Germany: proof of residence, such as the rental contract or a landlord's certificate with the size of the flat and the people living there.

KG 54: the part your employer fills in

The form itself says the employer must always fill it in when a parent works in Germany or for an employer based in Germany. Give it to your employer or the payroll office early, because the envelope cannot go without it.

The employer confirms: since when you have worked there without a break, and whether the contract is open-ended or fixed term; whether you are or were posted abroad; your regular weekly hours, and how many are home office; maternity protection or parental leave; and whether you pay into German unemployment insurance. Then they add name, address, phone, the company stamp and a signature.

Who signs where, and which copies to add

Send copies, not originals. The Familienkasse keeps an electronic file and destroys the paper soon after scanning. You may black out information it does not need, such as school grades or health details.

• The foreign birth certificate of each child born abroad, to prove the parent and child relationship.
• Payslips or bank statements as proof of your income in Germany.
• Proof of a German address if the applicant lives in Germany.
• For a child over 18: a school or university certificate (for example a Semesterbescheinigung), a training contract, or a job seeker registration.

Step by step: from blank forms to the envelope

The addresses: Romania goes to Familienkasse Bayern Nord, 90316 Nürnberg. Bulgaria goes to Familienkasse Rheinland-Pfalz-Saarland, 55149 Mainz. Poland goes to Familienkasse Sachsen, 09092 Chemnitz. You can also apply online at familienkasse.de with BundID, or hand the application to the family benefit office at home, which forwards it.

1. Download the forms in your language from arbeitsagentur.de.
2. Fill in KG 1 in the name of the parent the children live with. Write the tax ID if one exists.
3. Fill in one Anlage Kind per child, including point 6 (benefits abroad) and point 7 (work abroad, posting).
4. Fill in KG 51 in capital letters, with points 3 to 5 complete.
5. Give KG 54 to your German employer to fill in, stamp and sign.
6. Add the copies listed above.
7. Sign by hand: the applicant on KG 1, every Anlage Kind and KG 51; the partner on KG 1 point 2 if you share a household.
8. Send everything to the Familienkasse for your country by post, or fax the signed application. Keep copies and note when it arrived.

Mistakes that cost months, and where Geldback helps

Geldback asks you questions in Romanian, Bulgarian, Polish or English and fills in KG 1, Anlage Kind and KG 51 in the right person's name. It gives you KG 54 for the employer, a cover page that shows who signs where, a list of copies and the right address. Fixed price 59 €.

It does not apply online with BundID, sign or post for you, get KG 54 from your employer, or collect documents from offices at home. The Familienkasse may still ask for more papers.