List of age groups in German law

Age groups and age limits play a major role in German law , especially with regard to the rights, obligations and claims of natural persons .

Overview

German age definitions up to 30th birthday

term	0	1	2	3	4th	5	6th	7th	8th	9	10	11	12	13	14th	15th	16	17th	18th	19th	20th	21st	22nd	23	24	25th	26th	27	28	29
infant	Yes	No
small child	part	Yes		part			part	No
childhood	No			early			middle				late				No
child	Yes												part		part				No
student	No						Yes										part		No
teenager	No													Yes							No
Teenager	No														Yes				part			No
Youth ( UN )	No													part		Yes					part	part				No
Youth ( shell )	No												Yes													No
Age of consent	Yes														part		part		No
Minor	Yes																		No
Child benefit	Yes																		part			part				once		No
young person	part										Yes								part							part		No
teenager	No																		Yes			No
young adult	No																		Yes									No
of legal age	No																		Yes
criminal responsibility	No												formerly		part				Yes			Yes
legally competent	No							part					part		part		part		Yes
FSK / USK	0						6th						12				16		18th

Before conception

• Subsequent heirs ( § 2101 BGB) can be persons who have not yet been conceived

From conception

• A child not yet born ( nasciturus ) is entitled to inheritance from conception ( § 1923 BGB ).
• A child who has not yet been born can claim corresponding compensation for damages in the event that his (potentially) dependent person is killed (Section 844 (2) sentence 2 BGB).

Nidation

• Protection of the unborn child from abortion after implantation ( § 218 StGB )

Beginning of birth

• The onset of the opening of labor applies in criminal law as a "turning point for the beginning of human life" ( BGHSt 32, 194 ). From this point in time, the child is protected by Sections 211 ff. StGB.

Completion of birth

• Beginning of legal capacity ( § 1 BGB)
• Incapacity (up to the age of 7, Section 104 No. 1 BGB)
• Inability to commit a crime (up to the age of 7, Section 828 BGB)
• Right to care and upbringing ( Art. 6 GG ) as well as personal contact with both parents ( § 1684 BGB)
• 1st age group in maintenance law ( standard amount regulation , Düsseldorfer table , § 1612a BGB)
• Age limit for media ( USK and FSK )

Completion of the 6th month of life

• From the age of 6 months onwards, a male child may only be circumcised by a doctor in accordance with Section 1631d Paragraph 1 BGB, and no longer by persons designated by a religious community who are specially trained and without being a doctor , are equally qualified to carry out circumcision (Section 1631d (2) BGB).

Completion of the 1st year of life

• Legal entitlement to a day nursery (Section 24 SGB VIII)

Completion of the 3rd year of life

• Legal entitlement to a kindergarten place ( Section 24 of Book VIII of the Social Code )
• End of the ban on transport in vehicles (with the exception of buses and coaches) that are not equipped with seat belts. ( § 21 StVO )

Completion of the 5th year of life

• Declaration of affiliation (by the legal representative ) required for name changes ( §§ 1617a to 1618 , § 1757 BGB, Art. 10 , Art. 47 EGBGB )

Completion of the 6th year of life

• General compulsory schooling (start depends on the federal state)
• Start of the 2nd age group in maintenance law ( Section 1612a Paragraph 1 No. 2 BGB)
• Age limit for media (USK and FSK)
• Visit of film events to 20 pm ( § 11 Youth Protection Act )

Completion of the 7th year of life

• Admission to the limited capacity (§ § 106  et seq. BGB)
• Limited criminal capacity according to civil law ( Section 828 (3) BGB)

Completion of the 8th year of life

• Permission with the bike , the road and the bike path to use ( § 2 para. 5 Highway Code )

Completion of the 10th year of life

• Beginning of the limited ability to commit offenses in the case of negligent traffic accidents ( Section 828 (2) BGB)
• Obligation to use the road or bike path with the bike ( § 2 Paragraph 5 StVO)

Completion of the 12th year of life

• Conditional religious maturity (no change against the will of the child, § 5 RelKErzG )
• Beginning of 3rd age group in maintenance law ( Section 1612a Paragraph 1 No. 3 BGB)
• Age limit for media (FSK and USK) ( § 11 Youth Protection Act )
• Entitlement to child care sickness benefit ends at the age of 12 (see Section 45 (1) SGB ​​V )
• Maximum period of validity of the child's passport ( Section 5 (2 ) PassG )
• End of the obligation to use a child seat if you are less than 150 cm tall; End of the obligation to sit in the back seat of a car while driving if there are no seatbelts or child seats cannot be attached. ( § 21 Abs. 1 a) and b) StVO )
• End of the ban on selling lighters and matches ( Bavaria only )

Completion of the 13th year of life

• Employment of children possible to a limited extent ( Section 2 Child Labor Protection Ordinance )

Completion of the 14th year of life

• Criminal responsibility ( § 19 StGB), also for the fine proceedings according to the law on administrative offenses , however application of the youth court law ( § 3 JGG, § 46 OWiG)
• no longer a child in the sense of sexual criminal law protection regulations (special protection against sexual abuse § 176 Abs. 1, § 176a , § 184b StGB)
• full religious maturity ( § 5 RelKErzG )
• Driving authorization for e-scooters
• own decision on name change ( §§ 1617a to 1618 , § 1757 BGB, Art. 10 , Art. 47 EGBGB)
• Obligation to hear the court in the case of decisions on custody ( § 159 FamFG ). According to Paragraph 2 of the provision, however, younger children are also to be “heard personally if the child's inclinations, attachments or will are important for the decision or if a personal hearing is indicated for other reasons."
• Objection to transfer of custody ( Section 1671 (2) BGB)
• Consent to own adoption and objection to it ( § 1746 , § 1762 BGB)
• Right to appoint a self-chosen procedural adviser (e.g. lawyer) as a representative to exercise his rights ( Section 158 (5) FamFG),
• Procedural ability in the case of compulsory placement ( Section 167 (3) FamFG)
• Objection to organ removal after death ( § 2 Paragraph 2 TPG )
• Attendance of film events until 10 p.m. ( § 11 Youth Protection Act )
• Handling of weapons and ammunition under the supervision of a person authorized to issue weapons as part of an apprenticeship or employment relationship ( Section 3 (1) WaffG)
• Handling of tested irritant spray devices ( Section 3 (2) WaffG)

Completion of the 15th year of life

• End of the general ban on employment ( § 5 JArbSchG)
• Ability to act in social law ( § 36 SGB ​​I )
• Driving authorization for mopeds ( Section 5 in conjunction with Section 10 Paragraph 3 FeV )
• Additional needs for disabled people in terms of social assistance law ( Section 30 (4 ) SGB ​​XII )
• General compulsory schooling in Germany is considered to have ended in terms of age, vocational training is possible

Completion of the 16th year of life

• Testability ( § 2229 BGB)
• Right to inspect the birth register ( adopted children, Section 62 of the Civil Status Act , until January 1, Section 61 (2) of the PStG)
• Obligation to have an identity card or other passport ( § 1 PAuswG )
• Consent to organ removal after death ( Section 2 Paragraph 2 TPG )
• Active right to vote in social insurance ( Section 50 SGB ​​IV )
• Active municipal electoral law in Lower Saxony , North Rhine-Westphalia , Schleswig-Holstein , Berlin , Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania , Saxony-Anhalt , Baden-Württemberg and Thuringia
• Active local elections and citizenship electoral law ( state parliament ) in the state of Bremen , Brandenburg and Hamburg
• Stay in restaurants and at dance and film events until midnight ( § 4 , § 5 Youth Protection Act )
• End of the discharge prohibition of alcohol (except brandy , § 9 Youth Protection Act )
• Age limit for media ( FSK and USK )
• Acquisition of driving license class A1, AM, L, T ( § 10 Abs. 1 FeV)
• End of the criminal law protection against violation of the duty of care or upbringing ( § 171 StGB)
• partial end of the criminal law protection against sexual abuse of those under protection ( § 174 StGB) as well as of young people ( § 182 StGB) and against the promotion of sexual acts of minors ( § 180 StGB); but partially protection up to the age of 18
• Acquisition of the glider license ( § 23 LuftVZO )
• Acquisition of the official sports boat license ( § 6 SpFV )
• Acquisition of the youth hunting license ( § 16 BJagdG )

Completion of the 17th year of life

• Possibility of a precautionary appointment of a supervisor and arrangement of a reservation of consent ( § 1908 BGB)
• Accompanied driving by car ( § 48a FeV)
• Import of duty-free goods (tobacco, alcohol) for travelers both inside and outside the EU ( § 2 Paragraph 5 No. 2 EF-VO)
• Age of military fitness (see Bundeswehr , Section 5 (1a) WPflG)

Completion of the 18th year of life

• Majority , full capacity and offense ability ( § 2 , § 828 , paragraph 3 BGB.); full capacity to act vis-à-vis authorities, start of other regulations that are linked to the age of majority
• Ability wills effective to build (§ 1901a, para. 1 BGB)
• Active and passive right to vote in the Bundestag ( Art. 38 GG) as well as in the state parliaments , local councils , the election of the European Parliament and the works council or staff council
• Passive right to vote in social insurance ( Section 51 SGB ​​IV )
• End of protective provisions that focus on minors, e.g. B. According to the Hague Convention for the Protection of Minors
• Position as an adolescent in criminal law (possibility of being punished under adult criminal law : §§ 1, 105 and 106 JGG )
• End of the labor law protection provisions for young people ( § 2 , § 7 ff. JArbSchG)
• End of unrestricted maintenance entitlement (§ § 1615 f. BGB) and general compulsory vocational school (in Bavaria up to the age of 21; BayEUG , Art. 39)
• End of maintenance advance payments according to the UVG (from July 1, 2017)
• Age limit for media ( FSK and USK ); End of the ban on the distribution of media harmful to minors ( § 15 Youth Protection Act )
• Acquisition of driving license classes A2, B, BE, C1, C1E, C, CE; Elimination of the restrictions for class T ( Section 10 (1) FeV)
• Handling weapons or ammunition ( Section 2 (1) WaffG)
• Weapons law permits ( § 4 Abs. 1 WaffG)
• End of the youth protection regulations
  • End of the ban on selling spirits ( § 9 Youth Protection Act )
  • End of the ban on selling tobacco products and smoking in public ( § 10 Youth Protection Act )
  • Access to restaurants, discos and film events after midnight ( Section 4 , Section 5 , Section 11 of the Youth Protection Act )
  • Access to night bars and night clubs ( § 4 Youth Protection Act )
  • Access to events and companies that are harmful to young people as well as staying in places that are harmful to young people ( Section 7 , Section 8 of the Youth Protection Act )
  • Presence in arcades and participation in games of chance ( § 6 Youth Protection Act )
• Beginning of the criminal liability of sexual intercourse between siblings ( Section 173 (3) StGB)
• Access to casinos (in Baden-Württemberg and Bavaria only from the age of 21)
• Access to solariums ( § 4 NiSG )
• Delivery and handling of pyrotechnic objects (Category 4, Category P2 and Category T2 only from the age of 21) ( Section 20 First Ordinance on the Explosives Act)
• Eligibility for mayor and district administrator in Bavaria ( Art. 39 GLKrWG), mayor in Saxony (§ 49 Sächs. Municipality code )
• End of the criminal law protection against sexual abuse of those under protection ( § 174 StGB) as well as of young people ( § 182 StGB) and against the promotion of sexual acts of minors ( § 180 StGB); In some cases, the protection ends at the age of 16
• End of criminal protection against deprivation of minors (Section 235 StGB) and child trafficking (Section 236 StGB)

Completion of the 21st year of life

• Full criminal responsibility as an adult ( § 10 StGB)
• Minimum age as an adoption applicant with spouses (other spouse 25; § 1743 BGB)
• Age limit for advice on maintenance issues and for the certification of maintenance claims by the youth welfare office ( § 18 , § 59 SGB ​​VIII )
• End of the increased maintenance entitlement ( Section 1603 (2) BGB)
• Standard age limit for youth welfare services to young adults ( § 41 SGB VIII)
• Maximum age for entitlement to child benefit in the event of unemployment ( Section 2 BKGG )
• Acquisition of driving license classes C, CE, D1, D1E, D, DE ( § 10 Abs. 1 FeV)
• Minimum age for train drivers ( Section 48 (1) EBO )
• Access to casinos (depending on the federal state, sometimes from the age of 18)
• Eligibility for mayor and district administrator in Saxony-Anhalt ( § 69 Municipal Code of Saxony-Anhalt, § 48 District Code of Saxony-Anhalt), Thuringia (§§ 24, 28 Thuringian Local Election Act)
• End of the zero-alcohol limit for drivers of a motor vehicle in road traffic ( § 24c StVG )

Completion of the 23rd year of life

• Maximum age for retention application for German citizenship ( § 5 , § 29 StAG) and for acquisition through acknowledgment of paternity ( § 4 StAG)
• Maximum age for family insurance in the event of unemployment ( Section 10 (2) SGB ​​V )
• Eligibility as mayor or district administrator in some federal states, e.g. B. Lower Saxony (Section 80 (4) No. 1 Lower Municipal Constitutional Law), North Rhine-Westphalia (Section 65 (2) Municipal Code of North Rhine-Westphalia , Section 44 (2) of the District Code of North Rhine-Westphalia ), Rhineland-Palatinate ( Section 53 (2) of the Municipal Code for Rhineland- Palatinate, Section 46 (2) Rhineland-Palatinate District Code )

Completion of the 24th year of life

• Acquisition of a class A driving license (direct access without prior possession of classes A1 and A2; Section 10 (1) FeV)

Completion of the 25th year of life

• Minimum age as an adoption applicant (single person or as a married couple, if the other spouse is at least 21 years old; Section 1743 BGB)
• Eligibility as lay judge ( Section 33 Courts Constitution Act - target specification), as honorary labor or social judge ( Section 21 ArbGG ; Section 16 SGG )
• Eligibility for honorary administrative judge ( § 20 VwGO )
• Maximum age for family insurance during training ( Section 10 (2) SGB ​​V )
• Age limit with regard to certain benefit entitlements according to SGB II: attribution to the community of needs of the parents, if living with them in a household ( Section 7 (3) SGB II), assumption of the costs of your own apartment only in exceptional cases ( Section 22 (5) SGB ​​II ), special support for integration into training or work (e.g. Section 3 (2) SGB II)
• Maximum age when receiving child benefit ( Section 2 (2) BKGG)
• Maximum age at which you can be elected to the company youth and trainee representation ( Section 61 BetrVG )
• Eligibility as mayor in some federal states, e.g. B. Baden-Württemberg ( Section 46 (1) Baden-Württemberg Municipal Code ), Brandenburg (Section 65 (2) Brandenburg. Local Election Act)
• Elimination of the requirement for an official or specialist medical or specialist psychological certificate on mental aptitude for the initial granting of permission to own and purchase certain firearms ( Section 6 (3) WaffG)
• Minimum age for granting permission to practice medicine professionally without a medical license ( alternative practitioner )

Completion of the 26th year of life

• Maximum age at the eligibility for youth and trainee representation in the federal public service ( § 58 BPersVG )

Completion of the 27th year of life

• Previously the minimum age for appointment as a civil servant for life (as of April 1, 2009, the minimum age ceased to exist due to the introduction of the BeamtStG )
• Maximum age at which you can be elected to represent young people and trainees in the public service (scope of various state employee representation laws, e.g. Section 58 (2) BayPVG or Section 55 (2) LPVG NRW)
• Maximum age for receiving child benefit (until 2006) and orphan's pensions ( Section 2 BKGG, Section 37 SGB ​​VII , Section 45 BVG )
• Eligibility for mayor or district administrator in Schleswig-Holstein ( § 57 Municipal Code of Schl.-Holstein, § 43 District Code of Schl.-Holstein)
• Eligibility for district administration in Saxony (§ 45 Saxon district regulations)

Completion of the 30th year of life

• Maximum age for student health insurance ( § 5 Paragraph 1 Item 9 SGB ​​V )
• General age limit for starting an apprenticeship with training grants ( § 10 BAföG ; does not apply to master’s courses and the cases of paragraph 3 sentence 2)
• Eligibility as district administrator in Baden-Württemberg (Section 38 Baden-Württemberg district regulation)

Completion of the 35th year of life

• Eligibility for judge at one of the highest federal courts ( Section 125 (2) GVG , Section 42 (2) ArbGG , Section 15 (2) VwGO , Section 38 (2) sentence 2 SGG and Section 14 (2 ) FGO )
• Eligibility for federal commissioner for the documents of the State Security Service of the former German Democratic Republic ( § 35 Abs. 2 StUG )
• Eligibility for the Defense Commissioner of the German Bundestag ( Section 14 (1) WBeauftrG )
• Eligibility for Prime Minister in Baden-Württemberg (Art. 46 Para. 1 Sentence 2 BWVerf)
• Maximum age for applying for training grants for master’s courses ( § 10 BAföG ; does not apply to the cases of Paragraph 3, Clause 2)

Completion of the 40th year of life

• Eligibility for judge at the Federal Constitutional Court ( § 3 BVerfGG )
• Eligibility for Federal President ( Art. 54 GG)
• Eligibility for the Bavarian Prime Minister ( Art. 44 Para. 2 BayVerf)

Completion of the 45th year of life

• Earlier end of compulsory military service for men outside of the tension and defense case ( Section 3 (3) WPflG; since July 1, 2011, by suspension of compulsory military service according to Section 2 WPflG)
• As a rule, the maximum age for appointment as a civil servant for life

Completion of the 50th year of life

• Possibly. Unemployment benefit I can be drawn for up to 15 months (Section 147 SGB ​​III )
• Age limit for truck driving licenses (class C1 or C1E - vehicles up to 7.5 t), if issued after December 31, 1998
• Obligation to convert the old class 2 driving license (class C or CE - vehicles over 7.5 t). Without conversion, the right to drive vehicles over 7.5 t will expire.

Completion of the 55th year of life

• Start of partial retirement ( Section 2 Partial Retirement Act )
• End of the availability of women for community service in the case of defense ( Article 12a, Paragraph 4 of the Basic Law)
• Prerequisite for the tax exemption according to Section 16 (4) EStG
• Precondition for the reduction according to § 34 Abs. 3 EStG
• Possibly. Unemployment benefit I can be drawn for up to 18 months (Section 147 SGB ​​III )

Completion of the 58th year of life

• Possibly. Unemployment benefit I can be drawn for up to 2 years (Section 147 SGB ​​III )

Completion of the 60th year of life

• Early retirement pension for severely disabled people ( Section 236a SGB ​​VI ) ( for those born in 1952 or later, however, the age limit will be gradually increased up to an age of 62 for those born in 1964 and later )
• Application retirement for severely disabled civil servants (Section 52 BBG, Section 33 LBG NRW) ( for civil servants born in 1952 or later, however, the age limit will be gradually increased up to the age of 62 for those born in 1964 or later )
• Retirement age for fire service officers in some federal states, e.g. B. NRW (§ 117 State Civil Servants Act NRW) as well as in the federal service (§ 51 Abs. 3 BBG)
• Right to refuse to assume guardianship ( Section 1786 BGB)
• Maximum age for admission as a notary ( Section 6 (1) BNotO)
• End of compulsory military service for men in the event of tension and defense ( Section 3 (5) WPflG)

Completion of the 62nd year of life

• Retirement age for police officers in some federal states, e.g. B. NRW (§ 115 State Civil Servants Act NRW)
• Age limit for professional soldiers (§ 45 Soldiers Act ; there different age limits for individual ranks)

Completion of the 63rd year of life

• Old-age pension for severely disabled people without a pension reduction ( Section 236a SGB ​​VI) ( for insured persons born in 1952 or later, however, the age limit is gradually increased up to the age of 65 for those born in 1964 or later )
• Early claim of the old-age pension for long-term insured persons possible with pension reduction ( § 36 SGB ​​VI or § 236 SGB ​​VI)
• Exemption from unemployment insurance (until December 31, 1997: § 169 AFG )
• Retirement age for severely disabled civil servants in NRW, application retirement for other civil servants (§ 52 BBG, § 33 LBG NRW)

Completion of the 65th year of life

• Age limit for old-age pensions for those with long-term insurance ( Section 38 SGB ​​VI)
• Exemption from insurance in unemployment insurance ( Section 28 SGB ​​III) for people born in 1946 or later, in parallel to the increase in the standard age limit in statutory pension insurance according to Section 235 SGB ​​VI, gradually increasing up to the age of 67
• Additional need in social assistance of 17% ( § 30 SGB ​​XII )
• Maximum age for the election as mayor or district administrator in some federal states, e.g. B. Baden-Württemberg ( § 46 , para. 1 Gemeindeordnung Baden-Württemberg), Bavaria ( Art. 39 GLKrWG) or Lower (§ 80. 4, no. 1 Nieders. Municipal Constitutional Law), Rheinland-Pfalz ( § 53 , para. 2 Gemeindeordnung Rhineland-Palatinate), Saxony (Section 49 Saxon Municipal Code, Section 45 Saxon District Code), Saxony-Anhalt ( Section 69 Municipal Code Saxony-Anhalt, Section 48 District Code Saxony-Anhalt), Thuringia (Sections 24, 28 Thuringian Local Election Act)

Completion of the 66th year of life

• Age limit for pension insurance for people born in 1958 or later (from 2024)

Completion of the 67th year of life

• Standard retirement age in the statutory pension insurance for people born in 1964 or later (from 2031; Section 35 SGB ​​VI )
• Retirement age for civil servants born in 1964 or later (Section 51 BBG, Section 51 State Civil Servants Act NRW)
• Maximum age for the election of mayor or district administrator in Hesse (Section 39, Paragraph 2 of the Hessian Municipal Code, Section 37, Paragraph 2 of the Hessian District Code)

Completion of the 68th year of life

• From 1993 to 2009: End of approval by statutory health insurance physician (at that time Section 95 (7) SGB V)
• Age limit for the office of Federal Constitutional Judge (§ 4 Abs. 1, 3 BVerfGG)

Completion of the 70th year of life

• Maximum age for appointment to the office of lay judge ( § 33 No. 2 GVG - target specification)
• Maximum age for working as a notary (§ 48a BNotO)
• Maximum age for the retirement of civil servants if they have applied for an extension of their period of service themselves (Section 53 BBG and state civil servant laws, e.g. Section 32 LBG NRW).

literature

• Manfred Günther : Almost everything that is right for young people. (Foreword Wolfgang Lüder ), Berlin 2003, ISBN 3-924041-23-7 (forerunner brochure JAW (Ed.): Rights of young people (foreword: Ingrid Stahmer ), Berlin 1997)
• Young people also have rights. In: Manfred Günther: Help! Youth welfare. 40 Writings Foreword Jörg M. Fegert , Drawings Klaus Stuttmann . Rheine 2018, ISBN 978-3-946537-55-7 , pp. 23-101.

See also

• List of deadlines in German law

Individual evidence

1. ↑ In the state of Bavaria , vocational school is compulsory up to the age of 21; see BayEUG , Art. 39 .
2. ↑ Child benefit is currently granted for disabled children in Germany without any age limit.
3. ^ Ordinance on the prevention of fires (VVB). § 6 (1). Bavarian State Chancellery, December 10, 2012, accessed on May 12, 2015 . 
4. ↑ www.landesrecht-hamburg.de: Law on the election to Hamburg citizenship , § 6
5. ↑ BayEUG, Art. 39: compulsory vocational education. www.gesetze-bayern.de, December 1, 2017, accessed on February 24, 2018 . 
6. ↑ state Gaming Act (LGlüG). (PDF) § 29 Participation in gambling (1). isa-guide.de, November 15, 2012, p. 12 f. , accessed February 12, 2015 . 
7. ↑ Casino regulations (SpielbO). (PDF) § 3 Participation in gambling 1. isa-guide.de, November 25, 2008, p. 1 , accessed on February 12, 2015 . 
8. ↑ HeilprGDV 1 - single standard. In: www.gesetze-im-internet.de. Retrieved December 7, 2016 . 

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