P-account certificate: how the higher allowance takes effect
Enter the day you hand it in, your dependants and children: the tool gives the date from which the bank applies the higher allowance and how long an open-ended certificate holds.
Higher allowance applies from
30 October 2026
New allowance: €2,446.42 a month instead of €1,590.
| Second business day after handing in | Friday |
| Open-ended certificate holds until about | 28 October 2028 |
| Above the base amount | €856.42 |
Certificates may come from the family benefits office, a social benefits agency, the employer or a recognised debt advice body (section 903(1) ZPO). The bank honours open-ended certificates for two years (section 903(2)).
Prepared by Radif Partners · How we calculate · 2026 table (Federal Law Gazette 2026 I No. 80) and ZPO checked on 28 October 2026
A P-account certificate (P-Konto-Bescheinigung) proves to your German bank that you are entitled to more than the €1,590 base amount, for example because of dependants, child benefit or social benefits (section 903 ZPO). It may be issued by the Familienkasse (family benefits office), a social benefits agency or another body paying such benefits, by your employer, and by suitable persons or bodies under section 305(1) no. 1 of the Insolvency Code, which includes recognised debt advice centres. The bank must apply the details from the second business day after you hand the certificate in: present it on 27 November 2026 and the higher amount applies from 1 December 2026. Until then it may still pay the creditor out of the top-up. For someone with a dependent partner and two children receiving child benefit, protection rises from €1,590 to €2,705.42 a month. A time-limited certificate holds for its stated term, an open-ended one for two years. If nobody will issue one, the enforcement court sets the amounts on application (section 905 ZPO).
What the certificate is for
Your bank only sees bookings. It cannot tell whether a credit is child benefit, whether you maintain children, or whether part of your benefit is meant for other members of a joint benefit household. Section 903(1) ZPO solves this with a clear rule: until you prove that a balance is protected under section 902 ZPO, the bank may pay it to the creditor with discharging effect. Without a certificate you do not lose the entitlement itself, but you do lose any money that flows out in the meantime.
The certificate does not replace the P-account; it adds to it. The €1,590 base amount comes without paperwork. What lies above it is listed in section 902 ZPO: dependants, benefits for members of a joint benefit household, one-off social benefits, extra costs caused by a health condition, child benefit, your own Social Code II or XII benefits above the base, and other payments declared non-attachable by statute. Totals per household are on P-account allowance 2026.
Who issues it and when it takes effect
The law recognises three groups of issuers. First, the family benefits office, social benefits agencies and other bodies paying benefits within section 902. Second, your employer. Third, suitable persons or bodies under section 305(1) no. 1 of the Insolvency Code, which include recognised debt advice centres (anerkannte Schuldnerberatungsstellen). Only the first group is obliged to issue one, and only for the benefits it pays into your account itself.
Once you hand it in, a short delay applies: the bank must act on the details from the second business day after that (section 903(4) ZPO). The calculator counts Monday to Friday without the nationwide public holidays. A Friday hand-in therefore leads to the Tuesday, and Easter can stretch the wait by several days.
| Handed in on | Bank applies from | Open-ended valid until about |
|---|---|---|
| 27 November 2026 | 1 December 2026 | 27 November 2028 |
| 30 November 2026 | 2 December 2026 | 30 November 2028 |
| 25 March 2027 | 31 March 2027 | 25 March 2029 |
| 30 April 2027 | 4 May 2027 | 30 April 2029 |
| 12 May 2027 | 14 May 2027 | 12 May 2029 |
The bank applies a time-limited certificate for the period it was issued for. Without an end date it holds for two years, after which the bank can ask for fresh proof. If things change before then, for instance because a child moves out and no longer receives maintenance, the bank may ask earlier when there are actual indications. A change in your favour, such as another child, reaches the bank only through new proof.
Child benefit protected per month
Child benefit protected per month
€518
| Child benefit per child | €259 |
| Total child benefit | €518 |
| P-account with child benefit (no dependants) | €2,108 |
When nobody certifies: the court
Not everyone gets the proof easily. For that case section 905 ZPO sets an order of steps. You first ask a body under no. 1 from which you receive a benefit, then another body entitled to certify. If you show credibly that you could not reasonably obtain the certificate from either, the enforcement court sets the top-ups on application and fixes the details the certificate would otherwise contain. Its decision works towards the bank like a certificate.
If the court sees from your documents that almost only exempt money reaches your account, it points you to section 907 ZPO: it can then exempt the balance from garnishment altogether for up to 12 months. For back-payments above €500 the court likewise sets the protected part on your application, and its decision counts as a certificate (section 904(5) ZPO); see back-payments on a P-account.