Is a baby insured through the mother or the father in Germany?

In short

If the mother or the father is in a statutory health fund (gesetzliche Krankenkasse), the baby is insured free of charge through family cover, and you choose which fund. One exception for married parents: if the privately insured parent earns more than EUR 6,450 a month and more than the other, the baby needs private cover, usually EUR 120 to 250 a month.

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Is a baby insured through the mother or the father in Germany?

What it costs

What health cover for a baby costs in Germany and which legal limits apply in 2026.

Example	Typical range
Baby in statutory family cover	EUR 0 a month
Limit for the privately insured spouse in 2026	EUR 6,450 a month, EUR 77,400 a year
Child's own income up to which family cover continues, 2026	EUR 565 a month
Child in private health insurance, typical plan without state allowance	about EUR 120 to 250 a month
Child of a civil servant with state allowance (Beihilfe)	about EUR 30 to 70 a month

Limits taken from the law and the 2026 social security figures.

The private premiums for children are guide values as of October 2026 from a published market

overview; your premium depends on the parent's plan.

Worked example

Married, father privately insured, mother in a statutory fund

How the fund decides whether the baby can be covered free through the mother.

Father's total income, privately insured	EUR 7,200 a month
Mother's total income, statutory fund	EUR 3,100 a month
Condition one: father above EUR 6,450	met
Condition two: father earns more than the mother	met
Result for the baby	no family cover, private insurance needed
Private premium for the baby	about EUR 120 to 250 a month

This baby has to be insured privately, registered no later than two months after the birth. If the parents were not married, the same baby could be covered free through the mother.

Both parents in a statutory fund: your choice

If both mother and father are members of a statutory health fund, the baby qualifies for family cover twice. German law settles this simply: the member chooses the fund. Whether the baby is insured through the mother or the father is therefore up to you.

Core benefits are identical across all statutory funds and the baby costs nothing in any of them. Differences lie only in the optional extras each fund offers. If you are unsure, pick the fund whose extras suit a small child best and stay with it.

One parent privately insured: the rule for married couples

If one spouse has private health insurance (private Krankenversicherung, PKV), the fund checks two conditions. The baby is not covered free of charge if the privately insured parent regularly earns more than one twelfth of the compulsory insurance threshold, which is EUR 6,450 a month in 2026, and also earns more than the spouse in the statutory fund. Total income counts, not just salary.

Only when both conditions are met is family cover ruled out. If the parent in the statutory fund earns more, or the privately insured parent stays below EUR 6,450, the baby is covered free through the statutory fund. If incomes change later, the result can change too.

Family situation	Where the baby is insured
Both parents in a statutory fund	statutory and free, fund of your choice
Married, privately insured parent above EUR 6,450 and above the spouse	private, own premium
Married, parent in the statutory fund earns more	statutory and free
Married, privately insured parent below EUR 6,450	statutory and free
Not married, one parent in a statutory fund	statutory and free
Both parents privately insured	private, no family cover exists

Not married: why the wedding certificate matters

The income rule only applies to spouses and registered civil partners. If you live together without being married, the baby can be insured free of charge through the parent in the statutory fund, however much the privately insured parent earns.

If you plan to marry soon after the birth, keep this in mind: once you are married the fund checks the income limit again. If the privately insured spouse is then above both limits, the baby's free family cover ends.

If the baby has to be insured privately

If the baby must go into private health insurance, a fixed deadline applies. Register the baby with the privately insured parent's insurer no later than two months after the birth, and the insurer must cover the baby from birth without risk surcharges or waiting periods. The cover may not be broader than the parent's own.

Miss the two months and the registration turns into a normal application with health questions. For a premature baby or a baby with a diagnosis that can become expensive or fail. How children's premiums and the employer subsidy work in private insurance is explained on our page about children in private health insurance.

How to register the baby with the fund

Family cover depends on the legal conditions, not on an application. The fund still needs your notice so the baby gets its own insurance number and health card. Usually you send in the family insurance questionnaire (Fragebogen zur Familienversicherung) and the birth certificate.

The mother remains a member of her fund while she receives maternity pay, parental allowance or takes parental leave, and pays no contributions on the parental allowance itself. The baby can therefore be covered through the mother even while she earns no salary.

When there is nothing to compare

If both parents are married and in a statutory fund, choosing mother or father makes no financial difference. The baby is covered free either way, and only the fund's extras differ.

Your baby does not need private top up insurance in its first weeks. It becomes worth a look later, when specific gaps show up, for example at the orthodontist. What matters at the start is registering the baby with the fund or insurer in time.

Step by step

Check which of you is in a statutory fund, who is privately insured and whether you are married.
If you are married and one parent is privately insured, compare both incomes with the EUR 6,450 limit and with each other.
If both of you are in a statutory fund, choose the fund whose extras suit the baby better.
Send the family insurance questionnaire and the birth certificate to the fund.
If the baby needs private cover, register it with the parent's insurer within two months of the birth.

Checklist

Marital status and type of cover of both parents clarified
Privately insured spouse's income compared with EUR 6,450 a month
Birth certificate requested for the fund
Family insurance questionnaire sent in
Two month deadline for private registration in the calendar
Cover checked again after a wedding or a big pay rise

Common mistakes

Assuming the baby is automatically insured wherever the mother is insured
Counting only salary in the income test and forgetting rent or business profits
Letting the two months for private registration pass
Not expecting free family cover to end after the wedding

Questions and answers

Frequently asked

Is a baby automatically insured through the mother?

No.

If both parents are in a statutory fund, you choose the fund.

If one spouse is privately insured, incomes decide under section 10 SGB V.

What does family cover cost for the baby?

Nothing.

The baby is covered free as long as the conditions are met,

for example its own income stays below EUR 565 a month.

Can my baby be in the statutory system if I am privately insured?

Yes, through the parent in the statutory fund,

if you are not married or the income rule does not apply.

If both parents are privately insured, there is no family cover.

How long do I have to register the baby privately?

Two months from the day of birth.

The parent's insurer then covers the baby from birth without risk surcharges or waiting periods.

Can I switch the baby's fund later?

The baby follows the member through whom it is covered.

If that parent switches funds, the baby switches too.

Does the mother pay contributions during parental leave?

Compulsory members stay insured during parental allowance and parental leave,

and no contributions are due on the allowance itself.

Other income can be subject to contributions.

Sources

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