Procedure descriptions

Applying for a domestic helper in the event of illness or pregnancy

If you are covered by statutory health insurance, you may be eligible for support from a domestic helper if you are temporarily unable to manage your household. Reasons for this may include, for example:

  • Pregnancy
  • Childbirth
  • Health treatments such as preventive care, medical rehabilitation or mother-and-child or father-and-child programmes

Most statutory health insurance funds work with relevant organisations and provide a replacement carer. If this is not possible or practical, they will reimburse a reasonable amount of the costs for a replacement carer you have arranged yourself. Before you hire anyone, you should check with your statutory health insurance fund in advance to find out what benefits you are entitled to.

Responsible department

Your statutory health insurance scheme

Details

Prerequisite

A prerequisite for receiving domestic help is that

  • the person running the household is covered by statutory health insurance,
  • no other person living in the household is able to take on the housekeeping duties
  • there is a child under the age of 12 or a child with a disability living in the household who is dependent on help
  • if you do not have a child of your own to care for and are not classified as requiring care from care level 2 onwards: you are seriously ill or your condition has acutely worsened, particularly following a hospital stay, outpatient surgery or outpatient hospital treatment
  • Exception: If you require domestic help due to pregnancy-related complications or following childbirth, it is not necessary for there to be a child already living in the household.

Procedure

You must apply for domestic help in writing to your health insurance provider. You can request the ‘Application for Domestic Help’ form by telephone or download it from your health insurance provider’s website.

Deadlines

Applying before claiming the benefit

Required documents

  • In the case of pregnancy: a doctor’s certificate containing the following information:
    • confirmation of the expected date of birth
    • the date of delivery
    • the expected duration of the hospital stay
  • In the event of illness: a medical certificate stating the expected duration of the hospital stay or the illness

Costs

If you need domestic help during pregnancy or immediately after giving birth due to health problems, you do not have to pay any additional fees. The domestic help usually settles the costs directly with your health insurance provider. However, this only applies if the health problems are directly related to the pregnancy.

Otherwise, if you are aged 18 or over and require domestic help, you will be required to pay a co-payment. The co-payment amounts to ten per cent of the daily cost of the domestic help, with a minimum of five euros and a maximum of ten euros per day.

Miscellaneous

In addition to the application, a medical certificate is also required. In this, your doctor will confirm that, for health reasons, you are unable to continue running the household.

For members of private health insurance schemes, the assistance provided depends on the contractual terms you have agreed with your health insurer. You should therefore check with your private health insurer regarding the exact benefits and the eligibility criteria.

The health insurance fund does not reimburse costs for relatives and relatives by marriage up to the second degree. However, it may reimburse the necessary travel costs and loss of earnings if these are proportionate to the costs that would otherwise be incurred for a replacement carer.

Legal basis

Mutterschutzgesetz (MuSchG):

  • § 15 Sonstige Leistungen

Sozialgesetzbuch Fünftes Buch (SGB V):

  • § 24c Leistungen bei Schwangerschaft und Mutterschaft
  • § 24h Haushaltshilfe
  • § 38 Haushaltshilfe
  • § 61 Zuzahlungen

Release note

machine generated, based on the German release by: Sozialministerium Baden-Württemberg, 31.03.2026