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BriefDiener
DE

BAföG-Amt (student finance office)

BAföG Rückforderung (repayment demand): what you can do now

What this letter means

The BAföG-Amt demands support back if you were entitled to less for certain months. Common reasons under § 20 Abs. 1 BAföG: you had income that was not taken into account in the decision, or the support was paid "unter Vorbehalt" (provisionally) and the final calculation shows a lower amount.

If you interrupt your education for a reason you are responsible for, you must pay back the support for that month (§ 20 Abs. 2 BAföG).

In addition, the office can cancel a decision under the general rules, for example if assets were not declared (§§ 45, 48, 50 SGB X). In that case the loan part is also demanded back.

What to do now

  1. 1Write down the date of the decision and the date the deadline ends.
  2. 2Check for which months and for what reason support is demanded back.
  3. 3Compare the income counted with your payslips.
  4. 4Check whether the allowances (Freibeträge) for your own income were taken into account.
  5. 5File a Widerspruch (objection) or a Klage (court action), depending on the Rechtsbehelfsbelehrung. Write it in German. The templates (Vorlagen) on this site are in German.
  6. 6If you cannot pay all at once, ask early for Ratenzahlung (payment in instalments).

How you can reply

File a Widerspruch (objection)

If income was counted wrongly, allowances were forgotten or months were assigned wrongly.

Template: Widerspruch gegen einen Bescheid (Jobcenter, Krankenkasse)

Request Akteneinsicht (access to your file)

If it is unclear where the office got the income data from.

Template: Akteneinsicht bei einer Behoerde beantragen

Ask for Ratenzahlung (payment in instalments)

If the demand is correct. Explain your financial situation.

Common questions

I had a job alongside my studies. Do I now have to pay everything back?

No, not everything. Only the part by which your entitlement goes down because of the income that was not taken into account is demanded back (§ 20 Abs. 1 Nr. 3 BAföG). Check whether the allowances (Freibeträge) were applied correctly.

Is this the same as repaying the loan?

No. The repayment demand concerns support that was overpaid. The regular repayment of the state loan after your studies is managed by the Bundesverwaltungsamt (Federal Office of Administration).

Do I have to pay straight away even though I filed a Widerspruch?

That depends on whether the Widerspruch has suspensive effect. Ask the office and get advice before you refuse to pay.

Sources (German law and official pages)

  1. § 20 BAföG: Rückzahlungspflicht
  2. § 45 SGB X: Rücknahme eines rechtswidrigen begünstigenden Verwaltungsaktes
  3. § 48 SGB X: Aufhebung bei Änderung der Verhältnisse
  4. § 50 SGB X: Erstattung zu Unrecht erbrachter Leistungen
  5. § 70 VwGO: Form und Frist des Widerspruchs
  6. § 74 VwGO: Klagefrist
  7. Bundesverwaltungsamt: BAföG-Darlehen

Research as of: 10 November 2026