Germany parental leave 2026: notice, part-time and protection

API The rules of German parental leave by date of birth as REST API, JSON and CSV, with the legal basis for every value.

Maximum duration, notice periods, dismissal protection and part-time limits of German parental leave under the BEEG, by the child's date of birth.

Maternity protection periods are calculated by the maternity protection calculator. Parental allowance (Elterngeld) is not part of this dataset.

Last checked against the sources on September 26, 2026. Next expected change: only if the law changes.

REST /v1/hr/elternzeitMCP hr_elternzeitCLI qk elternzeit

Parental leave (Elternzeit) lasts until the child's third birthday, and up to 24 months of it can be taken until the eighth. The dataset shows the notice periods, dismissal protection before the start, the weekly hours limit for part-time work and the conditions for the right to part-time work. Which version applies depends on the child's date of birth.

Valid on September 26, 2026

Maximum parental leave per child: 3 years
Notice period for leave up to the third birthday: 7 weeks
Maximum working hours during parental leave: 32 hours per week

Source: §§ 15, 16 and 18 Federal Parental Allowance and Parental Leave Act (BEEG)
License: Values from official works (§ 5 UrhG). Use of the compilation under the Quellenkontor terms of use.
Updates: when the law changes, transition by date of birth
Coverage: Germany, births from 2007

A value doesn't match the official source? Report an error. We check against the primary source and document every correction in the changelog.

Related solutions: For HR software For AI agents and HR chatbots

api.quellenkontor.dev/v1/hr/elternzeit?geburtsdatum=2026-03-01

Zur API-Doku →

curl "https://api.quellenkontor.dev/v1/hr/elternzeit?geburtsdatum=2026-03-01" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $QK_KEY"

import { Quellenkontor } from "@quellenkontor/sdk";

const qk = new Quellenkontor(process.env.QK_KEY);
const daten = await qk.hr.elternzeit({ geburtsdatum: "2026-03-01" });

import os
from quellenkontor import Quellenkontor

qk = Quellenkontor(api_key=os.environ["QK_KEY"])
daten = qk.hr.elternzeit(geburtsdatum="2026-03-01")

$ qk elternzeit --geburtsdatum 2026-03-01

{
  "name": "hr_elternzeit",
  "arguments": {
    "geburtsdatum": "2026-03-01"
  }
}

This is how an agent calls the tool. Server setup is described in the MCP docs.

Antwort200 OK · JSON

{
  "datensatz": "elternzeit",
  "datum": "2026-03-01",
  "vorlaeufig": false,
  "werte": {
    "hoechstdauer": 3,
    "uebertragbarer_anteil": 24,
    "zeitabschnitte": 3,
    "anmeldefrist_bis_3": 7,
    "anmeldefrist_3_bis_8": 13,
    "festlegung_zeitraum": 2,
    "kuendigungsschutz_vorlauf_bis_3": 8,
    "kuendigungsschutz_vorlauf_3_bis_8": 14,
    "teilzeit_hoechstens": 32,
    "teilzeitanspruch_mindestens": 15,
    "teilzeitanspruch_beschaeftigte": 15,
    "teilzeitanspruch_betriebszugehoerigkeit": 6,
    "teilzeit_mitteilungsfrist_3_bis_8": 13
  },
  "bestandteile": [
    {
      "id": "hoechstdauer",
      "name": "Höchstdauer der Elternzeit je Kind",
      "gruppe": "Dauer",
      "art": "dauer",
      "einheit": "jahre",
      "wert": 3,
      "gueltig_ab": "2007-01-01",
      "gueltig_bis": null,
      "rechtsgrundlage": "§ 15 Abs. 2 Satz 1 BEEG",
      "quelle": {
        "titel": "Gesetz zur Einführung des Elterngeldes vom 5. Dezember 2006 (BGBl. I S. 2748), Artikel 1 (BEEG)",
        "url": "https://www.bgbl.de/xaver/bgbl/start.xav?startbk=Bundesanzeiger_BGBl&jumpTo=bgbl106s2748.pdf"
      },
      "hinweis": "Anspruch bis zur Vollendung des dritten Lebensjahres, für jedes Kind gesondert, auch wenn sich Zeiträume überschneiden. Die Mutterschutzfrist nach der Geburt wird bei der Mutter angerechnet. Stichtag ist der Tag der Geburt oder der Aufnahme des Kindes. Gilt nach § 27 Abs. 2 BEEG 2006 auch für Elternzeit für vor 2007 geborene Kinder.",
      "naechster_wert": null,
      "status": "festgelegt",
      "erwartet": null,
      "letzter_wert": null
    },
    {
      "id": "uebertragbarer_anteil",
      "name": "Anteil, der nach dem dritten Geburtstag genommen werden kann",
      "gruppe": "Dauer",
      "art": "dauer",
      "einheit": "monate",
      "wert": 24,
      "gueltig_ab": "2015-07-01",
      "gueltig_bis": null,
      "rechtsgrundlage": "§ 15 Abs. 2 Satz 2 BEEG",
      "quelle": {
        "titel": "Gesetz zur Einführung des Elterngeld Plus mit Partnerschaftsbonus und einer flexibleren Elternzeit im Bundeselterngeld- und Elternzeitgesetz vom 18. Dezember 2014 (BGBl. I S. 2325)",
        "url": "https://www.bgbl.de/xaver/bgbl/start.xav?startbk=Bundesanzeiger_BGBl&jumpTo=bgbl114s2325.pdf"
      },
      "hinweis": "Ohne Zustimmung des Arbeitgebers zwischen dem dritten Geburtstag und dem vollendeten achten Lebensjahr. Einen dritten Abschnitt in diesem Zeitraum kann der Arbeitgeber aus dringenden betrieblichen Gründen ablehnen (§ 16 Abs. 1 Satz 7 BEEG). Gilt für Kinder, die ab dem 1. Juli 2015 geboren oder mit dem Ziel der Adoption aufgenommen wurden (§ 27 Abs. 1 Satz 2 BEEG in der Fassung vom 18.12.2014).",
      "naechster_wert": null,
      "status": "festgelegt",
      "erwartet": null,
      "letzter_wert": null
    }
  ],
  "hinweise": [
    "Maßgeblich ist das Geburtsdatum des Kindes oder der Tag der Aufnahme bei Adoption, nicht der Tag der Abfrage."
  ],
  "lizenz": "Werte aus amtlichen Werken (§ 5 UrhG). Nutzung der Zusammenstellung nach den Nutzungsbedingungen von Quellenkontor.",
  "stand": "2026-09-26",
  "zitat": "Elternzeit am 01.03.2026: Höchstdauer der Elternzeit je Kind: 3 Jahre; Anmeldefrist für Elternzeit bis zum dritten Geburtstag: 7 Wochen; Höchstarbeitszeit während der Elternzeit: 32 Stunden je Woche. Rechtsgrundlage: § 15 Abs. 2 Satz 1 BEEG. Quelle: Gesetz zur Einführung des Elterngeldes vom 5. Dezember 2006 (BGBl. I S. 2748), Artikel 1 (BEEG), https://www.bgbl.de/xaver/bgbl/start.xav?startbk=Bundesanzeiger_BGBl&jumpTo=bgbl106s2748.pdf. Daten: Quellenkontor (quellenkontor.dev).",
  "datenstand": "2026-09-26.26"
}

Response shortened. All parameters and response fields are in the Parental leave reference.

Run this call with your own key. 500 requests a month for free, no credit card.

Start for free →Read the reference

Duration 2026

As of September 26, 2026.

Legal citations stay in German, exactly as they appear in the official sources.

Component	Value	Type	Valid	Legal basis	Source
Maximum parental leave per child	3 years	dauer	from January 1, 2007	§ 15 Abs. 2 Satz 1 BEEG	Source
Share that can be taken after the third birthday	24 months	dauer	from July 1, 2015	§ 15 Abs. 2 Satz 2 BEEG	Source
Periods per parent without employer consent	3	anzahl	from July 1, 2015	§ 16 Abs. 1 Satz 6 BEEG	Source

Notice 2026

As of September 26, 2026.

Component	Value	Type	Valid	Legal basis	Source
Notice period for leave up to the third birthday	7 weeks	frist	from January 1, 2007	§ 16 Abs. 1 Satz 1 Nr. 1 BEEG	Source
Notice period for leave between the third and eighth birthday	13 weeks	frist	from July 1, 2015	§ 16 Abs. 1 Satz 1 Nr. 2 BEEG	Source
Period to be fixed when giving notice	2 years	frist	from January 1, 2007	§ 16 Abs. 1 Satz 2 BEEG	Source

Protection against dismissal 2026

As of September 26, 2026.

Component	Value	Type	Valid	Legal basis	Source
Earliest start of dismissal protection before leave up to the third birthday	8 weeks	frist	from January 1, 2007	§ 18 Abs. 1 Satz 2 Nr. 1 BEEG	Source
Earliest start of dismissal protection before leave between the third and eighth birthday	14 weeks	frist	from July 1, 2015	§ 18 Abs. 1 Satz 2 Nr. 2 BEEG	Source

Part-time work 2026

As of September 26, 2026.

Component	Value	Type	Valid	Legal basis	Source
Maximum working hours during parental leave	32 hours per week	maximum amount	from September 1, 2021	§ 15 Abs. 4 Satz 1 und Abs. 7 Satz 1 Nr. 3 BEEG	Source
Minimum hours for the right to part-time work	15 hours per week	grenze	from January 1, 2007	§ 15 Abs. 7 Satz 1 Nr. 3 BEEG	Source
Headcount that must be exceeded for the right to part-time work	15 employees	grenze	from January 1, 2007	§ 15 Abs. 7 Satz 1 Nr. 1 BEEG	Source
Length of service that must be exceeded for the right to part-time work	6 months	frist	from January 1, 2007	§ 15 Abs. 7 Satz 1 Nr. 2 BEEG	Source
Notice period for part-time work between the third and eighth birthday	13 weeks	frist	from July 1, 2015	§ 15 Abs. 7 Satz 1 Nr. 5 Buchst. b BEEG	Source

Parental leave since 2007

Every change to a component with its validity, newest first.

Show all 19 entriesHide 19 entries

Component	Value	Type	Valid	Legal basis	Source
Maximum working hours during parental leave	32 hours per week	maximum amount	from September 1, 2021	§ 15 Abs. 4 Satz 1 und Abs. 7 Satz 1 Nr. 3 BEEG	Source
Share that can be taken after the third birthday	24 months	dauer	from July 1, 2015	§ 15 Abs. 2 Satz 2 BEEG	Source
Periods per parent without employer consent	3	anzahl	from July 1, 2015	§ 16 Abs. 1 Satz 6 BEEG	Source
Notice period for leave between the third and eighth birthday	13 weeks	frist	from July 1, 2015	§ 16 Abs. 1 Satz 1 Nr. 2 BEEG	Source
Earliest start of dismissal protection before leave between the third and eighth birthday	14 weeks	frist	from July 1, 2015	§ 18 Abs. 1 Satz 2 Nr. 2 BEEG	Source
Notice period for part-time work between the third and eighth birthday	13 weeks	frist	from July 1, 2015	§ 15 Abs. 7 Satz 1 Nr. 5 Buchst. b BEEG	Source
Maximum parental leave per child	3 years	dauer	from January 1, 2007	§ 15 Abs. 2 Satz 1 BEEG	Source
Share that can be taken after the third birthday	12 months	dauer	January 1, 2007 to June 30, 2015	§ 15 Abs. 2 Satz 4 BEEG a. F.	Source
Periods per parent without employer consent	2	anzahl	January 1, 2007 to June 30, 2015	§ 16 Abs. 1 Satz 5 BEEG a. F.	Source
Notice period for leave up to the third birthday	7 weeks	frist	from January 1, 2007	§ 16 Abs. 1 Satz 1 Nr. 1 BEEG	Source
Notice period for leave between the third and eighth birthday	7 weeks	frist	January 1, 2007 to June 30, 2015	§ 16 Abs. 1 Satz 1 BEEG a. F.	Source
Period to be fixed when giving notice	2 years	frist	from January 1, 2007	§ 16 Abs. 1 Satz 2 BEEG	Source
Earliest start of dismissal protection before leave up to the third birthday	8 weeks	frist	from January 1, 2007	§ 18 Abs. 1 Satz 2 Nr. 1 BEEG	Source
Earliest start of dismissal protection before leave between the third and eighth birthday	8 weeks	frist	January 1, 2007 to June 30, 2015	§ 18 Abs. 1 Satz 1 BEEG a. F.	Source
Maximum working hours during parental leave	30 hours per week	maximum amount	January 1, 2007 to August 31, 2021	§ 15 Abs. 4 Satz 1 und Abs. 7 Satz 1 Nr. 3 BEEG a. F.	Source
Minimum hours for the right to part-time work	15 hours per week	grenze	from January 1, 2007	§ 15 Abs. 7 Satz 1 Nr. 3 BEEG	Source
Headcount that must be exceeded for the right to part-time work	15 employees	grenze	from January 1, 2007	§ 15 Abs. 7 Satz 1 Nr. 1 BEEG	Source
Length of service that must be exceeded for the right to part-time work	6 months	frist	from January 1, 2007	§ 15 Abs. 7 Satz 1 Nr. 2 BEEG	Source
Notice period for part-time work between the third and eighth birthday	7 weeks	frist	January 1, 2007 to June 30, 2015	§ 15 Abs. 7 Satz 1 Nr. 5 BEEG a. F.	Source

Rules from statutes and administrative guidance

Employees who live in one household with their child and care for and raise the child themselves are entitled to parental leave (§ 15 Abs. 1 BEEG).
The entitlement lasts until the child's third birthday; up to 24 months of it can be taken between the third and the eighth birthday (§ 15 Abs. 2 Satz 1 und 2 BEEG).
For adopted and foster children, up to three years are available from the date the child is taken in, at most until the eighth birthday (§ 15 Abs. 2 Satz 5 BEEG).
Both parents can take parental leave alone, in parts or at the same time (§ 15 Abs. 3 BEEG).
The entitlement cannot be excluded or limited by contract (§ 15 Abs. 2 Satz 6 BEEG).
Parental leave must be requested in text form at least seven weeks before it starts, and at least 13 weeks before for leave between the third and eighth birthday (§ 16 Abs. 1 Satz 1 BEEG).
Anyone requesting leave before the third birthday must state at the same time the periods within two years for which leave will be taken (§ 16 Abs. 1 Satz 2 BEEG).
Each parent can split parental leave into three periods; the employer may refuse a third period after the third birthday within eight weeks for urgent operational reasons (§ 16 Abs. 1 Satz 6 und 7 BEEG).
Ending leave early or extending it requires the employer's consent; after the birth of another child or in cases of particular hardship, the employer can only refuse early termination within four weeks for urgent operational reasons (§ 16 Abs. 3 BEEG).
During parental leave, at most 32 hours a week on monthly average are allowed (§ 15 Abs. 4 Satz 1 BEEG). Part-time work for another employer or self-employment requires the consent of one's own employer, who can only refuse within four weeks for urgent operational reasons in text form (§ 15 Abs. 4 Satz 3 and 4 BEEG).
A right to part-time work of 15 to 32 hours a week for at least two months exists, twice during parental leave, if the employer has more than 15 employees, the employment has lasted more than six months and no urgent operational reasons stand against it (§ 15 Abs. 6 und 7 BEEG).
If the employer does not refuse part-time work in text form within four weeks, or within eight weeks after the third birthday, it is deemed approved (§ 15 Abs. 7 Satz 5 BEEG).
From the request for parental leave, at the earliest eight weeks before it starts, or 14 weeks for leave after the third birthday, and during parental leave, the employer may not give notice; exceptions require approval by the competent state authority (§ 18 Abs. 1 BEEG).
If the child dies during parental leave, the leave ends no later than three weeks after the death (§ 16 Abs. 4 BEEG).

The API returns these statements in the regeln field, so software and agents can display them.

As JSON and CSV

Every request returns JSON. The history since 2015 is also available as a CSV file with format=csv, and with trennzeichen=semikolon it fits Excel with German regional settings. More in Responses and CSV.

Terminal

curl "https://api.quellenkontor.dev/v1/hr/elternzeit/verlauf?format=csv&trennzeichen=semikolon" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $QK_KEY" -o elternzeit.csv

Parameters

Parameters	Type	Meaning
`geburtsdatum`date	date	Child's date of birth or day of adoption intake, YYYY-MM-DD. Which version of the BEEG applies depends on it. Without it, current law applies.
`bestandteil`text	text	Return and cite only this component, for example for a single question (optional). Allowed values are the component ids.

All response fields with types, allowed values, defaults and error cases are in the Parental leave reference.

Questions about this dataset

When do you have to request parental leave in Germany?

At least seven weeks before it starts, and at least 13 weeks before for leave between the third and eighth birthday (§ 16 Abs. 1 BEEG). The 13 weeks apply to children born from July 1, 2015.

How many hours can you work during parental leave?

At most 32 hours a week on monthly average (§ 15 Abs. 4 BEEG). For children born before September 1, 2021, the limit is 30 hours.

When does protection against dismissal start?

From the request for parental leave, at the earliest eight weeks before it starts, or 14 weeks for leave after the third birthday, and throughout the leave (§ 18 Abs. 1 BEEG).

How often is the dataset updated?

When the law changes, transition by date of birth. We check the data against the official sources every week, and every change is logged in the changelog. On the Pro plan, a webhook notifies your server.

Germany parental leave 2026: notice, part-time and protection

Duration 2026

Notice 2026

Protection against dismissal 2026

Part-time work 2026

Parental leave since 2007

Rules from statutes and administrative guidance

As JSON and CSV

Parameters

Questions about this dataset

Related datasets

Maternity protection calculator

Notice period calculator

Vacation entitlement calculator

Sickness benefit and child sickness benefit

Related datasets

Maternity protection calculator
Start and end of the maternity protection periods from the expected due date.
APIMCPwhen the law changes

Notice period calculator
Statutory notice period and end date under § 622 BGB from start date and date of receipt.
APIMCPwhen the law changes

Vacation entitlement calculator
Statutory minimum vacation for part-time work and for joining or leaving during the year.
APIMCPwhen the law changes

Sickness benefit and child sickness benefit
Rates, caps and maximum duration of German statutory sickness benefit under §§ 44 to 48 SGB V since 2015.
APIMCPwhen the law changes