Legal aid and finding the right advice

If you cannot afford legal help, public support may cover some of the cost. Check your options before agreeing to a lawyer’s fee. Advice outside court and representation in court require different applications, and neither covers every possible cost.

Where to start

What you need	Where to start
Understanding a letter, finding a service or migration support	Official letters and counselling; tell the service about any deadline
A lawyer’s advice or necessary representation outside court	Beratungshilfe through the Amtsgericht, subject to eligibility
Bringing or defending court proceedings	Prozesskostenhilfe (PKH); in family matters it is often called Verfahrenskostenhilfe (VKH)
A criminal or administrative-offence accusation	Ask specifically about defence and its costs: Beratungshilfe covers advice only here, not defence representation

Apply for Beratungshilfe

BerHG section 1 requires limited means, no other reasonably available help and a matter that is not pursued unreasonably. Declare relevant legal-expenses insurance, union support or other available assistance. Receiving benefits does not replace the court’s decision on your application.

1. Use the official eligibility check and application service. Find the Amtsgericht responsible for your ordinary residence through the justice service. Hamburg and Bremen use public legal advice instead of this Beratungshilfe route; follow the official service’s links to their arrangements and check access, booking and charges locally.
2. Prepare identity evidence, income/benefit decisions, bank statements, savings/assets, rent and necessary expenses, plus all case letters and deadlines. Explain what happened, what help you need and what you have already tried. Use the personalised official document checklist.
3. Submit the application at the Amtsgericht, by post, through the lawyer where offered, or through the supported Mein Justizpostfach route. Filling in and downloading a PDF is not submission. If you go directly to a lawyer first, agree the funding route immediately: a subsequent Beratungshilfe application must be made within four weeks of the start of the advice under BerHG section 6(2).
4. With the Beratungshilfeschein, contact a lawyer in the relevant field. Say that you have the certificate, describe the urgency and ask about language support and costs before the consultation. The standard own contribution is 15 euros, which the lawyer can waive. Keep the approval and case reference.

Apply for PKH or VKH for proceedings

The court checks financial circumstances, sufficient prospects of success and whether the case is unreasonable under ZPO section 114. Give the court handling the case the application describing the dispute and evidence, with the official “Erklärung über die persönlichen und wirtschaftlichen Verhältnisse” and its supporting documents. A lawyer can help prepare this; ask whether appointment of a lawyer is included and whether any work before approval would be chargeable.

PKH can cover court expenses and your appointed lawyer within its scope, with or without instalments. It ordinarily does not cover the opponent’s lawyer costs if you lose; the procedural rules decide that liability. Have the adviser explain the risk for your actual court, especially before a settlement or appeal. A new stage may need a separate approval.

After approval

Keep paying any assessed instalments and answer the court’s review requests. Under section 120a, promptly report address changes and significant improvements in finances during the proceedings and for four years after the final decision or other ending. For recurring income, a non-one-off increase of more than 100 euros gross a month counts; the corresponding rule covers reductions in deductible expenses. Ask about reassessment if finances worsen. Ignoring the reporting duties can put the approval at risk.