The interest-free loan matures 5 years after the end of the standard study period. The loan is to be repaid in instalments of at least € 130 per month. After the payment of 77 installments (€ 10,010) you are usually debt-free. This rule does not apply to the full loan grant type. If, for economic reasons, you cannot pay the standard rate of € 130, the rate can be reduced or suspended on request. After 20 years at the latest, there will be a clear debt cut for all those who have at least made an effort to repay the loan by then and have fulfilled their other obligations to cooperate in the loan collection process. The remaining amount will be waived (also for full loans). The loan may be repaid prematurely, in full or in part. For this, large waivers are allowed. The size of the waiver increases with the amount of the loan debt.

For example, if you owe € 6,000, you will receive a waiver of 14.5% of the loan debt, and you will have to pay back only € 5,130.

A central office in Cologne – Bundesverwaltungsamt, BT-BAföG, 50728 Cologne, telephone no.: (0221) 758-4500 – is responsible for loan collection. This office will send repayment notices around 4.5 years after the end of the regular study period.

Once you have received this repayment notice, please remember to submit your possible applications for waiver within one month (cut-off period!). After completing your studies, please make sure to inform the Federal Administration Office ("Bundesverwaltungsamt") of your most recent address. This is also possible online.

Should you miss this, you will be charged with the cost of finding out your address. This currently costs € 25.