Finances
Note on Processing BAföG Applications
The Ministry of Culture and Science of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia has issued the following notice to students who wish to submit BAföG applications:
The State of North Rhine-Westphalia will in the future use a new specialized system for processing applications under Bundesausbildungsförderungsgesetz (BAföG) and Aufstiegsfortbildungsförderungsgesetz (AFBG). This will ensure that your applications are processed in a modern and streamlined manner.
Due to technical requirements associated with the transition to the new system, it is necessary to take the current system offline for a certain period of time before the new system can be put into operation. For the entire duration of the system outage, the Amt für Ausbildungsförderung will not have access to your documents.
The system will be taken offline in 2026 for an estimated period of two calendar weeks. The exact dates will be published here.
You can continue to submit applications (via BAföG-Digital, email, or in writing) and other mail as usual during the downtime. Submissions received during the downtime will still be considered on time.
Due to the transition to the new system, there will initially be delays in processing. We recommend that you submit your applications and other documents as early as possible and as completely as possible.