Issuing the German insolvency pay certificate (Insolvenzgeldbescheinigung)
The insolvency pay certificate (Insolvenzgeldbescheinigung) is not paperwork for the employee but a DUTY of the insolvency administrator (Insolvenzverwalter): at the request of the Federal Employment Agency, the administrator must certify, for EVERY employee who may be entitled to insolvency pay, the pay earned before the opening of proceedings, the statutory deductions and any payments already made (section 314(1) SGB III). Where no insolvency proceedings are opened, or they are discontinued under section 207 InsO, the duty falls on the EMPLOYER itself (section 314(2) sentence 1). A missing, wrong or late certificate is a regulatory offence (section 404(2) no. 19 SGB III).
Up to date for 2021 — verified on September 23, 2026Official formGuide: about 30 min
This content is part of the path: When the employer becomes insolvent· Step 6 of 8· Next step: Applying for German insolvency pay (Antrag auf Insolvenzgeld, employee form)
Deadlines
- Certificate: at the request of the employment agency
- Section 314(1) SGB III sets no fixed deadline, but failing to certify in time is a regulatory offence (section 404(2) no. 19 SGB III)
- Employee's application: two-month exclusion period after the insolvency event
- Section 324(3) sentence 1 SGB III; where the deadline was missed through no fault of the employee, two months after the obstacle ceased (sentence 2). The certificate should therefore come promptly
- Dismissal for lack of assets: announce without delay
- The employer must notify the works council — or, if there is none, the employees — of the court order without delay (section 165(5) SGB III)
Documents to prepare
- Case number of the insolvency proceedings and the insolvency pay number, once the employment agency has assigned it
- Date of the insolvency event: opening order, order dismissing the petition for lack of assets, or day on which business activity ceased completely
- Employee master data: date of birth, address, wage tax characteristics, tax identification number, pension insurance number
- Company number (Betriebsnummer) of the employing establishment
- Employment contract, notice of termination and the date of any unfair dismissal claim
- Payslips for the unpaid months with gross pay, one-off payments, benefits in kind and statutory deductions
- Evidence of salary conversion not paid over: pension provider and funding vehicle
- Garnishment orders, assignments and the agency's consent to any pre-financing
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Who this applies to
- The insolvency administrator once proceedings have been opened — for every employee who may be entitled to insolvency pay (section 314(1) SGB III)
- The employer itself where no proceedings are opened — for instance when the petition is dismissed for lack of assets or business activity has ceased completely — or where proceedings were discontinued under section 207 InsO (section 314(2) sentence 1 SGB III)
- The employer also where debtor-in-possession management (Eigenverwaltung) under section 270(1) sentence 1 InsO has been ordered (section 314(2) sentence 2 SGB III)
- The payroll office or tax adviser supplying the figures: the employer, the employees and anyone who had access to the employment records must give the administrator, on request, all information needed for the certificate (section 316(2) SGB III)
- NOT the employee: the employee applies for insolvency pay; the certificate is issued by the other side
- NOT the amount of insolvency pay: the certificate supplies the figures, the employment agency does the calculation — under section 167(1) SGB III from gross pay capped at the monthly contribution ceiling, less statutory deductions
Worked example
Administrator Dr Anna Vogt certifies for the staff of Holzbau Kerner GmbH
Insolvency proceedings are opened over the assets of Holzbau Kerner GmbH; recent wages are unpaid. The employment agency asks the administrator, Dr Anna Vogt, for the certificates. For the carpenter Jonas Weber she enters the pay periods of the insolvency pay period — which months these are is set by section 165(1) SGB III, and the Insolvenzgeld calculator shows them — with gross pay of 3,400 euros for each month. Weber had converted 200 euros a month into a direct insurance policy that the employer had recently stopped paying over: this goes into the certificate with the pension provider and funding vehicle, because section 314(1) sentences 2 and 3 SGB III require exactly those details, and under section 165(2) sentence 3 the conversion is then treated as not agreed for the calculation. An advance of 500 euros that Weber still received in the last month is entered with the payments already made. A creditor has garnished his wages: Dr Vogt certifies the creditor's name, the amount and the reason, because section 314(1) sentence 4 requires certification of how far the claims are garnished — and under section 170(2) the garnishment also covers the insolvency pay. She obtained the figures from the payroll office, which owes her the information under section 316(2) SGB III.
How to fill it in, step by step
- Establish WHO certifies: after opening, the insolvency administrator (section 314(1) SGB III); without opened proceedings, after discontinuance under section 207 InsO or under debtor-in-possession management, the employer (section 314(2)).
- Identify the insolvency event and its date — opening, dismissal for lack of assets, or complete cessation of business activity (section 165(1) sentence 2 SGB III) — and tick exactly one.
- Check whether employees continued working or started work without knowing of the event: the period then shifts to the day they learned of it (section 165(3) SGB III).
- Collect the pay records; the employer, the employees and the payroll office must provide information (section 316(2) SGB III).
- For each pay period enter gross pay, one-off payments, statutory deductions, social security contributions and payments already made (section 314(1) sentence 1 nos. 1 and 2 SGB III); part-months are allowed.
- Certify salary conversion not paid over, with funding vehicle and pension provider (section 314(1) sentences 2 and 3 SGB III).
- Certify garnishments, pledges and assignments (section 314(1) sentence 4 SGB III) and claims from pre-financing the agency has approved (section 170(4)).
- Use the form from the Federal Employment Agency's specialist portal (section 314(1) sentence 5 SGB III); for electronic transmission under section 36a SGB I, add the address and payment details (sentence 6).
- Sign, stamp and file the certificate with the employment agency — one per employee.
Good to know
- The duty applies to EVERY employee who may be entitled (section 314(1) SGB III) — not only those who have already applied.
- An insolvency event is the opening of proceedings, the dismissal of the petition for lack of assets, or the complete cessation of business activity in Germany where no petition was filed and proceedings are obviously out of the question for lack of assets (section 165(1) sentence 2 SGB III).
- A FOREIGN insolvency event also gives employees working in Germany a claim (section 165(1) sentence 3 SGB III).
- Wage claims include ALL remuneration from the employment relationship (section 165(2) sentence 1 SGB III) — which is why the form asks about one-off payments and benefits in kind.
- Filing the application transfers the wage claims to the Federal Employment Agency (section 169 SGB III); the form's closing declaration reflects exactly that.
- Pre-financing without the employment agency's consent earns the new creditor no insolvency pay; the agency may consent only where a substantial share of jobs is thereby preserved (section 170(4) SGB III).
- With the application, the Federal Employment Agency asks the employee for, among other things, the certificate from the employer or administrator, the employment contract, the notice of termination and the latest payslips (the agency's page for employers).
- The Insolvenzgeld calculator works out the amount of insolvency pay under sections 165 and 167 SGB III — this guide repeats none of its values.
Common mistakes
- Treating the certificate as the employees' job. It is the duty of the administrator or employer (section 314 SGB III).
- Ticking two insolvency events. Only one of the three in section 165(1) sentence 2 SGB III applies, with its date.
- Ignoring work continued without knowledge of the event. It shifts the period to the day of knowledge (section 165(3) SGB III).
- Leaving out unpaid salary conversion, or giving it without the funding vehicle (section 314(1) sentences 2 and 3 SGB III).
- Omitting garnishments and assignments. They must be certified (section 314(1) sentence 4) and they extend to insolvency pay (section 170 SGB III).
- Waiting until every figure is perfect. Employees face a two-month exclusion period (section 324(3) SGB III), and a late certificate carries a fine (section 404(2) no. 19 SGB III).
- As an employer without opened proceedings, waiting for an administrator who does not exist (section 314(2) SGB III).
Frequently asked questions
Who must issue the insolvency pay certificate?
After opening, the insolvency administrator (section 314(1) SGB III). Where no proceedings are opened, they are discontinued under section 207 InsO, or debtor-in-possession management has been ordered, the employer (section 314(2)).
What must be certified?
The pay for the period before the opening, the statutory deductions and the payments made towards the wage claims, salary conversion not paid over with funding vehicle and pension provider, and any garnishments, pledges and assignments (section 314(1) SGB III).
What does a wrong or missing certificate cost?
Anyone who intentionally or negligently fails to certify a fact, or certifies it incorrectly, incompletely or late, commits a regulatory offence (section 404(2) no. 19(b) SGB III); section 404(3) provides a fine of up to two thousand euros for this case.
What deadline applies to the employee's application?
A two-month exclusion period after the insolvency event (section 324(3) sentence 1 SGB III). The agency's page speaks of two months after the opening — what counts is the insolvency event, which may also be a dismissal for lack of assets or a cessation of business.
How much is insolvency pay?
It is paid at the level of net pay, derived from gross pay capped at the monthly contribution ceiling less statutory deductions (section 167(1) SGB III). Work it out with the Insolvenzgeld calculator.
As the employer, must I assist the administrator?
Yes. The employer, the employees and anyone who had access to the employment records must give the administrator, on request, all information needed for the certificate (section 316(2) SGB III).
Go further
Compute the related amounts
Related forms
- Sending the German employment certificate electronically (BEA)
- Notifying short-time work and claiming the allowance in Germany
- Applying for a German establishment number (Betriebsnummer) before your first hire
- German insolvency benefit for shareholder-managing directors — the supplementary sheet
- Applying for German insolvency pay (Antrag auf Insolvenzgeld, employee form)
- Supplementary sheet for family members to the German insolvency pay application (Zusatzblatt Familienangehörige)
Official sources
- Section 314 SGB III — Insolvency pay certificate (Gesetze im Internet) — September 23, 2026
- Section 165 SGB III — Entitlement to insolvency pay and insolvency events — September 23, 2026
- Section 167 SGB III — Amount of insolvency pay — September 23, 2026
- Section 169 SGB III — Transfer of claims — September 23, 2026
- Section 170 SGB III — Dispositions over wages — September 23, 2026
- Section 316 SGB III — Duty to provide information for insolvency pay — September 23, 2026
- Section 324 SGB III — Application before benefit (exclusion period for insolvency pay) — September 23, 2026
- Section 404 SGB III — Fines — September 23, 2026
- Federal Employment Agency — Insolvency pay, information for employers — September 23, 2026
Guide and document provided for information purposes only; they do not constitute personalised legal or tax advice. Check the recipient organisation's requirements and consult a professional if needed.