Home advice visit: the required check that keeps the care allowance flowing
A registered nurse comes to the home, looks at how care works and gives advice. For many families the visit is compulsory; for all of them it is free.
Checked by Radif Partners · Editorial policy · How we calculate
Home advice visit: how often it is required
Required visit
every 6 months
| at grades 4 and 5 on request | every 3 months |
| Allowance at risk if missed | €599 |
| Cost to you | €0 |
Every second visit can be by video on request, until 31 March 2027.
Anyone at care grade 2 to 5 who receives the care allowance (Pflegegeld) must call up an advice visit at home once every six months, known as the Beratungseinsatz (section 37(3) of Book XI of the German Social Code, SGB XI). At grades 4 and 5 a visit every 3 months is also possible, but not required. People at grade 1 and families using a care service through the services budget are entitled to one visit every six months, with no obligation. The visit costs nothing; the long-term care fund or the private insurer pays for it. It may be carried out by registered care services, recognised advice centres, care advisers and, in certain cases, nurses commissioned by the fund. The first visit always takes place at home; after that, every second visit can be held by video on request until 31 March 2027. Anyone who fails to call up a compulsory visit risks an appropriate cut in the allowance and, if it happens again, its withdrawal (section 37(6)). At grade 3, €3,594 per half-year depends on the proof.
Who must, who may
| Situation | Advice visit | Frequency |
|---|---|---|
| grade 2 or 3, allowance only | compulsory | once every half-year (6 months) |
| grade 4 or 5, allowance only | compulsory, plus optional extra visits | compulsory each half-year, on request every 3 months |
| grade 1 | entitlement, no obligation | once every half-year |
| services from a care service | entitlement, no obligation | once every half-year |
| conversion claim for everyday help | rules of section 37(3) apply accordingly | a cut affects the refund |
The word the law uses, “abrufen” (to call up), means the initiative lies with the person needing care and their family, not with the fund. The safest approach is to book the next visit during the current one. At grade 1 the visit is one of the benefits listed by name (section 28a SGB XI); with the services budget it is an offer worth taking, because a second pair of eyes often improves care. For a son or daughter abroad, the visit is also a regular professional check on how a parent is really managing.
What happens at the visit
The visit serves to secure the quality of care at home and to give carers practical professional support (section 37(3a)). It is about daily life: how personal care, positioning, eating and moving work, and how heavily the carers are burdened. If more support is needed, they point in particular to the local care support centre (Pflegestützpunkt), care counselling under section 7a SGB XI with a care plan, care courses including at home, and other help. With consent their recommendations go into the visit record, and the fund must then help put them into practice promptly.
Who comes
The options are a registered care service, a recognised advice centre with proven nursing expertise and, only where neither is available locally, a nurse commissioned but not employed by the fund (section 37(3b)). Care advisers and suitable municipal advisers may also carry out the visits (subsection 8). Pure supervision services may not (subsection 9). Services should send staff who know the specific condition and, where possible, the same person each time.
Video and the first visit
At the request of the person needing care, every second visit can take place by video until 31 March 2027 inclusive. The first visit always takes place in the home. The technology must meet the standards agreed for video consultations in health insurance.
| Situation | Visits per year | of which at most by video |
|---|---|---|
| compulsory every half-year | 2 | 1 |
| grade 4 or 5 with visits every 3 months | 4 | 2 |
What happens to the findings
The service confirms the visit to the fund on a standard form sent electronically or in machine-readable form (section 37(4)). The findings on improving care go to the person needing care, and to the fund only with their consent. If consent is refused but the nurse considers further advice necessary, the service passes on only that assessment and the fund offers counselling. Children planning from a distance can ask their parents for the written findings and see where care is struggling.
What is at stake
| Care grade | Allowance per month | per half-year tied to the proof |
|---|---|---|
| 2 | €347 | €2,082 |
| 3 | €599 | €3,594 |
| 4 | €800 | €4,800 |
| 5 | €990 | €5,940 |
Measured against these sums, one appointment per half-year is a small effort. Timing matters: the obligation relates to the half-year. If a care grade is awarded during the year, ask the fund when the first visit is due and do not leave it to the last day.
What this care grade brings per month in 2026
Benefits per month
€772
| paid to you | €599 |
| services | €0 |
| per year incl. annual budget | €12,803 |
Take the recommendation for an aid with you
During the advice visit, nurses may make specific recommendations for medical aids and care aids (section 40(6) SGB XI). If the recommendation accompanies the application and is no older than 2 weeks, need is presumed under the conditions of the guidelines and no doctor’s prescription is required. So ask at the visit about a care bed, a shower stool or a positioning aid, and send the application within that period.
Three misunderstandings
“The visit is a new assessment.” No. The care grade is decided by the fund on the basis of the Medical Service report. The advice visit is support and quality assurance, not a new grading. If you think the grade no longer fits, file a separate application for a higher grade.
“With video the home visit disappears.” No. Until the cut-off date only every second visit may be by video, and the very first is always in person. Anyone advised twice a year therefore has at least one visit in the home.
“Anyone using a care service must have the visit too.” No. With services only, the visit is an entitlement, not an obligation. The obligation is tied to the care allowance, and at grades 4 and 5 the extra visits every 3 months are optional as well.
Checklist for the next visit
- Mark the end of the current half-year in the calendar and book the visit early.
- Plan the first visit in person; then decide whether every second visit should be by video.
- Note beforehand what is difficult day to day: nights, falls, eating, the strain on carers.
- Ask about aids and submit the recommendation with the application within 2 weeks.
- Decide whether the findings may go to the fund and keep a copy.