Applying for a Kita Voucher in Hamburg: How to do it in Harburg

You can apply for a Kita voucher in Hamburg online via the Hamburg Service or by form at the Childcare Department of your district office, which in Harburg is the Harburg Rathausforum. The city recommends submitting the application three to six months before the desired Kita start date. For the five free hours a day, the application and a copy of your ID are sufficient. If you need more hours, you must also submit proof of your working or training hours and your income.

With the voucher, you choose the Kita yourself. You redeem it there, the Kita bills the city directly for the costs, and you pay at most a parental contribution. Around 1,200 Hamburg Kitas participate in the voucher system (as of September 2024). Our comparison of Kitas in Harburg shows you which ones are near you and how they perform.

Who gets a Kita voucher in Hamburg

Every child from their first birthday until school enrollment is entitled to five hours of daily care with lunch. Whether you work is irrelevant. The prerequisite is that your child is registered with their main residence in Hamburg. Deviations are examined by the district office on a case-by-case basis, according to Hamburg Service.

Your child can receive more than five hours a day or a place before their first birthday if neither you nor another legal guardian in the household can care for them themselves. According to its FAQs on childcare, the city recognizes the following reasons:

Employment, studies, or vocational training or further education
A measure for integration into work
A German language course or integration course
An urgent social or pedagogical need, proven by the General Social Service (ASD) or the Kita

Children with a disability or impending disability are entitled to six hours daily from the age of three, regardless of the parents' needs. According to the city, you should apply for a Kita voucher with integration assistance, i.e., with additional special education support, at least six months before the start, because an expert opinion must be prepared beforehand.

How many hours the Kita voucher covers

Hamburg Kitas offer care times of four, five, six, eight, ten, and twelve hours daily. Children under three years old can also use four, five, or six hours as 20, 25, or 30 weekly hours on fewer days. The number of hours you are entitled to depends on the time during which no one in the household can care for the child. Travel time to work is included (hamburg.de).

A calculation example with assumed times: Both parents work from 8 AM to 4 PM and each need 30 minutes for their commute. The child then needs to be cared for from approximately 7:30 AM to 4:30 PM, i.e., nine hours. An eight-hour voucher is not sufficient in this case; a ten-hour voucher would be considered. The district office decides how to classify your case based on your evidence.

Care per day	Prerequisite	Monthly parental contribution
4 or 5 hours	none, from 1st birthday	free of charge
6 hours	need, e.g., employment	4–115 €
8 hours	need	11–191 €
10 hours	need	16–204 €
12 hours	need	22–204 €

The amounts are the minimum and maximum rates from the Hamburg city contribution table for crèche and elementary school until the preschool year (as of November 2026). Where you fall within the range depends on your income and family size, and the child's age also counts.

The XL voucher is valid until school enrollment

As of January 1, 2025, in many cases, you only need to apply for the voucher once. If your child is at least one year old at the desired start and is to be cared for for a maximum of five hours daily, you will receive two vouchers immediately: an XL crèche voucher until their third birthday and an XL elementary voucher from their third birthday until school enrollment. You do not need a separate application for the XL voucher (hamburg.de).

It is different for more than five hours. These vouchers are generally valid for one year. If you later need a different scope, for example, because you return to work after parental leave, you submit a new application. The XL voucher will then be canceled and replaced by a new one.

How to apply for the Kita voucher in Hamburg

Which documents you submit depends on the scope of care. The list follows the information in the Hamburg Service for the initial application. If you apply online, you upload the documents digitally there.

Completed and signed application, online or as a form: the JA-40b application for four or five hours from one year of age, the main application JA-40a for six to twelve hours or children under one year of age
Copy of the identity cards or passports of all legal guardians registered with the child
Only for more than five hours or under one year of age: Proof of daily working or course hours, e.g., employment contract or working hours certificate from the employer
Only for more than five hours: Questionnaire on economic circumstances and income statements
For income from self-employment: the Credibility form
For pedagogical need: current proof from the ASD or the Kita
For siblings in the household: the supplement to the main application

1. Clarify scope: Calculate how many hours you need and ask your preferred Kita if they have a place with these hours on the desired date. → Result: You know which form you need.

2. Submit application: Online via the Hamburg Service or by post, fax, or email to the Childcare Department at the Harburg District Office. By email, the application is only valid if the forms are scanned with original signatures. → Result: Funding can begin from the date of application receipt.

3. Await decision: The district office reviews your application and, for more than five hours, also determines the parental contribution. → Result: You have the voucher and, if applicable, a contribution notice.

4. Redeem voucher: Submit the voucher within two months to a Kita participating in the voucher system and sign the care contract. → Result: The Kita now bills the city directly.

How long it takes to apply for a Kita voucher

The city does not specify a fixed processing time for the voucher. For the procedure, which also determines the parental contribution, the Hamburg Service indicates up to three months. This is precisely why the city recommends a lead time of three to six months. You cannot submit an initial application earlier than half a year before the start.

This results in the following time windows: If your child is to start on February 1, 2027, the recommended application period is between August 1 and November 1, 2026. For a start on August 1, 2027, it is the period between February 1 and May 1, 2027.

In Harburg, for example, the Kita Glockenturm on Neue Straße will open in February 2027, with space for around 170 children in six crèche and five elementary groups. Anyone who wants to start there or in another Kita in February and has not yet applied is already running short on time in November. Nevertheless, submit it immediately, as funding begins at the earliest with the receipt of the application.

Where to submit your Kita voucher in Harburg

The district office where your child is registered is responsible. For Harburg, Heimfeld, Eißendorf, Neugraben-Fischbek, and the other districts of the borough, this is the following office:

Bezirksamt Harburg, Abteilung Kindertagesbetreuung

Harburger Rathausforum 1, 21073 Hamburg

Phone: 040 428 71-4901

Email: Kindertagesbetreuung@harburg.hamburg.de

The data comes from the contact list of the social authority (as of November 2026). The city publishes daily office hours in the Hamburg Service. On the initial application page, you enter your child's registration address and the responsible office is displayed.

In addition to the application, the department also handles Kita searches. It advises you, and if you cannot find a suitable place, it helps you with the so-called Kita place verification procedure.

Extending or changing your Kita voucher

With an XL voucher, you don't need to extend anything until school enrollment. If your voucher is for more than five hours, you submit a follow-up application in good time, recommended by the city preferably three months before the end of the approval period. This can also be done online.

Regarding the proofs, the city's information is not entirely consistent. According to Hamburg Service for follow-up applications, the last three pay slips are usually sufficient. However, the city's forms page explicitly requests the employer's working hours certificate even for further applications. When in doubt, submit both, then you won't have to resubmit anything.

The district office generally does not approve retroactively. An exception applies only if you apply for the same service to the same extent in the follow-up application: In this case, the voucher can be valid from the first day of the month in which your application is received.

If your address, family size, or hourly needs change, or if you change Kitas, you report this online or with the JA-40e form. This also applies if care ends.

What you pay despite the Kita voucher

Up to five hours a day are free of charge. For more hours, you pay a parental contribution, staggered according to income, family size, child's age, and scope of care. With the city's Kita contribution calculator, you can estimate your contribution in advance. If several children are cared for simultaneously, the contribution for the older ones decreases.

This is set to change from 2027. The Senate plans to raise the maximum contribution to €320 per month on August 1, 2027, and to €336 per month on August 1, 2028. Families with low incomes, however, are to be relieved (Senate of the City of Hamburg, as of November 2026). The five free hours remain. Questions about your own contribution amount will be answered by the district office from early 2027, according to the city.

Pitfalls with the Kita voucher

Without a valid voucher, you pay for the care entirely yourself. For a crèche place with eight hours, the city states around €1,855 per month (as of 2023). Therefore, submit the application before the first Kita day, even if you only use the five free hours.

These errors also cost time or money:

Only use the current forms. The city has revised the applications and makes the current versions mandatory.
Not every Kita participates in the voucher system. In these few facilities, you bear the full costs yourself, so ask before signing the contract.
If you move or change Kitas, you must observe the notice period in the care contract. Otherwise, you will continue to pay the contractually agreed costs until the end of the period.

Your next step

If your child is to start Kita next year, apply online now and simultaneously clarify the start date with your preferred Kita. If your case is not clear, for example, with shift work or self-employment, call the Childcare Department in Harburg beforehand. If you live in Neugraben or Fischbek, you can find an overview of the Kitas in Neugraben-Fischbek. Further topics related to starting Kita can be found in our Kita guides.

Frequently asked questions about the Kita voucher in Hamburg

Is there an income limit for the Kita voucher in Hamburg?

No, income plays no role in the entitlement to a Kita voucher. It only determines whether and how much parental contribution you pay for more than five hours. Families with certain benefits under SGB II or SGB XII, with child supplement or housing benefit, pay no parental contribution until school enrollment. According to the Senate's plans, a contribution will only be due from €2,650 instead of €1,023 net income per month, calculated for a household of one parent and one child.

Can I get a Kita voucher in Hamburg during parental leave?

Yes. Your child is entitled to five hours daily from their first birthday, regardless of whether you work. For a Kita voucher with more hours, it depends on whether you cannot care for the child yourself due to work, training, or a course. If you return to work from parental leave, according to Hamburg Service, you must submit a certificate from your employer about the resumption of work, as the old employment contract does not contain this date.

Can I apply for the Kita voucher in Hamburg by phone?

No, the city's information does not provide for an application by phone. You apply for the Kita voucher online or in writing; you can also submit the form in person at the district office. However, you can get advice by phone, in Harburg at 040 428 71-4901.

How do I apply for a hardship regulation for the Kita voucher?

If you cannot afford the parental contribution, you can apply for a waiver or reduction. You submit the application for a hardship regulation together with the Kita voucher online or with the JA-76 form. The Childcare Department of your district office will advise you in detail on this.

👤 About the Author

Christiane Gerstenheim is an author and editor at beste-kita-harburg.de and is responsible for the guide section there. She writes for parents who are looking for childcare in Hamburg for the first time, translating administrative language into actionable sentences.

Her texts are based on official sources – the Hamburg Childcare Act, the Childcare Technical Instruction, documents from the Hamburg Parliament – as well as publications from Hamburg parent representatives. She regularly checks information on deadlines, processing times, and responsibilities against the original sources and records when an article was last reviewed.

Applying for a Kita Voucher in Hamburg-Harburg