Care Level Calculator

Since 2017 Germany has had five care levels. Which one applies is not decided by a diagnosis or a number of minutes but by a points system: the assessment instrument under § 15 SGB XI. The Medical Service looks at six areas of life, awards points for each question and converts them into weighted points with a fixed table. From 12.5 of 100 points there is care level 1, from 27 care level 2, from 47.5 care level 3, from 70 care level 4 and from 90 care level 5. The calculator reproduces exactly this system, with the questions and point values from Annex 1 and the conversion from Annex 2.

The six areas count differently. Self-care weighs most at 40 percent: washing, dressing, eating, drinking, toilet. Medical care, meaning tablets, injections, dressings and doctor visits with company, counts 20 percent. Moving counts 10 percent, daily life and contacts 15 percent. Understanding and talking on the one hand and behaviour and mood on the other share 15 percent, and only the higher value counts. This matters especially with dementia: someone who still seems physically fit can still reach a high care level through these two areas.

The calculator is built for people who do not sit at a computer every day. Each area is its own step, each question a card with big answer fields in plain words: "Manages alone", "Needs a little help", "Needs a lot of help", "Cannot do it". Below it, in small print, is the name of the question in the official report, so you recognise it in the decision later. Your answers stay in your browser only and are deleted when you sign out.

Children have their own rules, and the calculator knows them. From 19 months only what a child needs on top of a healthy child of the same age counts. For babies and toddlers up to 18 months the Medical Service only rates behaviour, medical care and major feeding problems, and under § 15(7) SGB XI one grade higher applies automatically. And anyone who can no longer use both arms and both legs gets care level 5 under the so-called special needs constellation, even with fewer points.

After the result comes the practical part. The calculator explains how to apply to the care insurer (a phone call is enough), that money flows from the month of application and that under § 18c SGB XI the insurer must decide within 25 working days. Enter the date and the calculator shows the last day, with the public holidays of your federal state. One click puts the deadline into the deadline tracker. It also describes how the Medical Service visit works, what to have ready and why a care diary helps so much.

One last important point: the calculator gives an estimate, not a decision. The care insurer sets the care level, based on the Medical Service report, and in individual cases the assessor may see things differently. For 2027 the federal government plans higher thresholds for care levels 1 to 3 with the care reorganisation act; the draft is not law yet. The calculator uses the law in force in 2026 and shows the planned difference as a note. What the care level brings in money you then work out in the care allowance calculator.