Freelancing in Frankfurt With No Employer: Getting a Pension Number and the Three-Month Registration Rule
In Germany the pension number is normally created when an employer reports a new hire to the health insurer, so a freelancer can start work with no number at all. You can ask the pension insurer for one directly, with your date and place of birth, birth name, address and a valid ID, and in Frankfurt the Deutsche Rentenversicherung Hessen advice office is at Speicherstraße 55 (service line 0800 1000 480 12). Most self-employed people are not compulsorily insured, but some groups are (§ 2 SGB VI). If you are a self-employed teacher or educator, care worker, midwife, or work permanently and essentially for one client without insured employees, you must register with the pension insurer yourself within three months of starting (§ 190a SGB VI). Craftspeople and artists are reported through their chamber or the Künstlersozialkasse instead.
Why Freelancers End Up With No Number
An employee gets a pension number almost by accident. The employer reports the new hire to the health insurer, which triggers the pension insurer to assign the number and notify you. That is how the Deutsche Rentenversicherung describes it in its FAQ on getting an insurance number. If you start freelancing straight after arriving in Frankfurt, nobody does that for you. You have no number, and a number is what you need for most pension paperwork, including the form that tells the insurer whether you must be insured.
Getting the Number Yourself
The same FAQ says you can turn to the pension insurer directly. Have these ready:
- date of birth, place of birth and birth name,
- your current postal address in Frankfurt,
- a valid ID document, shown in person or sent in writing. The insurer calls it essential.
In Frankfurt the regional carrier is Deutsche Rentenversicherung Hessen. Its Auskunfts- und Beratungsstelle has been at Speicherstraße 55 in the Werfthaus since 1 April 2026, according to the DRV Hessen announcement. The press release gives no opening hours for the office and does not say how to book, so call before you go. The toll-free service line is 0800 1000 480 12 (Monday to Thursday 7:30 to 18:00, Friday 7:30 to 15:00), according to the DRV Hessen contact page. On the call, ask whether DRV Hessen is also the carrier responsible for your file. Your Steuer-ID is a different number from the pension number; the Steuer-ID versus social security number guide explains the difference.
If you already had a number from an earlier job or a student job, you do not need a new one. Proof of the number is free of charge from the Deutsche Rentenversicherung or a health insurer, and the DRV warns that some private websites charge for it without being an authority.
Are You Compulsorily Insured?
The Deutsche Rentenversicherung’s page for the self-employed says most self-employed people are not subject to compulsory insurance, but several groups are. § 2 SGB VI lists them.
| Group | Condition in the law |
|---|---|
| Teachers and educators | Regularly employ no insured employees |
| Care workers (sick, maternity, infant and child care) | Regularly employ no insured employees. The DRV applies this to people who mainly work on a doctor's order, such as physiotherapists |
| Midwives | None |
| Sea pilots | None |
| Artists and publicists | As defined by the Künstlersozialversicherungsgesetz |
| Home-industry workers (Hausgewerbetreibende) | None |
| Coastal skippers and fishers | Crew members or fishing without a vessel, no more than four insured employees |
| Craftspeople in the Handwerksrolle | Entered in the trade register and personally meeting the entry requirements. The DRV counts crafts that need a licence, not licence-free ones |
| Self-employed with one main client | No insured employees, working permanently and essentially for one client |
For many freelancers in consulting, IT, design or communication, the last row is the one to check. A consultant who bills one client for nearly everything, with no employees, falls into it. If you are an artist or publicist, the route goes through the Künstlersozialkasse rather than a direct pension registration.
Some groups are reported for you: the DRV says craftspeople are reported by their Handwerkskammer, and sea pilots, coastal skippers and fishers and home-industry workers by their own bodies. Artists and publicists register with the Künstlersozialkasse. Teachers, care workers, midwives and one-client freelancers must report themselves. § 190a SGB VI sets the deadline for them at three months after starting the activity, using the forms the carrier provides.
Ways out and exceptions
- Marginal activity. Self-employment at or below the Geringfügigkeitsgrenze is insurance-free under § 5 Absatz 2 SGB VI. The limit valid on 1 January applies for the whole year: 603 euros a month in 2026.
- New founders with one main client. § 6 Absatz 1a SGB VI exempts people insured under § 2 Nummer 9 for three years after first starting self-employment, on application. The exemption takes effect from the start if you apply within three months, otherwise from receipt of the application.
- Chamber pension schemes. Members of a professional chamber who must also belong to its pension fund can be exempt under § 6, if the fund meets the conditions in the law.
- Craftspeople. Exempt after 18 years of compulsory contributions (§ 6 Absatz 1 Nummer 4).
If You Are Not in a Compulsory Group
You are not stuck. § 4 Absatz 2 SGB VI lets self-employed people who work more than temporarily apply for compulsory insurance within five years of starting. If you apply within three months of the conditions first being met, it starts from that day, otherwise on the day after your application arrives. It lasts as long as the conditions do, so think of it as a real commitment, not a trial.
New founders who opt in can ask to pay only half the standard contribution for the start year and the three following calendar years, according to a DRV press release. The release states the 2025 amounts; check the current amount when you apply.
The alternative is voluntary insurance. You can join from age 16 and pay between 112.16 and 1,571.70 euros a month at the 18.6 percent rate, up to twelve contributions a year, with the year’s payments possible until 31 March of the next year. The application form is V0060, per the DRV page for the self-employed.
How to Register
The tool for the status question is the V0020 form. It is either a questionnaire to determine compulsory insurance or an application for insurance as a self-employed person. The DRV recommends the online version in its eAntrag service, where you can upload documents, get a confirmation and save a draft for up to 30 days. You are legally required to give the facts that matter for the decision and to attach copies of proof, so answer fully.
If Your Situation Is Unclear
The DRV page also covers Scheinselbstständigkeit: if you are called self-employed on paper but in practice work like an employee, you count as an employee for pension purposes. The page links the Statusfeststellungsverfahren. Because the answer affects both your pension and your client’s obligations, start by calling the service line before the first invoice goes out, not after.
Step by Step
- Check for an existing number.Look at old payslips, your Versicherungsnummernachweis or ask your health insurer.
- List your activity.Which line of § 2 SGB VI, if any, describes it? Do you have one main client?
- Request a number from DRV Hessen if you have none. Bring a valid ID.
- Fill in V0020 online or on paper within three months of starting, if you are in a group that must report itself.
- Decide on exemptions.Founders with one main client can apply for three years of exemption. Apply within three months for full effect.
- If not compulsory, decide on compulsory insurance on application (five years), voluntary payments or private provision.
- Keep the confirmation.File the letter that states your insurance status.
Compliance Note
This page summarises the Deutsche Rentenversicherung’s published information and the SGB VI as read in October 2026. It is not legal or pension advice. The right answer depends on your activity, clients and earnings. DRV Hessen and the free service line can confirm your status, and a tax adviser can help with the interaction with health insurance and income tax.
FAQ & Common Pitfalls
I was never employed in Germany. How do I get a pension number?
Ask the pension insurer yourself. The Deutsche Rentenversicherung says you can contact the carrier directly and give your date of birth, place of birth, birth name and current postal address, and that a valid ID document is essential, either shown in person or sent in writing. In Frankfurt that means DRV Hessen. If your work puts you in a compulsory group, the form V0020 (Fragebogen zur Feststellung der Versicherungspflicht kraft Gesetzes als selbständig Tätiger) also collects the details needed to issue a number if you do not have one yet.
Do I need the number before I fill in the V0020 form online?
For the online version, the Deutsche Rentenversicherung says only the pension number is needed to start, and drafts can be saved for up to 30 days. The paper PDF has a field for the number marked 'soweit bekannt', as far as known, so it is not required for the paper route. If you have no number, ask for one first or use the paper form and say so. Do not apply twice if an earlier German job might have given you a number.
I think I am a freelancer, but I only have one client. Does that change anything?
Yes, possibly. § 2 Nummer 9 SGB VI covers self-employed people who regularly employ no insured employees and work permanently and essentially for one client. They are compulsorily insured and must register within three months of starting. The Deutsche Rentenversicherung also warns that someone called self-employed on paper who in fact has to act like an employee counts as scheinselbstständig and is treated as an employee. If your situation is unclear, the DRV offers a status determination procedure.
I missed the three-month registration. What happens now?
Register as soon as you notice, using the V0020 form. The Deutsche Rentenversicherung says missed deadlines can lead to demands for back payment of contributions, so waiting makes it worse. Do not stop at the form, ask the pension insurer in the same call how the start date and any back contributions will be handled in your case.
Am I insured if I earn very little from my freelance work?
Not compulsorily. § 5 Absatz 2 SGB VI makes marginal self-employment insurance-free, and the limit used is the Geringfügigkeitsgrenze valid on 1 January of the year, 603 euros a month in 2026. The exemption only applies to that activity and is tied to your earnings from it. If you want pension credit anyway, you can pay voluntary contributions.
What do voluntary contributions cost, and is there a deadline?
The Deutsche Rentenversicherung gives a range from 112.16 euros to 1,571.70 euros a month at the 18.6 percent rate, you choose the amount, and you can pay up to twelve monthly contributions per calendar year. Contributions for a year can be paid until 31 March of the following year. You register with form V0060. A voluntary payment is not the same as compulsory insurance on application, which has its own five-year deadline and cannot simply be dropped later.