At a glance
Application needed
At the participation service of your district.
Mobility
Transport if public transport is not reasonable.
School journey
Mostly the school office, not integration assistance.
In short
Integration assistance (Eingliederungshilfe) can pay for mobility services, including transport by a transport service. The condition is that you cannot use public transport because of the type and severity of your disability.
You must apply for the service. In Berlin the participation service of your district decides. Who pays for rides to a workshop depends on the phase and the reason: Federal Employment Agency, integration assistance, youth welfare office, pension or accident insurance.
School journeys in Berlin are mostly not paid by integration assistance but by the school office. Whether and how much is paid is decided by the payer in each case. PrimaFahrten does not guarantee reimbursement.
A right to mobility
The Basic Law says: "No one may be disadvantaged because of disability" (Article 3 (3) sentence 2). Article 20 of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities requires effective measures so that people with disabilities have personal mobility with the greatest possible independence.
Since 1 January 2020 the reformed integration assistance under the Federal Participation Act (Bundesteilhabegesetz) has applied. It is no longer part of the social welfare system.
Who can get integration assistance?
People who are substantially restricted in their equal participation in society because of a disability, or who are at risk of it, are entitled. The services are provided only on application. Payment starts at the earliest on the first day of the month in which you apply.
Before applying, contact the participation service in the social welfare office of your district. You can apply online or by post, free of charge, and you receive a written decision.
How the procedure works
The participation service carries out the overall plan procedure together with you. It consists of assessing your needs (with the Berlin participation instrument), sometimes an overall plan conference, planning goals and services, and the decision. The overall plan is to be reviewed regularly, at the latest after two years. You can object to the decision.
Which rides can it pay for?
Mobility services are part of the social participation services (section 113 of the Ninth Book of the Social Code, SGB IX). They include transport, in particular by a transport service (section 83 SGB IX). The condition: you cannot reasonably be expected to use public transport because of the type and severity of your disability.
Who pays for the ride to the workshop?
That depends on the phase and the reason:
- Entry procedure (three months) and vocational training area (two years): as a rule the Federal Employment Agency, in certain cases the pension insurance or the accident insurance (section 63 (1) SGB IX). Travel costs are governed by section 73 SGB IX, including special means of transport if the disability requires them.
- Work area of the workshop: as a rule integration assistance (section 63 (2) and section 111 SGB IX). The Berlin implementing rules for integration assistance (in force since 1 December 2023) name transport to and from the work area of the workshop. It must be caused by the disability, public transport must not be reasonable, and there must be no entitlement to the special transport service. Further conditions are determined in the overall plan.
- After a work accident (also on the way to work) or an occupational disease: the statutory accident insurance (employers' liability insurer) is responsible. Travel costs are governed by section 43 SGB VII.
- Children and young people with a mental disability: the youth welfare office can be responsible, within integration assistance (section 35a SGB VIII).
In Berlin the responsible body for integration assistance is the participation service in the social welfare office of the district. These bodies decide in each individual case which payer pays.
Who pays for the school journey?
In Berlin the school office of the district mostly pays, not the integration assistance. It can provide special means of transport for pupils with special educational needs if they cannot reach school in the usual way because of their disability.
There is no legal entitlement to transport. The application goes through the school to the school office. The rides are run by ride services with which the school office has contracts. Integration assistance provides education services only if no other payer has priority.
Who chooses the ride service?
This is how Berlin describes the procedure in general. For ride services, the decision notice determines how billing works. Your wishes about how the service is arranged are to be met as far as they are reasonable (section 104 SGB IX). According to the Berlin information, the participation service makes proposals and you choose.
The participation service informs the provider about the cost approval. The provider issues its invoices, and the participation service checks and pays them. For you as the person entitled, further steps are therefore usually not needed.
How it differs from other offers
- Health insurer: pays rides that are necessary for compelling medical reasons in connection with a service of the insurer (section 60 SGB V). See getting approval from the insurer.
- Special transport service: a public service for rides for leisure and recreation. Rides to work or school are not included. See Berlin special transport service.
What PrimaFahrten does
After checking the conditions and documents, PrimaFahrten can bill directly with the integration assistance. On request we prepare a cost estimate and help you understand the application documents. A request to us does not replace the decision on cost coverage. An overview of who pays for which ride is on Who pays for the ride?.
By Tobias A. Kreuzig, co-founder of PrimaFahrten GmbH
Published: 22 October 2026 · Last substantive update: 22 October 2026
Sources and further information
§ 83 SGB IX · § 99 SGB IX · § 104 SGB IX · § 108 SGB IX · § 113 SGB IX · § 121 SGB IX · Berlin: Eingliederungshilfe · Berlin: Gesamtplanverfahren · Service Berlin: Eingliederungshilfe · Bezirksamt: Schülerbeförderung · Bezirksamt Treptow-Köpenick: Rechtsgrundlage Schülerbeförderung (§ 36 SopädVO) · § 60 SGB V · § 63 SGB IX · § 73 SGB IX · § 7 SGB VII · § 8 SGB VII · § 43 SGB VII · § 35a SGB VIII · Berliner Ausführungsvorschriften Eingliederungshilfe (AV EH) · UN-Behindertenrechtskonvention Artikel 20 · BMAS: Eingliederungshilfe ab 2020 · Grundgesetz Artikel 3 · Service Berlin: Sonderfahrdienst
