Germany's disability rating system blocks fee waivers and zero rating requests

Under the German Bundesteilhabegesetz, people with a degree of disability (GdB) of 50 or higher can obtain a disability ID and benefits such as free public transport, but there is no legal right to be exempted from bank account fees. Banks set account‑maintenance charges at their discretion, and the law only requires that benefits be paid into an account owned by the disabled person.

A court ruling by the Landessozialgericht Nordrhein‑Westfalen confirmed that German law does not provide for a positive determination of a GdB of zero. The Social Code § 152 stipulates that an official rating is only made when the GdB is at least 20; values below that are recorded merely as “under 20,” and no separate “GdB 0” certificate can be issued.