Rent documents for the Jobcenter (KdU)

In short: for housing costs (Kosten der Unterkunft und Heizung, KdU) the Jobcenter wants proof — usually the tenancy agreement, a certificate from the landlord (Mietbescheinigung) and the current utility and heating statement. Send copies, not originals. Each document works best as one PDF: a twelve-page agreement as one file, not twelve photos. You can make that PDF on your phone, right in the browser, on the a4norm page.

Bürgergeld or Grundsicherungsgeld

Since 1 July 2026, Grundsicherungsgeld is paid instead of Bürgergeld. The forms this guide refers to — the KDU annex and the completion notes, both in the 04/2026 edition — still say "Bürgergeld". It is the same Jobcenter and the same housing documents.

What goes with housing costs

The application annex Anlage KDU asks tenants for proof of their costs and gives examples:

• Mietvertrag — the tenancy agreement;
• Mietbescheinigung — a certificate from the landlord;
• Gebührenbescheid — a notice of charges;
• aktuelle Heiz- und Betriebskostenabrechnung — the current heating and service charge statement (Nebenkostenabrechnung).

For the question of how your hot water is heated, the form also asks for proof: the relevant section of the agreement or a Mietbescheinigung.

And right at the top of the form: "Bitte reichen Sie grundsätzlich keine Originalbelege, sondern Nachweise nur in Kopie ein" — no originals, copies only. What exactly you need is up to your Jobcenter, which may ask for other documents as well.

What you may black out

The rules are in the Federal Employment Agency's completion notes (04/2026 edition):

• In the tenancy agreement you may black out the landlord's details — if the Jobcenter is not supposed to pay the rent directly to the landlord. This is in the data protection section at the start of the document.
• In bank statements (Hinweis 19) — only in outgoing payments, never in income. You may black out parts of the recipient and the booking text that reveal, for example, ethnic origin, political opinions, religion, union membership or health. The payment must stay understandable: for a party membership fee, the party's name may go, but "Mitgliedsbeitrag" must remain readable. A supermarket's name may be blacked out as long as the entry still shows it was a purchase.

Black out on paper, before taking the photo, with a thick black marker — not a highlighter, which the text shows through. An a4norm PDF holds a picture of the page: what is covered on paper is not in the file. Painting over a finished PDF in an app is less safe: some programs only cover the text without removing it.

Making the PDF

1. Sort the documents. Agreement, Mietbescheinigung, utility statement — each becomes its own PDF.
2. Photograph the pages in order, each one whole, with a margin, in even light. Signature pages and annexes to the agreement too. Details in the photo guide.
3. Open the a4norm page, tap "Add photos", choose the pages of the document or take them right there, then "Make the PDF". The pages come out straight, on white A4 paper, and a blue signature stays blue. One page usually comes to a few hundred kilobytes.
4. Save it under a clear German name: Mietvertrag.pdf, Mietbescheinigung.pdf, Nebenkostenabrechnung_2025.pdf.
5. Tap "New scan" (the circular arrow; a second tap confirms) and go on to the next document.

Forgot a page? "Add photos" appends it to the finished PDF.

Sending it

Through jobcenter.digital, or however your Jobcenter asks. Which formats the portal takes, which size limits you may meet and what to check after uploading is in the guide to Jobcenter file formats and sizes. If the application also needs a copy of your ID card, both sides fit on one A4 page.

What a4norm cannot do

• It does not decide how much is paid. Which housing costs are recognised is for the Jobcenter to decide under the law. a4norm only makes the copy readable.
• It is no guarantee that the Jobcenter accepts the file. An incomplete or unreadable page may have to be sent again.
• It is not text recognition. The PDF holds a picture of the page, not text.

Where the photos go

Tenancy agreement, bank statements, amounts — all personal data. On the a4norm page it goes nowhere: the photo is processed right in the browser, on your phone, and neither the photo nor the PDF is sent to my server or to a cloud. Check it in airplane mode.

In Telegram the same scanner opens in the bot @a4norm_bot with the "Scanner" button at the bottom left, and the photo stays on your phone there too. Only the finished PDF passes through my server, if you tap "Send to chat"; the server does not keep it.