Objecting to administrative decisions

In short: Many decisions from authorities, such as the job centre, health insurer, or tax office, can be objected to (Widerspruch) within a certain deadline. An objection filed on time prevents the decision from becoming final.

In more detail: The objection is usually the first and cheapest step toward having a flawed decision reviewed.

In detail

• Watch deadlines: The objection period is usually one month after receiving the decision; missing the deadline can make the objection inadmissible.
• Written form: An objection should be submitted in writing, even though verbal objections are formally permitted in some cases.
• Justification: Although a justification isn’t strictly required at first, it increases the chances of success and can usually still be added later.
• Preserving the deadline with a short letter: If there isn’t time for a detailed justification, a brief letter filing the objection is enough at first to preserve the deadline.
• Suspensive effect: Depending on the area of law, an objection has a suspensive effect, meaning the decision isn’t enforced until a ruling is made.
• Objection ruling: The authority reviews the case again and issues either a corrective decision or a rejecting objection ruling.
• Further steps: If the objection isn’t upheld, there’s usually the option to file a lawsuit at the competent court within a further deadline (steuererklaerung-fuer-arbeitnehmer, mietrecht-grundlagen-fuer-mieter).