Digitalbonus Bayern: apply at the month start

The Digitalbonus Bayern does not release its budget in one go, but in monthly quotas. A new one opens at 10:00 on the first working day of each month; once it is used up, you wait for the month after. The programme runs until 31 December 2027 — so you get plenty of attempts, just one per month.

That makes preparation the deciding factor, not how fast you click on the day. Two rules decide whether you get the grant or a rejection. Both are easy to miss, and missing either one costs you the funding.

1. You have to apply yourself — we are not allowed to

The application runs through your own company's ELSTER business account (ELSTER-Unternehmenskonto). The official FAQ is unambiguous about it: the application must be submitted by the company itself, and it is not permitted for third parties — service providers or funding consultants — to apply or to use the company's ELSTER credentials.

So no agency, tax adviser or funding consultant can do this for you. Since May 2025 the older ELSTER certificate is no longer enough either; it has to be a full ELSTER business account.

This is where most applicants come unstuck: setting up an ELSTER business account takes time, because the activation code arrives by post. Start on the day the quota opens and you will miss that month's round. If you do not have access yet, set it up today rather than next week.

2. Submit the application first, sign the contract second

Only measures that have not yet started are eligible. A project counts as started as soon as a binding order has been placed or a service has been commissioned — verbally is enough. Sign a contract with your provider before you apply and you lose the entitlement, with no exceptions.

The good news: you do not have to wait for the formal approval notice. As soon as the confirmation of receipt arrives by email, you may start and sign contracts — at your own risk, since nothing has been approved yet. The correct order is:

1. Get a quote — do not sign it yet

2. Apply through your own ELSTER business account

3. Wait for the confirmation of receipt

4. Sign the contract and get going

The key facts

• Digitalbonus Standard: up to €7,500

• Digitalbonus Plus: up to €30,000 for particularly innovative projects

• Funding rate: 50% of eligible expenditure

• Who: companies with fewer than 50 employees and no more than €10m annual turnover or balance sheet total, with a place of business in Bavaria

• How often: one application per funding area (digitalisation and IT security), so two in total across the programme

• Programme runs until: 31 December 2027

• Quota: monthly, opening at 10:00 on the first working day

Freelancers, medical practices and tax-exempt organisations are among those not eligible. If you are unsure whether that applies to you, check directly on the official site.

What we contribute

You submit the application yourself — that is the rule and there is no way around it. What we take care of is the step before: the quote you need for the application, in good time and in the form the district government expects, itemised by service so that no questions come back during the review.

Website, online shop, process digitalisation or IT security: we are based in St. Peter am Hart, just across the border — quick to reach for businesses in Passau, Simbach, Burghausen and the rest of Lower Bavaria.

If you want to use one of the next windows, get in touch well before it — in September 2026 it opens on Tuesday the 1st, and after that on the first working day of each month. Your quote will be ready, your ELSTER access will be in place, and you can hit submit on time.

Last updated: August 2026