Back to School Allowance or ARS is an aid provided by CAF or MSA. It is offered to parents of children born between September 16, 2004 and December 31, 2016.

How much to get?

At the start of the 2022 academic year, the amount of your back-to-school allowance is:

• 376.98 euros for a child between 6 and 10 years old
• 397.78 euros for a child aged 11 to 14 years
• 411.56 euros for a child between 15 and 18 years of age

If you have 3 children aged 7, 12 and 16, the amount of school allowance is 1186.32 euros (376.98 + 397.78 + 411.56).

If the parents are separated, the allowance is allocated to the person who actually has custody of the child. On the other hand, in a joint custody case it will be given to the person who first claims it. Note that payment cannot be shared.

ARS Eligibility Criteria

To benefit from this assistance towards financial expenses for the beginning of the academic year, the resource criteria must be met. For 2022, housing resources for 2020 should not exceed:

25,370 euros for a dependent child

31,225 euros for two dependent children

37,080 euros for three dependent children

42,935 euros for four dependent children

5,855 euros for an additional child

The income for the year 2022, i.e., is assumed to be n-2. This is the projected net income used to check whether the ARS ceilings are respected for the number of children you have. You can define your resources by the difference between your wages, your benefits payments and fees, and your tax payments.

If these ceilings are slightly higher, you may receive a different back-to-school allowance or a different ARS.

What are the steps to follow to benefit from back to school allowance?

If you are already a beneficiary, no procedure will be followed for children between 6 to 15 years.

On the other hand, if your child is between the ages of 16 and 18, you must provide CAF with proof that they are still in school.