Methodology of the freelancer status check

The Toolflux freelancer status check mirrors the algorithm of the DRV's public Selbstcheck Erwerbsstatus one for one. This page explains where the data comes from and what we do with it.

Data source: DRV API

The Deutsche Rentenversicherung operates a public API for its own self-check at selbstcheck-erwerbsstatus.deutsche-rentenversicherung.de/ches-selbstcheck-backend. It serves the question list per role (contractor, hiring company) and assigns a fixed point value to every answer. We probed that API and verified every value: 109 answer deltas for the contractor view, 108 for the hiring-company view.

The score is additive: baseline -8, every answer shifts the score by a fixed amount, range -76 to +39. The three result codes come straight from the DRV: EMPLOYED (dependent employment), UNCLEAR (borderline), SELF_EMPLOYED (self-employed).

The probed data ships as static JSON files in the repo - the calculator does not call the DRV API at runtime. That keeps your answers in the browser and makes the tool independent of the DRV backend's availability.

Legal basis: treated as amtliches Werk under § 5 UrhG

We treat the DRV questions as an amtliches Werk (official work) under § 5 (2) of the German Copyright Act ("other official works that have been published in the public interest for general knowledge"). The DRV publishes the question catalogue openly on its Selbstcheck page; reuse here happens with source attribution and without presenting our tool as the official original. We are not aware of a court ruling specifically on this question catalogue; we consider this the most defensible reading available and label sources accordingly.

Consequences for this calculator:

  • DE questions and answers are taken 1:1 from the DRV API with source attribution visible at the tool.
  • EN translations are clearly labelled as Toolflux-authored ("Translation: Toolflux. Original DE: …"). The DE original is visible on hover when in EN mode.
  • Editorial additions (helper text, the BAGSV comparison) are written in our own voice and are not labelled as DRV originals.

BAGSV track: faithful + Toolflux operationalization

The second rating in the calculator draws on the BAGSV Positionspapier of 8 October 2024. What we adopt and how:

  • Criterion text and ordering: verbatim or close paraphrase from the BAGSV PDF. All 12 positive criteria appear in the order of the BAGSV detail sections. The two flagship criteria (hourly rate / Vorsorgefähigkeit, actual pension provision) are marked as "Flagship" in the tool - as BAGSV explicitly names them.
  • Structural fidelity: Criterion 2 (Altersvorsorge) is rendered as a composite with four alternative fulfillment paths - exactly as BAGSV writes it. At least one path must apply for the criterion to count as met.
  • Toolflux operationalization (explicitly disclosed): BAGSV itself assigns no points and no rating bands. We show a met-count (X of 12) plus a flagship indicator (both / one / neither flagship met). We interpret "clearly higher hourly rate" as a self-assessment against a comparably qualified salaried employee - that is BAGSV's framing, without our setting a concrete euro threshold.
  • What we deliberately do NOT do: no own scoring scheme, no bands ("few/moderate/strong"), no invented thresholds. The calculator is a faithful representation of the BAGSV proposal, not an own rating heuristic.

What the calculator does NOT do

The calculator returns the DRV score plus a lever display and a parallel comparison against the BAGSV positive criteria as a reform proposal. What it doesn't deliver:

  • Not legal advice. It shows a heuristic. Binding assessments come from the DRV (in the formal Statusfeststellungsverfahren via form V0027 as the application plus C0031 as the attached engagement description) or from a specialist lawyer for German social law.
  • Not a ruling forecast. In the actual proceedings, DRV case officers assess the holistic picture and may diverge from pure arithmetic.
  • No answer storage. Scoring runs in the browser; your actual answers do not leave the device. PostHog receives only anonymous usage signals: a progress ping per answered question (which question, never which answer) and, at the end of the questionnaire, a result event with the score, the DRV verdict, the BAGSV met-count, whether the two flagship criteria are met, perspective (contractor / hiring company), and locale. No answer content, no personal data.

The DRV criteria explained page covers what the DRV assesses in the formal Statusfeststellungsverfahren, the eight assessment categories that follow from it, and the BAGSV reform proposal currently on the table.

Back to the freelancer status check.