Evidence on the incidence and persistence of post-acute sequelae of COVID-19 (PASC) among children and adolescents is still limited. In this retrospective cohort study, 59,339 children and adolescents with laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 in 2020 and 170,940 matched controls were followed until 2021-09-30 using German routine healthcare data. Incidence rate differences (ΔIR) and ratios (IRR) of 96 potential PASC were estimated using Poisson regression. Analyses were stratified according to age (0-11, 12-17years), and sex. At the individual level, persistence of diagnoses in patients with onset symptoms was tracked starting from the first quarter post-infection. At 0-3month follow-up, children and adolescents with a previous SARS-CoV-2 infection showed a 34% increased risk of adverse health outcome, and approximately 6% suffered from PASC in association with COVID-19. The attributable risk was higher among adolescents (≥ 12years) than among children. For most common symptoms, IRRs largely persisted at 9-12month follow-up. IRR were highest for rare conditions strongly associated with COVID-19, particularly inflammatory conditions among children 0-11years, and chronic fatigue and respiratory insufficiency among adolescents. Tracking of diagnoses at the individual level revealed similar rates in the decline of symptoms among COVID-19 and control cohorts, generally leaving less than 10% of the patients with persistent diagnoses after 12 months. Although very few patients presented symptoms for longer than 12months, excess morbidity among children and, particularly, adolescents with a history of COVID-19 means a relevant burden for pediatric care.