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An offer from the Federal Institute for Vocational Education and Training
Logo: Anerkennung in Deutschland

Information portal of the German government
for the recognition of foreign professional qualifications

Logo: Bundesministerium für Bildung und Forschung
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© Rostislav Sedlacek / Adobe Stock; Anerkennung in Deutschland

How do I get recognition?

If you want to have your professional qualification recognised, you must apply. For this you need to know the German reference occupation. And you need to know where you want to work in Germany.

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Anerkennung in Deutschland, 2023

Recognition of foreign professional or vocational qualifications in Germany

The current flyer describes important stages on the way to recognition and lists free sources of information and advice. Now available in 12 languages for viewing and ordering.

Download flyer

Recognition, step by step

Find out the reference occupation

Recognition can only be granted for a German profession, known as the reference occupation. The Recognition Finder provides information on German professions. You can use the tool to search for and select your reference occupation. It also tells you whether the profession is regulated and whether you need recognition

In the Recognition Finder you will receive detailed information about your recognition procedure as well as the contact details of an counselling center and the competent authority.

1

Seek advice

Please seek advice before you apply for recognition.

The counselling centre provides you with all the information you need about the recognition procedure. You should also address questions related to financial support in a consultation before making the application.

The addresses and contact details of a counselling centre near you can be found via the counselling search or in the Recognition Finder.

2

Applying

You must submit your application for recognition to the competent authority. Certain documents are required for the application, e.g. evidence of your professional qualification. You can find out which documents you need to submit in the Recognition Finder.

You no longer have all the documents? In many professions, you may be able to prove your knowledge in practice with a skills analysis. In regulated professions, you may be able to take an adaptation period or a test.

Do you come from the European Union (EU), the European Economic Area (EEA) or from Switzerland? If so, then you can apply for the European Professional Card (EPC) for certain professions on the EU website "Your Europe". You then do not need to make any other application.

3

Application being processed

The competent authority processes your application for recognition. You will be informed as to whether your documents have arrived after one month at the latest. This message will also state whether you need to submit further documents.

If the documents are complete, the competent authority will check whether your qualification is equivalent to the reference occupation. Your professional experience will also be taken into account.

You will receive a notice with the result within 3 to 4 months at the latest. If the competent authority suggests a skills analysis, it may take longer.

4

Receiving notice

The competent authority will inform you of the result of the recognition procedure in a notice. If the result is "no" or "partial" recognition, substantial differences have been identified between your qualification and the reference occupation. In most cases, you can compensate for these differences with a training measure. You can find out more about this here: What happens after the notice?

5

What are the possible results of the recognition procedure?

The recognition procedure can produce the following results:

These are the outcomes for regulated professions:

  • Recognition: Your is equivalent to the German . And you meet the other requirements for , e.g. in terms of your or your language skills.
  • No recognition: Your professional qualification is not equivalent. exist between your professional qualification and the German reference occupation. In many cases you might still be able to receive recognition, for example with a so-called .
  • No recognition: Your professional qualification is equivalent. However you do not meet the other requirements for authorisation to practise.

There are the following outcomes for non-regulated professions:

  • Recognition: Your professional qualification is equivalent to the German .
  • Partial recognition: Part of your professional qualification is equivalent. There are substantial differences in another part. If you complete so-called , you are able to receive full recognition if you participate successfully.
  • No recognition: The differences of your professional qualification compared to the German reference occupation are too large.

What happens after the notice?

User data is collected from you whenever you visit this site. To find out how the Federal Institute for Vocational Education and Training (BIBB) handles your data and the purpose of processing your data please refer to our statement on data protection.

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