European Professional Card (EPC)

Answers to the following questions are provided here:

• What is the purpose of the European Professional Card?
• How do you apply for the European Professional Card?

What is the purpose of the European Professional Card?

The European Professional Card (EPC) provides a fully electronic procedure for the Recognition of Professional qualifications from countries of the EU and EEA. The EPC serves as electronic evidence that the professional qualification has been recognised. However, it does not automatically authorise you to practise a profession. For this, further criteria need to be met depending on the profession such as Personal aptitude or knowledge of German.

You can apply for the EPC for the following professions:

• Pharmacist
• Mountain guide
• Estate agent
• Nurse responsible for general care
• Physiotherapist

How do you apply for the European Professional Card?

You can apply for the EPC via the EU portal “Your Europe”. You need to set up a personal EU Login account for this. The online application allows all necessary documents relating to the professional qualification to be uploaded.

The competent authority in the country of origin supports applicants. It checks whether the documents are complete, genuine and valid. Following this, it forwards the application via the Internal Market Information System IMI to the competent authority in the host country.

The competent authority in the host country checks the documents. If these are complete, and the outcome is positive, then it issues the EPC. If the competent authority makes no final decision within the statutory period of three months, then the professional qualification is tacitly recognised. Applicants are then able to create an EPC certificate via their login account. The competent authority in each case decides whether and to what extent fees apply for the processing.