Apply for an approbation to practise as a doctor (third country) at the location Landesprüfungsamt für Gesundheitsberufe (Anerkennung ausländischer Abschlüsse)

Information on the address of this location

Haus A

Payment options

• Eine Bezahlung ist nicht vorgesehen

Doctors examine patients, record findings, diagnose illnesses, determine courses of treatment and carry out medical treatments and procedures.

The medical profession is regulated in Germany. This means that in order to practise as a doctor in Germany without restriction, you need a licence to practise medicine. A licence to practise medicine is the state authorisation to practise the profession. This means that, without a licence to practise medicine, you are not permitted to work independently as a doctor.

You can also obtain a licence to practise medicine in Germany if you hold a professional qualification from a so-called third country. Third countries are all countries that do not belong to the European Union (EU), the European Economic Area (EEA) or Switzerland.

To obtain a licence to practise and work as a doctor in Germany, you must have your foreign professional qualification recognised. As part of the recognition process, you must demonstrate that you possess the knowledge and skills required to practise as a doctor.

For applications submitted after 31 October 2026, proof of the required knowledge and skills must be provided by sitting a knowledge test directly, which relates to the content of the state final examination in Germany.
Alternatively, you may opt for an expert assessment of the equivalence of your professional qualification within four weeks of submitting your application. On the basis of a fee-based expert assessment, the equivalence of your medical training completed abroad with German medical training will then be assessed. If the equivalence of your training cannot be established, proof of the necessary knowledge and skills must also be provided by successfully sitting a knowledge test.

In addition to proving equivalent skills and knowledge, further requirements must be met for the granting of a licence to practise medicine. Further requirements include, for example, sufficient knowledge of the German language, medical fitness and personal suitability to practise the medical profession.

You may also submit your application for this procedure from abroad.

Procedure
1. Submission of application
You submit an application for a licence to practise medicine to the relevant authority. The relevant authority will then check whether your training is equivalent to the German training programme and whether all other requirements have been met. A licence to practise medicine can only be granted if you have successfully passed the knowledge examination or, if you have opted for a prior equivalence assessment, if the equivalence of your training has been established.

2. Knowledge examination
The knowledge examination is modelled on the final examination for doctors in Germany. The knowledge examination is an oral and practical examination. If you pass the knowledge examination and fulfil all other requirements, you will be granted a licence to practise as a doctor.

3. Equivalence assessment
If you have opted for an equivalence assessment, the competent authority will compare your foreign medical training with medical training in Germany. A fee-based expert report is commissioned for this purpose.

4. Possible outcomes of the assessment
Only if it is established that your training, taking into account professional experience and lifelong learning, does not differ significantly from German medical training can the equivalence of your training be confirmed. Provided you also meet the other requirements and have demonstrated the necessary language skills, you will be granted a licence to practise as a doctor.

If the equivalence assessment finds that, even taking professional experience and lifelong learning into account, there are significant differences between your training and German training, you must demonstrate in a knowledge test that you possess the necessary knowledge and skills to practise medicine in Germany.

Prerequisites

• Medical training completed in a third country and evidence, through a proficiency test, of the knowledge and skills required to practice the profession; alternatively, evidence that the foreign training does not differ significantly from German training
• Health fitness
• Proof of reliability and worthiness for the practice of medicine
• Sufficient knowledge of German level B 2
• Technical language test
• Proof of competence

Documents required

• Application for the granting of the licence to practise medicine in the case of training in a third country
• Proof of responsibility for the Land of Berlin
  
  (e.g. a job offer, a current extract from the register of residents showing your main place of residence, a location certificate from the Central Service Point for Professional Recognition (ZSBA). If applying from abroad, at least three applications for vacant posts in the State of Berlin or invitations to interviews)
• A tabular CV bearing your handwritten signature and the date
• Proof of identity (valid identity card or passport)
• Certificate of birth
  
  (in the event of a change of name, e.g. due to marriage, please also provide this certificate)
• Certificate of good conduct for presentation to an authority
  
  To verify personal reliability, information from the Federal Central Register (certificate of good conduct) is required for submission to an authority (document type O).
  The information must be not older than three months.
• Certificate of Good Conduct/Certificate of Clearance of Offences
  
  of the police or judicial authorities of the home country, if applicable, of the study country (if presented, not older than 3 months)
• Certificate of good standing/Certificate of good standing
  
  of the competent authority of the country in which the profession was practised (if presented, not older than 3 months)
• Medical certificate from a doctor licensed in Germany
  
  (not older than 3 months if presented)
• Proof of completed education (third country)
  
  (see checklist for persons with third-country education)
• Certificate B 2 on knowledge of the German language
  
  (from telc, TestDaF or Goethe-Institut - not older than 3 years).
  It is not necessary to submit the language certificates at the time of application.
• Specialist language test - Level C 1 (Berlin Medical Association)
  
  It is not necessary to submit the language certificates at the time of application.
• Doctoral certificate (if available)
• Format of the documents
  
  Copies of the documents may be submitted. If there are any doubts as to the authenticity of the documents, the originals may be requested and an authenticity check, subject to a fee, may be commissioned.

Forms

• Application for the granting of the licence to practise medicine in the case of training in a third country
• Medical certificate from a doctor licensed in Germany
• Checklist: Evidence of completed education (third country)
• Specialist language test - Level C 1 (Berlin Medical Association)

Fees

EUR 430.00

Legal basis

• Federal Medical Order (BÄO) § 2 et seqq.
• Licensing Regulations for Doctors (ÄApprO 2002) § 36 et seqq.
• Ordinance on the Charging of Fees in Health Care and Nursing (GesPflGebO)

Average time to process request

approx. 3-4 months, if all documents are complete

More information

• Explanation Approbation and contact persons Training outside the European Union (third country)
• Explanation Approbation and contact persons Training in the European Union (EU)
• Information on the recognition of foreign professional qualifications ("Anerkennung in Deutschland")
• Financial support for the recognition process
• State-appointed translators in Germany

Notes on responsibility

Approbation is only granted by the Berlin State Office for Health and Social Affairs.

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