What is professional recognition?

A distinction is made between regulated and non-regulated professions:

Most professions belong to the non-regulated profess ions. These include, for example, dual training occupations, but also many occupations that require a university degree. In principle, it is not necessary to have a foreign qualification recognized in order to work in such a profession. The employer decides whether to accept the foreign qualification.

In a regulated profession, on the other hand, only someone who has a permit to do so may work. This can be a state examination, for example. Typical regulated professions are teachers, doctors, pharmacists or lawyers, but also certain master craftsmen who run a business. This almost always requires recognition of the foreign qualification. The result of the recognition procedure must be that the qualification is equivalent to the German qualification. This is the central prerequisite for obtaining a professional license. Without this, employment in a regulated profession is not permitted.

NOTE: Whether a profession is regulated or not can be determined online using the so-called recognition finder . It can be found here.

In order to determine the equivalence of a foreign qualification, a so-called recognition procedure must be completed.

As part of the recognition procedure, the competent body checks whether the foreign qualification is equivalent to the German training. For this purpose, the foreign training documents are compared with the German training content of the reference occupation. Typical documents to be submitted for this purpose are certificates, examination certificates, curricula, internship certificates, work references, proof of professional experience, etc. In the case of regulated professions, further requirements are checked that are necessary for admission to the profession in addition to recognition of the professional qualification. These include, for example, personal aptitude or German language skills.

NOTE: If it is not possible to submit all the necessary documents for the competent authority to examine the recognition, a qualification analysis may be possible.

Once the competent body has completed the equivalence assessment, it will issue a decision, which may have the following results:

• Full recognition: There are no significant differences to the German reference occupation and equivalence is therefore given.

• Partial recognition: Only parts of the foreign professional qualification are classified as equivalent. There are significant differences, but these can be compensated for. In the case of non-regulated professions, the deficits can be compensated for by means of an adaptation qualification . In the case of regulated professions, the competent body determines the compensatory measure .

• No recognition: The deficits are deemed to be too great and cannot be compensated for. In the case of regulated professions, this means that the professional qualification is equivalent, but other requirements for admission to the profession are not met.

The recognition procedure must be applied for at the competent authority. Who the competent authority is depends on the profession and place of work. It can be found online via the recognition finder here.

Experience has shown that processing times are long and vary depending on the profession. The costs of the procedure also vary. Certified translations of documents are often required. It is highly recommended that you seek advice on the recognition procedure in advance in order to prepare your application in the best possible way.

Documents such as certificates and employment references must be submitted to the competent authority for professional recognition. However, if the documents are incomplete or even missing, a decision on recognition cannot be made. However, it may be possible to carry out a skills analysis. The purpose of the skills analysis is to provide practical evidence of professional skills so that the competent authority can decide on professional recognition. This may involve a technical interview, a work sample or trial work in a company.

The competent authority decides whether a skills analysis is possible and what form it takes. Fees are charged for the qualification analysis, which can vary greatly. This depends, for example, on the scope of the examination. The costs may be covered (more information here). Anyone who successfully completes the qualification analysis will receive full or partial recognition.

Further general information on the qualification analysis can be found here. The Network Qualifications Analysis (NetQA) has also compiled a brochure that answers many questions on the subject. It can be downloaded here.

If it has been decided in the recognition procedure that the foreign qualification is only partially recognized, there are significant differences compared to training in Germany. These can be compensated for with a qualification.

If it is a non-regulated profession, this is referred to as an adaptation qualification. You must register with a training company or business yourself and have a training plan drawn up. This should be agreed with the competent authority. If you successfully complete the adaptation qualification, you can submit a follow-up application for recognition in order to receive full professional recognition.

In the case of a regulated profession , the competent body will specify how the main differences can be compensated for. This is called a compensatory measure. These can be examinations or courses. If the compensation measure is successfully completed, equivalence is granted.

Further information on qualification measures can be found here.