Approbation​-beantragen.de
Deutsch

Medicine

Medical licence (Approbation) for doctors

Human medicine: around 12,900 recognition applications from doctors in 2025.

Doctors with a foreign qualification apply for the Approbation, the German licence to practise medicine, at the authority of a federal state. The route usually passes through a language test at the state medical chamber, the knowledge test on a patient and, if you want to work in the meantime, a temporary permit.

Legal basis
Federal Medical Practitioners Act (Bundesärzteordnung, BÄO)
Licensing regulations
Licensing Regulations for Physicians (Approbationsordnung für Ärzte, ÄApprO)
Temporary permit (Berufserlaubnis)
§ 10 BÄO

Who applies as a doctor

About 12,900 doctors applied for recognition in 2025 (12,882), after 10,857 in 2024. Of the 13,932 cases decided in 2025, 8,424 ended in full equivalence. In 5,436 cases the authority imposed a compensation measure, and 69 applications were refused.

Syria is the largest country of origin: 2,781 doctors applied from there in 2025, 22 percent of all applications by doctors. Ukraine follows with 654, Turkey with 546 and Egypt with 384.

How the route works

Medical degree from the EU, EEA or Switzerland

If your medical degree appears for your country in the EU directive on professional qualifications (Directive 2005/36/EC), the authority recognises it automatically once it meets the reference date. The reference date is a cut-off date that the directive sets for each country. For doctors, what counts is the start of your training or the date of your diploma.

A degree whose title differs from the list needs a certificate of conformity from your home country. It confirms that your training met the EU minimum standards.

Without automatic recognition, the authority compares your training with German medical training. Professional experience can offset differences. If substantial differences remain, you take an aptitude test (Eignungsprüfung) on those subjects only. Doctors who want to work as specialists apply separately to the state medical chamber.

In every case you still need to prove your German and meet the requirements on reliability and health.

EU qualifications in detail (German)

Medical degree from outside the EU

The standard route is the knowledge test (Kenntnisprüfung) under § 9d(2) BÄO. It takes place on one day and lasts 60 to 90 minutes. You take the history of an assigned patient, examine the patient, present the case to a board and write a report. The subjects are internal medicine and surgery.

If you want your documents assessed instead, you must say so within four weeks of applying, and the choice binds you for the whole procedure. The assessment involves an equivalence report (Gleichwertigkeitsgutachten). If substantial differences remain, you take the test anyway, and so you do if your documents cannot be obtained for reasons beyond your control (§ 9d(3) BÄO).

Non-EU qualifications in detail (German)

German is required, at a high level

You need general German at level B2 and professional language skills at level C1. You prove them in a specialist language test (Fachsprachenprüfung), in most states run by the state medical chamber. It consists of three parts of about 20 minutes each: a doctor-patient conversation, a conversation between doctors and written documentation, such as a medical report. The procedure, the forms and the tests are all in German.

Working as a doctor before you are licensed

Until your Approbation is granted, you can apply for a temporary permit to practise (Berufserlaubnis, § 10 BÄO). It is revocable and limited to two years of medical work in total, counted across all German states, and a switch of state does not restart the clock. Several states grant it only for a specific post and for work under supervision.

A longer permit is the exception and needs an individual case or reasons of medical care (§ 10(3) BÄO). If your degree comes from the EU, EEA or Switzerland, you normally apply for the Approbation directly, because no permit is issued unless you show a special interest.

The temporary permit in detail (German)

Which state is responsible for doctors?

If you live in Germany, the authority of the state where you have your habitual residence decides on your application (§ 12(2a) BÄO). That is the place where you actually live. If you live abroad, you apply in the state where you want to work.

Only one state is responsible, so applying in several states at once is not provided for. The authorities can ask each other whether you have an application pending (§ 3(4) BÄO).

We check beforehand which authority is responsible in your case. Responsibility and changing state (German)

Key figures for doctors

Where to go next

Questions from doctors

Do I have to take the knowledge test as a doctor?
With a degree from outside the EU, yes. It is the standard route (§ 9d(2) BÄO). You can ask for an assessment of your documents instead, within four weeks of applying.
How long does the knowledge test for doctors last?
It lasts 60 to 90 minutes per candidate and takes place on a single day. A board of three examines you in German after you have examined and presented a patient (§ 37 ÄApprO).
How often can I retake the test?
Twice (§ 37(7) ÄApprO). Several states count failed attempts made in other states.
How long can I work with the temporary permit?
Two years of medical work in total, across all German states (§ 10(2) BÄO).

The 16 federal states

Each state page lists the responsible authority, the documents for each case, the fees and the tests. The pages are in German, because the procedure is conducted in German. Typical documents are your diploma, transcripts, a criminal record certificate, a certificate of good standing (issued by your home authority) and a language certificate. We check with you which documents your state expects. Write to [email protected].