When does a knowledge test arise for veterinarians, and what does it cost?

It arises only if the authority finds substantial differences from your training that your professional experience does not make up for (§ 4(2) BTÄO). The universities charge €80 per examination subject, and your notice sets the number of subjects. The state page names the university responsible.

Does the language proof cost extra for veterinarians?

Yes. A general B2 certificate is usually enough, and you pay it to an accepted provider. The recognition grant does not cover language courses and language test fees (item 4.4 d). Only a few states require a specialist language test; the table shows its fee where it is published.

Why does the table for veterinarians show dashes instead of figures?

A dash means: no figure given. For veterinarians this concerns the knowledge test in Baden-Württemberg, Bavaria, Brandenburg, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Rhineland-Palatinate, Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt and Thuringia. The table contains no estimates. Several states settle the report as expenses whose amount is fixed case by case.

What does the Approbation cost for veterinarians?

There is no nationwide fee. Each federal state has its own fee law, and the licensing fees (data retrieved September 2026) differ: the application fee for a qualification from outside the EU alone ranges from €80 to €850. For veterinarians the authority first assesses your documents. The report costs are therefore part of the standard route, and a knowledge test costs something only if substantial differences remain. Translations, certifications and travel come on top. The cost calculator adds up the items for your state.

The four cost blocks for veterinarians

The application fee of the authority that is responsible for your licence as a veterinarian. It is also due if the application is refused. In thirteen states the fee schedule gives a range; the authority sets the amount in its notice.
The fee for a temporary permit (Berufserlaubnis, § 11 BTÄO). For veterinarians it can last up to four years, twice as long as for doctors, dentists and pharmacists. Its fee comes on top of the application fee. Several states exclude sovereign tasks such as meat inspection.
The language proof. For veterinarians a general certificate at level B2 is usually enough; a specialist language test is the exception. The table shows the fee that a state publishes for it. Fees for a knowledge test arise only if one is needed (see item 4). More on the knowledge test.
The equivalence report (Gleichwertigkeitsgutachten) is part of the standard route in veterinary medicine. The states treat its costs differently. A knowledge test follows only if substantial differences remain that your professional experience does not make up for.

What shapes the costs for veterinarians

For veterinarians the equivalence report belongs to the standard route. Its costs therefore concern every applicant. The states handle this differently. Five states (Bavaria, Berlin, Brandenburg, Bremen and Hamburg) charge expenses at actual cost. Eight states (Hesse, Lower Saxony, North Rhine-Westphalia, Rhineland-Palatinate, Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, Schleswig-Holstein and Thuringia) state no separate report fee. Baden-Württemberg states a fixed fee of €350. Where the table shows a dash for the report, the state has published no figure.

A knowledge test follows only if the authority finds substantial differences that your professional experience does not make up for, or if your documents cannot be obtained in full for reasons beyond your control (§ 4(2) BTÄO). You take it at one of the five veterinary universities. According to the states’ information, the University of Veterinary Medicine Hannover runs the test for Bremen, Hamburg, Lower Saxony and Schleswig-Holstein, the University of Giessen for Hesse and North Rhine-Westphalia and the University of Leipzig for Saxony.

The universities charge the test per subject. In six states (Bremen, Hamburg, Hesse, Lower Saxony, North Rhine-Westphalia and Schleswig-Holstein) the fee is €80 per examination subject. The total depends on the number of subjects that your notice sets. With 15 subjects it comes to €1,200, with 16 subjects to €1,280 and with the full catalogue of 20 subjects to €1,600. According to the University of Veterinary Medicine Hannover, a guest student semester contribution comes on top.

The temporary permit can be valid for four years for veterinarians. Bavaria charges €100 for every year or part of a year of validity. For four years that is €400 by calculation.

For the language proof a certificate is enough in most states. Twelve states provide for no specialist language test. Only North Rhine-Westphalia (€308) and Baden-Württemberg (€500) state a fee for a specialist language test. You pay the B2 certificate to the provider that your state accepts.

Notable states for veterinarians

The application fee for a qualification from outside the EU starts at €80 (Lower Saxony) and ends at €850 (Bremen). 14 of 16 states publish a figure.
For a qualification from the EU the lowest lower limit is €75 (Saxony) and the highest upper limit €850 (Bremen).
A fee per examination subject is stated by Bremen, Hamburg, Hesse, Lower Saxony, North Rhine-Westphalia and Schleswig-Holstein. Berlin (€250 to €2,000) and Saarland (€400 to €800) state a range for the knowledge test.
Baden-Württemberg, Bavaria, Brandenburg, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Rhineland-Palatinate, Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt and Thuringia publish no figure for the knowledge test.
Hesse, Lower Saxony, North Rhine-Westphalia, Rhineland-Palatinate, Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, Schleswig-Holstein and Thuringia work without a separate report fee.

The fees of all 16 states

Licensing fees for veterinarians in the 16 German federal states
State	Application (non-EU)	Application (EU)	Equivalence report	Temporary permit	Knowledge test	Language test
Baden-Württemberg	€250(range €100–€630)	€250(range €100–€630)	€350	€125(range €25–€500)	no figure	€500
Bavaria	€250–€500	€200–€500	€1,000–€3,000	see state page	no figure	n/a
Berlin	€430	€210	see state page	€150	€250–€2,000	n/a
Brandenburg	€104–€254	€104–€254	see state page	€105–€251	no figure	n/a
Bremen	€305(range €192–€850)	€305(range €192–€850)	see state page	€197–€500	€80 per examination subject	no figure
Hamburg	€125–€360	€125–€360	see state page	€80–€360	€80 per examination subject	n/a
Hesse	see state page	€200	n/a	€150	€80 per examination subject	n/a
Lower Saxony	€80–€550	€80–€550	n/a	€95–€250	€80 per examination subject	n/a
Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania	€164–€205	€164–€205	see state page	€82–€123	no figure	n/a
North Rhine-Westphalia	€110–€400	€110–€400	n/a	€88–€500	€80 per examination subject	€308
Rhineland-Palatinate	€130–€750	€130–€750	n/a	€210–€420	no figure	n/a
Saarland	€200(range €200–€300)	€200(range €200–€300)	€20–€2,000	€150(range €150–€250)	€400–€800	n/a
Saxony	€160–€455	€75–€270	n/a	€160–€455	no figure	n/a
Saxony-Anhalt	€157–€525	€157–€525	n/a	€197–€307	no figure	no figure
Schleswig-Holstein	€117–€400	€117–€400	n/a	€117–€400	€80 per examination subject	n/a
Thuringia	no figure	€90–€240	n/a	€60–€170	no figure	n/a

How to read the table

—: No figure is given. For veterinarians this concerns the knowledge test in Baden-Württemberg, Bavaria, Brandenburg, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Rhineland-Palatinate, Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt and Thuringia. A dash does not mean that the service is free, and the table does not fill the gap with an estimate.
n/a: This state has no such test or charges no separate fee for it. In veterinary medicine a B2 certificate is usually enough as proof of German, so n/a in the language column means that there is no specialist test.
see state page: The authority states the fee only in words or as a calculation rule. The state page, in German, gives the wording and the source.
up to €X: The authority states only a ceiling, not a fixed fee.
€100–€430: A fee framework (Gebührenrahmen). The authority sets the exact amount in your notice.
(range …): The authority names the amount above as its standard fee, and the range below is the framework of the fee schedule for cases with more effort. “Standard; otherwise” gives the fee for the standard case first and the range for all other cases.

The state pages (in German) give the source, the legal basis and the retrieval date of every figure. The link is in the name of the state.

For veterinarians, the authority of the state where you plan to practise is responsible (§ 13(2) BTÄO). That choice also decides which fees you pay, including how your state settles the equivalence report. We check which state applies to you. More on this under responsibility and moving between states (in German).

What you should budget for

The table shows single items. For veterinarians your total depends on how your state settles the report, whether a knowledge test follows and which state is responsible for you.

A qualification from the EU, the EEA or Switzerland

If your veterinary degree from the EU, the EEA or Switzerland is listed in the annex to the Federal Veterinary Surgeons Act, the authority recognises it without examining the content of your training. It checks your reliability, your health fitness and your German. The application fee lies between €75 (Saxony) and €850 (Bremen).

Report and test costs do not usually arise then. Translations, certifications and a language proof come on top. In an individual assessment of older degrees or degrees from an accession state, the authority checks whether your training is equivalent, and an aptitude test (Eignungsprüfung) can follow.

A qualification from outside the EU

If you studied veterinary medicine outside the EU, the application fee and the assessment of your documents, including the expenses for the equivalence report, come together, plus the language proof and, if needed, the temporary permit. A knowledge test per subject follows only if substantial differences remain.

The examples calculate without a knowledge test, because for veterinarians it arises only after substantial differences. Report costs and the language proof come on top depending on the state; the table shows where a figure is published.

Costs outside the fee schedules for veterinarians

Besides the authorities’ fees you pay costs that appear in no fee schedule. For veterinarians these are certified translations of the degree certificate and the list of subjects and grades, plus certifications of copies. A certification confirms that a copy matches the original. Some authorities ask for an apostille, a confirmation of authenticity by the issuing state under the Hague Convention. The amounts depend on the translator, the notary and the country.

According to the states’ information, 13 of 16 states require at least one mandatory document for veterinarians in a qualified translation, that is a translation by a translator sworn in at a German court. Brandenburg asks for the most, with 6 mandatory documents. The list of mandatory documents is shorter for veterinarians than in the other professions.

The list of subjects and grades is a mandatory document in 12 states and the hours overview in 5 states. Both documents show which subjects of the veterinary degree you completed and are the basis of the document assessment. The more complete they are, the more precisely the authority can judge equivalence.

If a knowledge test arises, you take it at a university. Travel and accommodation near the university come on top, and a test in several subjects can extend over several days.

What the recognition grant covers for veterinarians

Eligible (funding guideline, item 4.3)

translations, certifications and sworn statements (item 4.3 a)
fees and expenses of the recognition procedure, including the report costs of the document assessment and the ZAB certificate assessment (item 4.3 b); fees that belong to the licence itself are excluded (item 4.4 e)
preparation courses for the knowledge test (item 4.3 d)
examination fees, including the fee per subject at the university (item 4.3 e)

Not eligible (funding guideline, item 4.4)

language courses and the related examination fees, including a B2 certificate (item 4.4 d)
obtaining supporting documents, for example certificates in your home country (item 4.4 c)
fees and costs that belong to the licence itself, for example a police certificate or a medical certificate (item 4.4 e)

Part of these costs can be funded

The federal recognition grant (Anerkennungszuschuss) pays up to €4,800 in total: up to €600 for procedure costs such as translations, certifications and report expenses, up to €1,200 for a skills analysis and up to €3,000 for qualification. You must live in Germany.

For veterinarians the expenses of the report belong to the procedure costs of up to €600 (items 4.1 and 4.3 b), and a skills analysis adds up to €1,200 (item 4.1). The test fee per subject (€80) belongs to the qualification funding of up to €3,000 (items 4.2 and 4.3 e).

For veterinarians the funding body decides on qualification funding only once substantial differences are established (item 6.2). You apply for admission to the funding earlier, before the measure that causes the costs begins (item 6.2.1); the last day for applications under the guideline is 30 June 2027. You must live in Germany. We advise you on this; you file the application yourself.

How the recognition grant works

Legal basis of the fees

Authorities may charge fees only where a legal provision provides for them. You can look the provision up and compare it with your fee notice. The provisions below are cited in German, as published (data retrieved September 2026). The abbreviations are official, for example GVBl. (state law gazette), KVz (schedule of fees) and LAGeSo (Berlin state office for health and social affairs).

Baden-Württemberg: GebVerz SM Nr. 12.1 (Tierärztinnen und Tierärzte ausdrücklich genannt), Nr. 12.1.1–12.1.3, 12.1.9 (German)
Bavaria: KVz Tarif-Nr. 7.IX.5; Art. 10 KG (German)
Berlin: GesPflGebO, Tarifstellen 51010–51016 (German)
Brandenburg: § 5a GebOUmwelt i. V. m. Anlage GebOMSGIV (Fassung 22.07.2024) Tarifstelle 12.1 (German)
Bremen: GesundKostV, Anlage, Abschnitt B, Nr. 502.02 bis 502.05, 502.13, 502.16, 502.18 (German)
Hamburg: GebOöV, Anlage, Nr. 6.1 bis 6.6; § 6 GebOöV (German)
Hesse: VwKostO-MLU, Anlage, Nr. 29104 bis 29115 (German)
Lower Saxony: GOVV Niedersachsen, Anlage zu § 1, Nr. I.1 (German)
Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania: VetKostVO M-V, Anlage, Nr. 1.2.1 bis 1.2.9; § 3 Abs. 4 und 5 VetKostVO M-V (German)
North Rhine-Westphalia: AVwGebO NRW, Tarifstelle 6.2.3 (German)
Rhineland-Palatinate: Besonderes Gebührenverzeichnis RP, Nr. 1.4 (German)
Saarland: Gesetz Nr. 800 (SaarlGebG) i. V. m. Allgemeinem Gebührenverzeichnis (Anlage GebVerzV SL, Fassung vom 29.10.2024, gültig ab 22.11.2024), Abschnitt 20 (German)
Saxony: 10. SächsKVZ vom 16.08.2021 (SächsGVBl. S. 898), zuletzt geändert durch Art. 1 der Verordnung vom 26.03.2025 (SächsGVBl. S. 115), lfd. Nr. 90 „Tierärzte/Tierärztinnen und andere mit der Lebensmittelüberwachung beauftragte Personen“ (German)
Saxony-Anhalt: AllGO LSA vom 10.10.2012 (GVBl. LSA Nr. 20 vom 26.10.2012), zuletzt geändert durch Verordnung vom 06.05.2026 (GVBl. LSA S. 203); Anlage (Kostentarif) in der ab 21.05.2026 geltenden Fassung, lfd. Nr. 1 „Allgemeine Amtshandlungen“ (German)
Schleswig-Holstein: Landesverordnung über Verwaltungsgebühren in Angelegenheiten der Veterinärverwaltung (VetVwGebV SH 2020) vom 05.08.2020 (GVOBl. Schl.-H. S. 455), Anlage Gebührentarif Nr. 3 „Tierärztliches Berufsrecht“ (GVOBl. Schl.-H. 2020 S. 466) (German)
Thuringia: Thüringer Verwaltungskostenordnung für den Geschäftsbereich des Ministeriums für Arbeit, Soziales, Gesundheit, Frauen und Familie vom 11.12.2001 (GVBl. 2002 S. 1), zuletzt geändert durch Art. 1 der Verordnung vom 15.12.2019 (GVBl. S. 521), Anlage zu § 1 Teil C „Veterinärwesen, Lebensmittelüberwachung, Verbraucherinformation“, Nr. 7.2 „Bundes-Tierärzteordnung“ (German)

Frequently asked questions

When does a knowledge test arise for veterinarians, and what does it cost?: It arises only if the authority finds substantial differences from your training that your professional experience does not make up for (§ 4(2) BTÄO). The universities charge €80 per examination subject, and your notice sets the number of subjects. The state page names the university responsible. About the knowledge test
What does the equivalence report cost for veterinarians?: That depends on the state. Bavaria, Berlin, Brandenburg, Bremen and Hamburg charge expenses at actual cost. Hesse, Lower Saxony, North Rhine-Westphalia, Rhineland-Palatinate, Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, Schleswig-Holstein and Thuringia state no separate report fee. Baden-Württemberg states €350. We clarify with the authority for you whether report costs arise in your state and how high they are.
Does the language proof cost extra for veterinarians?: Yes. A general B2 certificate is usually enough, and you pay it to an accepted provider. The recognition grant does not cover language courses and language test fees (item 4.4 d). Only a few states require a specialist language test; the table shows its fee where it is published.
Why does the table for veterinarians show dashes instead of figures?: A dash means: no figure given. For veterinarians this concerns the knowledge test in Baden-Württemberg, Bavaria, Brandenburg, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Rhineland-Palatinate, Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt and Thuringia. The table contains no estimates. Several states settle the report as expenses whose amount is fixed case by case. Where our figures come from (in German)