Professional Recognition in Germany: Documents to Translate

You trained as a doctor, nurse, engineer or teacher abroad and want to work in that profession in Germany. For many professions a German authority first assesses your qualification, and it does so from paper: your degree certificate, your transcript, your work references and, in the health professions, a certificate that you may practise at home. Almost all of it has to be submitted in German translation. This guide explains which documents the authorities usually ask for, what the law says about translations, and how the procedure fits with a visa.

Do you need recognition to work in Germany?

Only if your profession is regulated. § 3(5) of the Berufsqualifikationsfeststellungsgesetz (BQFG, the federal recognition act) defines a regulated profession as one whose practice or title is tied by law to a particular qualification. The federal portal anerkennung-in-deutschland.de draws the line: for regulated professions recognition is necessary before you may work; for the rest it is optional, though useful with employers.

• Regulated professions include doctors, dentists, pharmacists, nurses and teachers. Doctors need the Approbation (licence to practise) under § 3 of the Bundesärzteordnung, nurses the permission to use the title under § 2 of the Pflegeberufegesetz.
• Non-regulated professions are the majority: the portal counts the dual training occupations and many academic professions among them, chemists for example.
• Academic degrees in non-regulated professions can be classified by the ZAB (Zentralstelle für ausländisches Bildungswesen) in a Zeugnisbewertung (statement of comparability); its anabin database lists foreign institutions and degrees.

The BQFG covers professions regulated by federal law; the states have their own acts for professions in their remit, teachers for example, as do the health professions. The portal's Anerkennungs-Finder names the authority for your profession and place of work.

Which authority decides, and which documents does it usually want?

The authority depends on the profession and the federal state. The table shows the usual picture; your authority's own checklist comes first.

In every case the authority wants to see what you learned and for how long, so a diploma without the transcript rarely suffices.

What does § 12 BQFG say about copies and translations?

For professions regulated by federal law, § 12(1) BQFG lists what goes with the application: a tabular overview of your training and employment, in German; proof of identity; the training certificates obtained abroad; proof of relevant work experience and other qualifications where relevant; where the profession is regulated in the country of training, a certificate that you may practise there; and a declaration that you have not applied before. § 5 BQFG repeats the list for non-regulated professions.

§ 12(2) sets the form. Documents are submitted as copies or electronically. Translations into German are required for the training certificates, the proof of work experience and the certificate of entitlement to practise, and may be demanded for the identity document and later submissions. The translations are to be made by a publicly appointed or sworn interpreter or translator (öffentlich bestellter oder beeidigter Übersetzer). If the authority doubts a document, § 12(5) lets it ask for originals or certified copies; the portal notes that "originals" in a checklist means officially certified copies. Applicants from outside the EU also show that they intend to work in Germany, for example through employer contacts (§ 12(6)).

What do Approbation authorities ask for in addition?

In the health professions equivalence and the licence to practise are decided together, so the file is the longest.

Doctors, dentists and pharmacists

The Hessian Landesamt für Gesundheit und Pflege, for example, states that translations must be made in Germany by a generally sworn, publicly appointed or generally authorised translator, made from the original rather than from a copy, and firmly attached to a copy of the original. It also requires a Hague apostille or embassy legalisation on the original training documents before the expert assessment, and accepts officially certified copies only from German authorities, notaries or missions abroad. Other states publish similar checklists.

Add a certificate of good standing from where you last practised, a medical certificate, a police certificate and proof of German. § 3 of the Bundesärzteordnung requires the language skills needed for the job; the states set the level and the test, often a general certificate plus a specialist language exam (Fachsprachprüfung). Ask the authority which it accepts.

Nurses and other health professions

Nursing follows the Pflegeberufegesetz, other health professions their own acts, and the state health authorities decide. The file is similar: training certificate with subject and hours overview, work references, good standing, language proof. Where the training is not fully equivalent, the authority can order an adaptation course or a knowledge test.

How should the documents be translated?

A translation for recognition renders the whole document, reverse, stamps and apostille included. In practice:

• Degree and training certificates are translated in full, with the institution and the title exactly as printed. Our guide to transcript and diploma translation explains how grades and titles are rendered.
• Transcripts and subject lists (Fächer- und Stundenübersicht) are what the authority compares with the German curriculum, so every line counts; the transcript is often the longest document.
• Work references and certificates of good standing prove experience and entitlement to practise. Our guide to employment reference translation covers what German readers expect from an employment reference.
• Names are spelled as in your passport, with any transliteration noted, so that certificate, passport and application match.
• Apostille first. Where the authority wants an apostille or legalisation on the originals, obtain it before the translation so that it is translated too. Our guide to apostille vs. certified translation explains the order.

Trusted Lingo works with translators sworn or authorised by German courts; each translation carries the certification, stamp and signature that authorities ask for. The price box on this page shows the current price.

How does recognition fit with your visa, and how long does it take?

For applicants from outside the EU, recognition and residence are linked. § 16d of the Aufenthaltsgesetz (AufenthG) provides a residence permit for recognition purposes: up to 24 months, extendable to three years in total, for adaptation measures an authority has ordered, or up to six months for a skills analysis. § 16d(3) adds the Anerkennungspartnerschaft: you enter with a job offer and an employer agreement, start the recognition procedure immediately after arrival, and the employer supports the qualification measures; a German expert body first confirms from translated certificates that your degree is state-recognised. Employers can also use the accelerated procedure under § 81a AufenthG, in which the Ausländerbehörde initiates the recognition; once it is granted, the skilled-worker permits under §§ 18a and 18b AufenthG apply. Our guide to certified translation for the German visa covers the embassy file.

§ 13 BQFG obliges the authority to decide within three months of a complete file; the period can be extended once, for EU, EEA and Swiss qualifications by at most a month. The clock starts only with complete documents, translations included. A ZAB statement of comparability costs 208 euros and takes three months for a regular application, according to the ZAB's website as of November 2026.

Key takeaways

• For regulated professions such as doctors, nurses and teachers, recognition is required before you may work; for others it is optional, and a ZAB statement of comparability can classify a degree.
• § 12 BQFG lists the documents: CV in German, proof of identity, training certificates, proof of work experience, certificate of entitlement to practise, declaration about earlier applications.
• The law requires translations by a publicly appointed or sworn translator, and Approbation authorities such as Hessen's ask for translations made in Germany.
• Get an apostille or legalisation on the originals where the authority asks for one, before the translation.
• The authority decides within three months once the file is complete, so collect its checklist first and submit everything at once.

If you would like your certificates, transcripts and references translated for a recognition file, Trusted Lingo arranges certified translations by sworn translators. Have a look at our services whenever you are ready.