Germany – Evidence of qualifications

This page is to explain what evidence of qualifications doctors who qualified in Germany need to supply to support their registration application.

Below is information about

Medical regulatory authority

Bundesärztekammer
Herbert-Lewin Platz 1
10623 Berlin
Germany
Tel: +49 30 40 04 560
Fax: +49 30 40 04 56 388
Email: info@baek.de 

Please note that the Bundesärztekammer is the umbrella organization for the German medical regulatory authorities. You should in the first instance contact your local state medical association. See separate list of German medical regulatory authorities for issuing compliancy letters.

Full registration

If you have previously held provisional registration you will need to hold:

An Approbation als Arzt/Bestallung (full licence to practise) awarded by the medical regulatory authority of a Bundesland.

If you have not previously held provisional registration you will need to hold the following:

If you qualified before 1978 you must hold:

A Zeugnis über die ärztliche Staatsprüfung (the State examination certificate in medicine)

AND

A Zeugnis über die Vorbereitungszeit als Medizinalassistent (certificate stating the preparatory period as medical assistant has been completed) awarded by a medical regulatory authority of a Bundesland.

If you qualified after 1978 you must hold:

A Zeugnis über die ärztliche Staatsprüfung (the State examination certificate in medicine)

AND

An Approbation als Arzt.

If you began your training at a medical school in the former East Germany before 1 October 1990 you must in addition to the above hold one of the following documents, either:

A letter from the Bundesministerium für Gesundheit (Federal Ministry for Health) which confirms that the training leading to the award of your German primary medical qualification meets the standards laid down by Article 24 of the European Medical Directive 2005/36/EC.

OR

A certificate from the medical regulatory authority of a Bundesland confirming that you are entitled to practise medicine in Germany on the same basis as doctors with qualifications awarded by medical schools in the former West Germany – and that you have been practising medicine in Germany for at least three consecutive years in the last five years. This is in compliance with articles 23.1 and 23.2 of Directive 2005/36/EC.

Specialist register

To hold specialist registration you must also hold full registration. Your specialty must be listed in Annex V of the Directive 2005/36/EC by the country that awarded it and have a corresponding entry for the United Kingdom. If you want to apply for specialist registration and you do not already hold full registration, you should apply for full and specialist registration at the same time.

You will need to hold:

A Fachärztliche Anerkennung (recognised certificate of medical specialist) issued by the Landesärztekammer.

If the German specialist certificate was awarded before 20 December 1976 or if the training leading to its award started before that date you will need to hold either:

A letter from the Landesärztekammer confirming that the training leading to the award of the specialist certificate meets the standards in Articles 25, 26 and 27 as appropriate of Directive 2005/36/EC.

OR

If the training leading to the award of the specialist certificate does not meet those standards. A letter from the Landesärztekammer or medical reglatory authority of the country where you are now working confirming that you have been practising in the specialty in which your specialist certificate was awarded for the period required by Article 23.1 of Directive 2005/36/EC.

If you undertook any of your specialist training in former East Germany before 3 April 1992 you will need to hold:

A letter from the Landesärztekammer confirming that the training leading to the award of your specialist certificate meets the standards laid down in Articles 25, 26 and 27 as appropriate of Directive 2005/36/EC , and that your specialist certificate is treated by Germany as a Fachärztliche Anerkennung in the relevant speciality as set out for Germany in Annex V of Directive 2005/36/EC.

OR

A letter from the Landesärztekammer confirming that your German specialist certificate entitles you to practise in your speciality throughout Germany on the same conditions as the holder of a German specialist certificate listed in Annex V of Directive 2005/36/EC; and that you have practised in your speciality in Germany for at least the period required by Article 23.2 of Directive 2005/36/EC.

If the title of your German specialist certificate is not mentioned above or the specialty in which it is awarded is not the same as that specialty listed in Annex V of Directive 2005/36/EC you will also need to hold:

A letter from the Landesärztekammer confirming that your training leading to the award of the specialist certificate meets the standards laid down in Articles 25, 26 and 27 as appropriate of Directive 2005/36/EC and that the specialty is treated in law by Germany as a certificate of medical specialisation in the relevant speciality as set out in Annex V of Directive 2005/36/EC.

If you are not eligible to enter the specialist register via the criteria outlined (above) you can apply to the Postgraduate Medical Education and Training Board (PMETB) to be assessed via the Article 14 equivalence route. Doctors applying via the Article 14 route will be required to demonstrate that their specialist qualifications, knowledge and experience gained are equivalent to that of a doctor completing a UK specialist training programme in your specialty. For further guidance, including application forms and a list of frequently answered questions, please visit the PMETB website. Please note that PMETB cannot accept CVs/resumes in isolation.

GP register

To hold GP registration you must also hold full registration. If you want to apply for GP registration and you do not already hold full registration, you should apply for full and GP registration at the same time.

You will need to hold either:

A Zeugnis über die spezifische Ausbildung in der Allgemeinmedizin (certificate of specialist training in general medicine) awarded by the Landesärztekammer.

OR

A certificate of acquired rights for general medical practice awarded by the Landesärztekammer. The certificate must state that it was issued to you in accordance with Article 30(1) of Directive 2005/36/EC.

If you are not eligible to enter the GP register via the criteria outlined (above) you can apply to PMETB via the Article 11 equivalence route. Doctors who apply using this method will have their training, qualifications and experience compared against the standard required for doctors completing a UK General Practice training programme. Successful applicants will be given a statement confirming their eligibility for entry to the GP Register and hence eligible to work as a GP in the UK. For further information and to request an Article 11 application pack, please visit the PMETB website. Please note that PMETB is unable to accept CVs/resumes in isolation and cannot process applications that are not made through the correct channels.