You are here: Working in Germany: Information skilled workers > Jobs in Germany > Certification of qualifications

Certification of qualifications in Germany


Certification of qualificationsBefore you apply for a job, you should first check whether your vocational or educational qualifications are recognized/can be certified in Germany. In some areas, this is even mandatory. A distinction is made here between so-called regulated and nonregulated professions.



 Regulated professions Regulated professions

The execution of the profession is linked to certain acquired professional qualifications. You can therefore only carry out the profession if your professional qualifications acquired abroad are recognized and approved in Germany. Regulated professions include doctors, nurses, attorneys, teachers and engineers. The Central Office for Foreign Education (Zentralstelle für ausländisches Bildungswesen) is responsible for evaluating qualifications obtained abroad: Zentralstelle für ausländisches Bildungswesen.

Nonregulated professionsNonregulated professions

Nonregulated professions can be pursued without state certification. In this case, only the potential employers decide if the respective qualifications are sufficient.


What steps do I have to take in the certification process?What steps do I have to take in the certification process?

  • First of all, you need to find out where to apply for certification of your qualifications. This depends on your profession, your preferred place of work and/or your level of education. You can find the right certification authority (Zentralstelle für ausländisches Bildungswesen) quickly and easily on the German federal government’s portal for Certification in Germany.
  • Have you found the right authority? If so, you should contact the certification authority in person before submitting your application to find out exactly what the requirements and necessary documents to submit are.
  • The responsible authority has told you which documents you need to submit. Now you can fill in the application forms and send them off with the necessary documents. The authority will then examine your complete application and compare it with the qualifications required in Germany.
  • After the proper authority has checked your application, they will send you an official notification containing the outcome of your application review. If you work in a regulated profession , you will be informed of measures you can take to compensate for the discrepancies between your qualifications and those required. For nonregulated professions, you will be informed about the similarities and discrepancies between your qualifications and the qualifications required in Germany.

Thema: Jobs in Germany



Working in Germany Newsletter

Sie möchten exklusive Informationen zum Arbeiten und Leben in Deutschland? Dann melden Sie sich zu unserem Fachkräfteportal-Newsletter an!


Ms.  Mr. 

I hereby declare that I agree that the operator of the Working in Germany Portal, Care Concept AG, may regularly inform me via newsletter about information about living and working in Germany. I can revoke this consent at any time.

Further information on the use of recipient data can be found in our data protection declaration at www.fachkraefte-deutschland.de/datenschutz.php




fb instagram xing linkedin