Recognition of foreign qualifications

Anerkennung means having a qualification you earned abroad assessed against a comparable German qualification. For many vocational qualifications, the federal Professional Qualifications Assessment Act sets the rules. The responsible office depends on your occupation, and not every profession is covered by that Act.

In short

• Identify the German occupation you want your qualification compared with. Under section 4, the comparison is with a corresponding German training certificate; a broad field of work is not enough.
• The responsible office depends on your occupation. For many professions it is a Land authority or a chamber. University degrees follow a different process; a city registration office does not handle this application.
• Under section 6, receipt must be acknowledged within one month, and equivalence decided within three months of complete documents. A justified extension is possible once.
• A job that is not regulated can be started without a formal equivalence decision. That is a labour-law point. A non-EU skilled-worker title under sections 18a or 18b generally still needs recognition or a recognised or comparable degree, with exceptions such as the experience route. A positive decision does not extend a residence permit.
• From 1 November 2026, doctors, dentists and pharmacists applying under the new third-country qualification route normally take a Kenntnisprüfung, unless they choose a document-based equivalence assessment within four weeks. For applications to recognise a third-country qualification filed by 31 October 2026, the earlier qualification-assessment provisions continue to apply.
• Ask the competent body about its fees, and whether the decision identifies a specific adaptation measure, before you pay for a course. A translation of a diploma is not the decision.

What you need to know

The Act helps people use qualifications gained abroad on the German labour market and work in a field close to their skills. Section 3 defines a professional qualification as one shown by training certificates, competence certificates or relevant experience gained abroad or in Germany. A profession is regulated when the law requires a particular qualification to enter or practise it, including to use a protected title.

Section 4 says the competent body establishes equivalence on application if the foreign training certificate shows the ability to do comparable work to the matching German certificate, and if there are no substantial differences. Substantial differences exist when the content or the length of training differs in a way that matters for the occupation, and the applicant has not made up the difference by other proof, relevant experience, or other relevant qualifications.

The Act covers occupations regulated by federal law, both regulated and non-regulated professions, as defined in section 3(4). Other professions are regulated by a Land: teachers, engineers under some rules and a number of health professions come under a Land authority or chamber. University degrees follow a different process.

The federal Recognition in Germany portal, run by the Federal Institute for Vocational Education and Training, helps you find the office responsible for a particular occupation. Section 8 assigns bodies such as chambers for the procedure covered by that chapter. Ask the office about its fees and the law that applies to your procedure.

Under section 6, it must acknowledge receipt within one month and decide equivalence within three months after receiving complete documents. One justified extension is possible, and subsection 4 allows the time limit to be suspended in the cases listed there. Other recognition procedures may have different rules.

You can start a non-regulated job without a formal equivalence decision, although an employer may still ask for one. Immigration requirements are a separate question. A residence title for a non-EU skilled worker under sections 18a or 18b generally requires recognition of a vocational qualification, or a recognised or comparable higher-education degree, under section 18(3).

Other titles can differ, including the experience route in section 19c(2) together with section 6 of the Employment Ordinance; see residence permits for skilled work. A title such as the EU Blue Card or the opportunity card can depend on how the qualification is classified. Recognition and the right to reside are separate decisions.

The main changes to recognition in the health professions apply from 1 November 2026. Under the new third-country routes for doctors, dentists and pharmacists, a Kenntnisprüfung is the usual way to demonstrate the required knowledge. You can instead choose a document-based equivalence assessment within four weeks of applying; the choice binds you for the Approbation procedure.

An exam can still be needed if substantial differences remain. If you applied to recognise a third-country qualification by 31 October 2026, the earlier qualification-assessment provisions continue to apply. A qualification already recognised by an EU or EEA country or Switzerland may follow a different route; ask the responsible authority which applies.

What to do

1. Identify the German occupation you want your qualification compared with. Section 4 compares your certificate with a corresponding German training certificate, rather than a broad field of work.
2. Use the Recognition in Germany portal to find the office responsible for that occupation. Federal and Land bodies have different responsibilities; a city registration office does not handle this application.
3. Send the application with the training evidence the body requests. Section 4 looks at substantial differences and at whether experience has already compensated for them. Ask, before you pay for a course, whether the decision identifies a specific adaptation measure.
4. Keep the residence question separate. A positive equivalence decision does not extend a permit. A pending recognition measure may be relevant to a Chancenkarte, which is explained on that page, but only within section 20a.

Before paying: check funding first

The federal recognition portal says to apply for financial support before submitting the recognition application. Ask recognition counselling, Agentur für Arbeit or Jobcenter, as appropriate, which programme you qualify for and when approval must be obtained. Eligibility, covered costs and permission to incur costs depend on the programme; later reimbursement is not guaranteed.

People living in Germany may qualify for the federal Anerkennungszuschuss if they are in work and their positive income, after the child allowances the portal deducts, is not above 32,000 euros gross a year for one person or 50,000 euros for a married couple or civil partners. It can also cover unemployed or non-employed residents whose costs are not covered by the Agentur für Arbeit or Jobcenter; support from those offices takes priority. The grant covers direct recognition costs from 100 euros up to 600 euros, qualification analyses up to 1,200 euros, and qualification measures up to 3,000 euros when the grant is applied for in advance. A qualification measure also needs a recognition decision that has already found substantial differences the measure is meant to close.

Before ordering translations, certified copies, travel or a course, obtain the competent body’s document requirements and the funder’s written instructions. Some support can cover those costs, but not every programme covers every item. Keep the funding decision, quotes and receipts. The documents-and-translations guide explains how to avoid paying for the wrong form of document. Funding or a private agency does not replace the competent body’s recognition decision.

Recognition, anabin and a statement of comparability

anabin, a ZAB statement of comparability and recognition by the responsible body serve different purposes. Which one you need depends on your situation. A residence permit for a recognition measure is separate from the recognition decision.

anabin is a database for classifying foreign qualifications. A statement of comparability is an individual certificate issued by the Central Office for Foreign Education for a higher-education qualification. As the recognition portal explains, neither replaces the recognition procedure required for a regulated profession; the responsible office issues its own decision for that procedure.

The three-month period described above applies to that office’s decision under the Act, not to anabin or a statement of comparability. The Central Office for Foreign Education charges 208 euros for a statement of comparability. Ask the responsible recognition office about fees for its own procedure.

Recognition and the visa procedure are separate: recognition does not itself give you a visa. Section 16d of the Residence Act provides for a residence title for carrying out a qualification measure toward recognition. Holding or applying for that title is not the same as receiving the responsible body’s recognition decision.

Common mistakes

• Applying under the federal Act when the recognition portal directs you to a Land chamber instead. Check which procedure applies to your profession.
• Assuming every university degree goes through this vocational Act. The portal has a separate path for higher-education qualifications.
• Paying a private agency before you know which public body is responsible. The federal recognition portal can help you find it.