Applying for recognition of a foreign professional qualification in a trade requiring a license (master craftsman examination)

Application
You submit an application for equivalence assessment to the relevant Chamber of Crafts.
You may be able to send the application electronically. The relevant Chamber of Skilled Crafts will inform you. You can also hand in the application with the documents to the relevant office or send it by post. Do not send any originals.

Equivalence check
The Chamber of Skilled Crafts will then compare your professional qualification with the German professional qualification and check the equivalence. If equivalence or partial equivalence is given, you will receive a fee notice. Once this fee notice has been paid, you will then receive the notice of equivalence (notice of recognition) If your professional qualification is equivalent, it will be recognized.
Are there significant differences between your professional qualification and the German professional qualification? Then your professional qualification will only be partially recognized. You will then receive a notification of the differences in your professional qualification. In most cases, you can take a compensatory measure. This allows you to compensate for the main differences.

Compensatory measures
There are various compensatory measures:

• Adaptation qualification (APQ)
• Aptitude test

The Chamber of Skilled Crafts will decide which compensatory measure you need to take. This is stated in your notification.
If you successfully complete the compensation measure, you will receive the notification of equivalence.

More information

Legal remedy:
You can take legal action against the decision of the competent authority within a certain period of time (for example, by lodging an objection). The decision will then be reviewed. Details can be found in the information on legal remedies at the end of your decision. You should first speak to the responsible office before taking legal action against the decision.

Qualification analysis

Have you completed formal training but no longer have all the documents required for the application? Then you may be able to prove your professional qualification by means of a qualification analysis. This means that you can provide practical proof of your professional skills. The responsible office will inform you.

Procedure for ethnic German repatriates

As a late repatriate, you can go through the recognition procedure either according to the laws mentioned here or according to the Federal Expellee Act. You can decide for yourself. The Chamber of Skilled Crafts will advise you on which procedure is right for you.

• Application for recognition of the foreign professional qualification
• Proof of identity (copy of passport or identity card - proof of name and date of birth, place of birth)
• Marriage certificate (if your name has changed due to marriage)
• Detailed curriculum vitae in German on your professional training and, if applicable, on your previous employment
• List of subjects and/or lists of grades (copy of original certificate and officially certified translation)
• Proof of your relevant professional qualifications (e.g. job references, copy of original certificate and officially certified translation)
• Training certificates that you received abroad (copy of the original certificate and officially certified translation)
• Training framework plan or curriculum of the foreign training (copy of the original certificate and officially certified translation)
• Power of attorney in case of representation (must be submitted to the Chamber of Skilled Crafts in the original)
• Other evidence that qualifies you to practice your profession, e.g. certificate of further training (copy of certificate and officially certified translation)
• Are you from a third country and do not yet live or work in the EU, the EEA or Switzerland? Then you must provide proof:
  
  • You want to work in the profession in Germany.
  • Proof can be, for example, applications for a job, invitations to interviews or a location note from the Central Service Center for Professional Recognition (ZSBA).
• The Chamber of Skilled Crafts will tell you which documents you need to submit as a simple copy, as a certified copy or as an original.
  
  • You must submit your documents in German.
  • The translations must be made by publicly appointed or authorized translators.
  • You may have to submit further documents during the recognition procedure.
  • The Chamber of Skilled Crafts will inform you.

The costs generally depend on the time and effort required for processing.
Additional costs may also be incurred (e.g. for translations or notarization of your documents). These costs vary from case to case.

What deadlines must be paid attention to?

There is no deadline.
Sometimes documents are still missing from the procedure. The Chamber of Skilled Crafts will then inform you by when you have to submit the documents.

How long does it take to process

3 months The Chamber of Skilled Crafts will confirm within one month that your documents have arrived. The Chamber of Skilled Crafts will also inform you if any documents are missing. Once all the necessary documents have been received, the procedure takes a maximum of 3 months. In individual cases, the procedure may be extended once. For professional qualifications from the EU, the EEA and Switzerland, the procedure may be extended by a maximum of one month.

• § 8 Abs. 1 Nr. 2 Berufsqualifikationsfeststellungsgesetz (BQFG)
• § 50c Handwerksordnung (HwO)
• §§ 9-13 Berufsqualifikationsfeststellungsgesetz (BQFG)

• Liste der zulassungspflichtigen Berufe im Handwerk
• Handwerkskammern in Deutschland
• Informationen zur Anerkennung ausländischer Berufsqualifikationen auf dem Portal Anerkennung in Deutschland
• Finanzielle Hilfen für das Anerkennungsverfahren
• Öffentlich bestellte Übersetzerinnen und Übersetzer in Deutschland
• Portal Anerkennung in Deutschland - Beratung
• Portal Anerkennung in Deutschland - Beratungssuche
• Portal Anerkennung in Deutschland - Hotline
• Portal Anerkennung in Deutschland - Zentrale Servicestelle Berufsanerkennung
• Merkzettel Anerkennung von ausländischen Berufsabschlüssen