You have acquired a foreign specialist title and now want to work as a specialist doctor in Germany? Then you need the recognition of your specialist qualification by the responsible medical association.
Information about the service depends on the selected region. You can change the region. In most cases, you can specify your place of residence or select the place where you want to use the service.
No information available
No information available
The government service telephone number 115 – your point of contact for questions related to the federal, state and local.
Monday through Friday from 8:00 to 18:00 (and beyond these times in some regions).
Call 115 nowGovernment service telephone number calls are charged at local rates.
If you have acquired a foreign specialist designation and want to work as a specialist doctor in Germany, you need the recognition of your specialist qualification by the competent medical association. This specialist designation may only be used in the form permitted in Germany.
The recognition is based on the continuing education regulations of the Rhineland-Palatinate State Medical Association in the current version.
If you are applying for recognition as a medical specialist, the following documents and certificates must be submitted:
EU/EEA/contracting state
Third countries
The documents must be submitted in the form of originals or certified copies. Your documents must be submitted in German or as a certified copy of a German translation. The translations must be made by interpreters or translators who are publicly appointed or sworn. The translations must be made from the original. This must be certified by the translator.
If you submit your application electronically, only documents issued or recognized in a member state of the European Union or another state party to the Agreement on the European Economic Area can be submitted electronically. If the competent authority has reasonable doubts about the authenticity of the documents submitted, it may request the submission of certified copies.
You must submit the application for recognition of the specialist qualification in writing to the State Medical Association of Rhineland-Palatinate or if you are already working in Rhineland-Palatinate or at which place you will be active at the responsible district medical association.
The recognition of your specialist qualification and the activity as a specialist doctor are only possible if you already have a valid professional license/ license to practice medicine in Germany. This means that you must first have your qualification as a doctor recognised and have received the professional permit/license to practice medicine (information on this here: https://lsjv.rlp.de/de/unsere-aufgaben/arbeit/akademische-heilberufe/approbationen-und-berufserlaubnisse/). You can then apply for recognition of your specialist qualification.
You must prove your German language skills when issuing your professional permit/license to practice medicine. For specialist recognition, your German language skills will not be checked again.
Fees are charged for recognition. Information on this can be obtained from the State Medical Association or the District Medical Associations. The fee is to be paid with the application by bank transfer
For the procurement of necessary documents, further costs may arise, also for other bodies.
An appeal may be made against the decision of the competent authority. This will allow you to take legal action against the decision so that it is reviewed. Details can be given in the legal remedy at the end of your decision. However, you are advised to resolve the disputed issues with the competent body before you file an appeal.
You must submit the application for recognition of your specialist qualification in writing to the Rhineland-Palatinate Medical Association or, if you are already working in Rhineland-Palatinate or it is already foreseeable where you will be working, to the relevant district medical association.
EU/EEA or state to which Germany and the European Union have granted a corresponding legal entitlement (contracting state):
Anyone who, as a national of a member state of the European Union, the European Economic Area or a contracting state, holds a certificate of training for (specialist) further training is automatically recognized in accordance with Directive 2005 /36 /EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 7 September 2005 on the recognition of professional qualifications and, upon application, is granted the right to use a corresponding title in accordance with the further training regulations for doctors in Rhineland-Palatinate.
The training certificates to be mutually recognized (specialist doctor designations) can be found in Annex V of Directive 2005 /36 / EC.
If proof is provided of an EU/EEA/contracting state qualification that does not meet the standards for automatic recognition, an individual review of the content will be carried out. An individual check is carried out to determine whether there are significant differences between the foreign and the German specialist dentist qualification. Significant differences can be fully or partially compensated for by knowledge that you have acquired during your professional practice abroad or in Germany.
Third countries:
Specialist qualifications completed in a third country are checked individually to determine whether there are any significant differences between the foreign and German specialist dentist qualifications.
Corresponding further training in countries outside the European Union or outside the other signatory states to the Agreement on the European Economic Area can therefore be credited in full or in part if it complies with the principles of the further training regulations and at least 12 months of further training in the desired title was completed in Germany.
Substantial differences can be compensated for in whole or in part by knowledge, experience and skills acquired by the applicant as part of their professional practice abroad or in Germany.
The same applies to further training in a member state of the EU/EEA/contracting state if it was completed by a doctor who is not a national of the EU/EEA/contracting state.
No deadlines have to be observed.
The procedure for examining an application for admission to a regulated profession must be completed as quickly as possible, and no later than three months after the submission of the complete dossier.
The time limit may be extended once appropriately if justified by the specific nature of the matter. The extension of the deadline is a maximum of one month if you have obtained your proof of formal qualifications in a member state of the EU or a state party to the Agreement on the European Economic Area or in a state treated as such by agreement.
