In addition to the formal requirements, such as age and school-leaving qualification, a check is carried out to determine whether the applicant recognizes the limits of his/her curative powers as a non-physician, i.e. whether he/she knows what he/she must refrain from doing in order not to harm his/her patient and when the patient must be referred to a doctor (knowledge check).
The authorization is sent to the applicant. If facts subsequently arise that would justify a refusal of the permit, the district/city in which you submitted the application may revoke this permit on the basis of Section 7 HeilprGV in conjunction with Section 117 (2) No. 3 LVwG.
Notes:
- The applicant must have reached the age of 25 when the permit is issued.
- The permit is issued by the responsible health authority after a successful review procedure (written and oral-practical).
- Under certain circumstances (illness on the day of the examination documented by a medical certificate or certain exceptional circumstances), participation in the registered examination may be postponed to a later date. In all other cases (e.g. not enough time to study) the examination cannot be postponed.
- If you are absent without excuse on the day of the examination, the permit applied for may be refused for a fee.
Special features for graduate psychologists:
If you have graduated from a German university with a degree in psychology and have taken and passed the subject of clinical psychology, you can generally obtain a non-medical practitioner license limited to the field of psychotherapy without having to take part in a knowledge test for non-medical practitioners (case law: BVerG of 10.02.1983 (NJW 1984, 1414)).
The aforementioned application documents must be submitted in full in this case. In addition, a certified copy of your diploma certificate and the degree certificate from the university showing that you have taken and passed the subject Clinical Psychology.
Please note in your application that you are applying for a non-medical practitioner license limited to the field of psychotherapy as a qualified psychologist . According to the German Quality Framework (DQR), a Master's degree course and the Diplom degree course correspond to level 7. A Bachelor's degree course is therefore not sufficient for analogous recognition on file.
Special features for physiotherapists:
If you have a license as a physiotherapist and would like to apply for the limited knowledge examination for the Heilpraktiker in the field of physiotherapy, please note that with this Heilpraktiker license you are still only allowed to carry out the treatments that you are allowed to use as a physiotherapist. The non-medical practitioner license in the field of physiotherapy only offers you the opportunity to carry out the treatments that you previously carried out on a doctor's prescription on your own responsibility as a non-medical practitioner without a doctor's prescription. If you use procedures that are not permitted to you as a physiotherapist, you may be committing a criminal offense. If you wish to use therapy procedures (e.g. osteopathy) that you are not permitted to use as a physiotherapist, you must obtain an unrestricted (large) alternative practitioner's license.
Special features for physiotherapists working in the field of osteopathy:
In the ruling of the Higher Regional Court of Düsseldorf dated 08.09.2015 (I-20 U 236/13), the practice of osteopathic activities was classified as the practice of medicine. This means that the practice of osteopathy is only permitted by doctors and alternative practitioners. Physiotherapists who wish to carry out osteopathic activities in the past and in the future must therefore acquire an unrestricted (large) alternative practitioner's license in accordance with the current legal situation.
