FAQ Academic healthcare professions | Education AbroadLanguage skills

If you would like to work in an academic healthcare profession in Germany, you need sufficient knowledge of German. This is regulated by law.

You must provide proof of sufficient German language skills in the general language and in the specialised language (specifically for your profession). All German language skills must be verbal and written.

The aim is for you to be able to hold spontaneous and largely fluent conversations, especially with patients. You must also be able to understand and reproduce complex texts and specialised discussions on medical topics.

Proof of the following language skills is required to obtain a licence to practise medicine:

• General language skills at level B2
• Knowledge of the specialised language of medicine at level C1

For the granting of a licence to practise in the field of psychotherapy, proof of specialist language skills at level C2 are required.

The B2 language proficiency test must be taken at a recognised language institute with ALTE certification (full member) (e.g. Goethe Institute, TELC, ÖSD etc.).

The B2 language certificate must be submitted as an officially notarised copy (front and back please).

If you are applying to us for a licence to practise medicine and

• do not have a degree from a German-speaking university or
• have not completed at least ten years of general education at a German-speaking school or
• have not completed at least three years of vocational training in German,

has to pass the specialised language examination.
 

In Baden-Württemberg, depending on the profession, the specialist language test is carried out by the relevant chamber (e.g. chamber of doctors, dentists, pharmacists or psychotherapists) on behalf of the regional council. If you submit an application to us, we will automatically register you for the appropriate examination.

You can find many offers on the internet to prepare for the specialist language exam.

Then we will accept the exam as proof of sufficient language skills if it is officially recognized there as a specialist language exam.

We can only accept language exams from private providers as proof of the required medical language skills under two conditions:

1. The exam certificate is submitted together with your application.
   Certificates submitted later cannot be considered for procedural reasons. In this case, you must take the medical language exam of the State Medical Chamber of Baden-Württemberg.
2. The exam is recognized as a medical language exam in another federal state.
   Currently, this applies to the following exams:
   • FaMed – Medical Language Exam (taken after May 13, 2024)
   • Telc German B2/C1 Medicine
   • ÖAK German Language Exam
   In these cases, a copy of the certificate is sufficient.

Important
We do not automatically verify which private exams are recognized in other federal states.
If you wish to submit an exam other than those listed above, please include clear proof (e.g., an official notice or written confirmation) that this exact exam is recognized as a medical language exam in another federal state.
Due to capacity reasons, we cannot respond to general or hypothetical inquiries about private exam providers.

We will register you for the specialised language test with the relevant chamber as soon as we have received all the necessary application documents. You can obtain information on how to make an appointment and on specific costs from the relevant chamber.

You can find information on the organisation and procedure of the specialist language test here:

For doctors
Baden-Württemberg Medical Association: Specialised language examination

For dentists
Baden-Württemberg Dental Association: Specialised language examination

For pharmacists
Baden-Württemberg State Chamber of Pharmacists: Foreign educational qualifications

For psychotherapists
Baden-Württemberg Chamber of Psychotherapists: Specialised language examination

Please contact the relevant chamber here. They will provide you with information on the allocation of appointments. The Regierungspräsidium Stuttgart is only responsible for registration. We therefore have no influence and no information on the dates for the examinations.

You can obtain the exact costs for the specialised language examination from the relevant chamber. As a rule, the fees are between around 250 and 450 euros.

The tests can be repeated without any limits. Any repeat attempts in the event of failure are scheduled directly via the chambers. It is not necessary to re-register for the specialised language examination via the Stuttgart Regional Council.

As a rule, the specialised language examination is valid for 3 years. An activity within the scope of a professional licence extends the validity of the specialist language examination by the period during which the activity is actually carried out.

The specialist language examination from another federal state is generally accepted if it was issued by a recognised examination institute in another federal state (e.g. Medical Association / Dentists' Association / Pharmacists' Association / Chamber of Psychotherapists).