Professional recognition of educators and socio-educational assistants

If you have acquired a professional qualification in the field of early childhood education abroad and would like to work in a day care centre in Baden-Württemberg, we can check the recognition of a comparable German reference profession in the field of educators and social pedagogical assistants.

If we are not responsible for your concerns, please contact one of the institutions listed on the homepage under "Other competent bodies for other recognition procedures".

Please send us the following documents by post or by e-mail as a PDF attachment:

1. Fully completed and signed application form.

A complete list of school and university education as well as of all professional activities is important for processing. Therefore, please complete the form in full, sign it and send it to us.

1. Copy of foreign passport or, in the case of German citizenship, copy of current identity card
2. If applicable, proof of name changes (e.g. marriage certificate, divorce certifi­cate) as a copy of the original with a copy of the translation
3. Written curriculum vitae with detailed information on educational and professi­onal background and all previous jobs in the pedagogical field
4. If third parties are to receive information about the current application or if correspondence is to be conducted with third parties, a corresponding power of attorney is required (Vollmacht). 
5. Degree certificate/diploma/professional examination (Professional licence or Professional permit) as copies of the Originals with copies of the official trans- lations. English and French-Ianguage documents do not require translation.
6. Subject and grade overviews as copies of the Originals with copies of the offi- cial translations. English and French-Ianguage documents do not require translation.
7. Proof of the type and duration of the relevant practical activities as copies of the Originals with copies of the translations. Documents in English and French do not require translation.

In some cases, further documents are required, which we will then request separately.

Important: The submitted documents will not be returned! Therefore, please do not send us any Originals!

Please do not send cash! If fees are due, you will receive the Information required for the bank transfer with the certificate of recognition.

Note: Processing times of several months must be expected in some cases. Please refrain from enquiring about the processing status.

Delivery of the documents

You can send your documents to our postal address at the Stuttgart Regional Coun­cil:
Regierungspräsidium Stuttgart
Referat 71 - Zeugnisanerkennungsstelle
Ruppmannstraße 21
70565 Stuttgart

Digital application via Service-BW
You can submit all the necessary documents to us digitally via the Service-BW website.

A fee of 100 euros will be charged for recognition at the end of the procedure. You will re­ceive a letter with the payment information together with the certificate of recognition. The fee can only be paid by bank transfer, cash payment is not possible.

If you have sent us current proof of income for the purpose of checking the exemption from the fee due to low family income, we will check this against the seizure exemption limits ap­plicable at the time in accordance with the German Code of Civil Procedure.

• EU Recognition Directive 2005/36/EC of 7 September 2005
• Act on the Recognition of Foreign Professional Qualifications in Baden-Württem­berg (Baden-Württemberg State Recognition Act - LAnGBW)
• Law on the care and support of children in kindergartens, other day facilities and child day care (Child Day Care Act - KiTaG) of 19 March 2009, in the currently valid version
• Training and examination regulations for the state-recognised training of educa- tors / social education assistants in Baden-Württemberg in the current Version

If you have any further questions, you can reach us via this contact form, by telephone on 0711 904-17170, or by e-mail at anerkennungsstelle@rps.bwl.de

The postal address is:
Regierungspräsidium Stuttgart
Referat 71 - Zeugnisanerkennungsstelle
Ruppmannstraße 21
70565 Stuttgart

One option for acquiring the equivalence certificate, which is available to the applicant is the so-called "adaptation period". We define an adaptation period as a practical activity in a socio-educational institution in the professional field of an educator or socio-educational assistant, comparable to the professional internship at the end of training for educators or socio-educational assistants in Baden-Württemberg.

The difference to the professional internship is that the applicants are no longer in a training relationship, but already have basic professional competences. Therefore, the adaptation period does not have to be accompanied or examined by a specialised school for social pedagogy.

The adaptation period can be completed as part of a full-time or part-time job. If you work part-time, the duration of the adaptation period increases accordingly.

With regard to the question of counting towards the minimum staffing ratio and thus the remuneration of the activity, the requirements of the Baden-Württemberg Municipal Association for Youth and Social Affairs for the operating licence of daycare facilities are applicable.
This confirms that the provider can decide to what extent the applicant can be counted as a specialist towards the minimum staffing ratio.

It is important that experienced employees of the organisation observe, accompany and advise applicants in their educational work.

Another option for obtaining an equivalence assessment is the so-called "aptitude test". The aptitude test is taken in the form of a modified external school examination for state- recognised nursery school teachers and covers the following parts of the examination:

1. written examination
   - Field of action "Shaping education and care"
2. oral examination
   - Field of action "Living difference and diversity": Learning area "Understanding and appreciating cultural similarities and diffe- rences"
   - Field of action "Shaping Cooperation and developing quality": Learning fiefds "Working with parents I and II"
3. practical examination
   - six weeks of relevant work experience in an extracurricular educational insti- tution in the professional field of an educator (e.g. in a creche or Kindergarten or an after-school care centre for school children or a leisure facility for young people);
   - within this period, the passing of a practical educational examination (in accordance with § 38 para. 1 no. 5 of the ErzVO)

Sufficient German language skills are required for the aptitude test. These must be based on the fact that an educator has to fulfil extracurricular educational, training and care tasks for children and young people between the ages of 0 and 18 and management tasks in educational institutions.

Registration for the aptitude test must be submitted to a vocational school for social pe­dagogy by 1 October of each year. The school in question is requested to send the documents and the results of the aptitude test to the
Regierungspräsidium Stuttgart
Ref. 71 - Zeugnisanerkennungsstelle
Postfach 103642
​​​​​​​70031 Stuttgart