Germany-wide overview: Where is a medical language examination (»Fachsprachenprüfung«) required by the federal state Medical Association?

The language requirements for the medical profession are high in order to guarantee the quality of medical care. Meanwhile, almost all federal states of Germany have commissioned the state Medical Associations to carry out a medical language examination (»Fachsprachenprüfung«) for physicians coming from abroad. In 2012 the first medical language test was developed and realised by the Rhineland-Palatinate Medical Association, and now all federal Medical Associations have established a nationwide offer.

Many doctors who apply for a license to practise medicine in Germany (»Approbation«) do not know which certificates are officially recognised. Some applicants pay a lot of money and invest a lot of time in the hope of »bypassing« the medical language examinations in front of the state Medical Associations, which are considered to be challenging. Then they acquire certificates and learn afterwards that these are not accepted by the approval authorities in their federal state.

It is very important to ask the licensing authority in your federal state which certificates are accepted. It is always helpful to consult the website of the responsible approval authority.

Here is the current overview 2022.

  • Baden-Wuerttemberg
    Medical language examination by the Medical Association of the State of Baden-Württemberg required
  • Bavaria
    Medical language examination by the Bavarian Medical Association required
  • Berlin
    Medical language examination by the Berlin Medical Association required
  • Brandenburg
    Medical language examination by the Brandenburg Medical Association required
  • Bremen
    Medical language examination by the Medical Association of Bremen required
  • Hamburg
    Medical language examination by the Hamburg Medical Association required
  • Hesse
    Medical language examination of any national Medical Association or recognised language certificate, minimum level B2 / C1
  • Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania
    Medical language examination by the Medical Association of the State of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania required
  • Lower Saxony
    Medical language examination by the Medical Association of Lower Saxony required
  • North Rhine-Westphalia
    Medical language examination by the North Rhine Medical Association or the Westphalia-Lippe Medical Association required
  • Rhineland-Palatinate
    Medical language examination by the Rheinhessen District Medical Association required
  • Saarland
    Medical language examination of any federal state Medical Association or recognised language certificate, minimum level B2 / C1
  • Saxons
    Medical language examination by the Medical Association of the State of Saxony required
  • Saxony-Anhalt
    Medical language examination by the Saxony-Anhalt Medical Association required
  • Schleswig-Holstein
    Medical language examination by the federal State Medical Association of Schleswig-Holstein required, taken in conjunction with the federal State Medical Association of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania
  • Thuringia
    Medical language examination by the Medical Association of Thuringia required

In all federal states of Germany, a general language examination certificate level B2 (GER) from a well-respected language institute must be submitted before the medical language examination.

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