Pharmacist to Germany: the Approbation path (Kenntnisprüfung, Fachsprachprüfung, Berufserlaubnis)

The path, step by step

To work as a pharmacist (Apotheker/Apothekerin) in Germany you need the Approbation, the full licence under the Federal Pharmacists Act (§ 4 BApO). For a degree from outside the EU, EEA and Switzerland the usual order is:

1. Choose your state and find its authority

   You apply to the authority of the state where you will live or work, not to a national office. Examples: Berlin, the Landesamt für Gesundheit und Soziales (LAGeSo); Baden-Württemberg, Regierungspräsidium Stuttgart (Referat 98); Hamburg, the Behörde für Gesundheit, Soziales und Integration (Landesprüfungsamt für Heilberufe), with applications through the city's single point of contact (Einheitlicher Ansprechpartner). See the table of examples below.

2. Learn German to B2 and collect your documents

   Every state authority we checked (Berlin, Baden-Württemberg, Hamburg, Bremen) asks for general German at B2 and a specialist language exam at C1 (next step). Gather your degree, transcripts, licence, certificate of good standing, CV, ID and certified translations early: several documents must be no more than three months old when you apply.

3. Apply for the Approbation; the authority checks equivalence

   The authority compares your training with the German pharmacy degree (Gleichwertigkeitsprüfung). Some states have your degree assessed by the ZAB, Germany's Central Office for Foreign Education; Hamburg says you generally need a ZAB evaluation. If there are essential differences that your work experience or other learning does not make up for, you must prove your knowledge in an exam. You also take that exam if the comparison could only be made with unreasonable effort because documents you cannot obtain are missing (§ 4(3) BApO).

4. Pass the specialist language exam (C1)

   The Fachsprachprüfung (also called Fachsprachenprüfung or Fachsprachentest) checks the pharmacy German you need at work, at level C1. Who runs it differs by state: in Berlin it is the Apothekerkammer Berlin, the state pharmacists' chamber.

5. Consider a Berufserlaubnis while you prepare

   A temporary permit under § 11 BApO lets you work for a limited time without the Approbation. It is revocable, can be limited to certain tasks and workplaces, and lasts at most two years in total (longer only in exceptional individual cases or for reasons of medicine supply). States describe it as supervised work: Baden-Württemberg says it allows only dependent, non-managerial work under supervision, and Bremen says work under the supervision of a pharmacist with an Approbation, after B2 German and the C1 specialist language exam.

6. Pass the oral Kenntnisprüfung (if required)

   The knowledge exam under § 22d AAppO is oral, takes place on one day and lasts 30 to 60 minutes per candidate. It covers Pharmazeutische Praxis (pharmacy practice) and Spezielle Rechtsgebiete für Apotheker (pharmacy law), plus any subject where the authority found essential differences. It can be repeated twice.

7. Receive the Approbation

   Once equivalence is confirmed or the Kenntnisprüfung is passed, and the language, reliability and health requirements of § 4 BApO are met, the state grants the Approbation. Fees vary by state (examples below).

Approbation is not PTA

The Approbation is the licence to practise as a pharmacist (Apotheker). PTA (pharmazeutisch-technische Assistentin or Assistent) is a different, non-academic profession with its own training and its own state exam. Passing the PTA exam does not lead to the Approbation, and a foreign pharmacist aiming for the Approbation does not need it.

MediHelp has a German PTA question bank. It prepares PTA trainees for the PTA state exam only; it is not preparation for the Kenntnisprüfung or the Fachsprachprüfung.

State authorities: examples

There is no national office. These are examples we checked; for any other state, find the authority on Anerkennung in Deutschland.

Language requirements

• General German at B2 (CEFR). Berlin accepts B2 certificates from telc, TestDaF or the Goethe-Institut that are no more than three years old.
• Specialist pharmacy German at C1: the Fachsprachprüfung. Passing it is a condition for the Approbation in the states we checked.
• The law itself only says you need the German needed for the job (§ 4 BApO); the B2 and C1 levels come from the states. Check your state's rules, including any exemptions: Hamburg, for example, lists exemptions for German native speakers, training completed in German and 10 years of school in German.

The Kenntnisprüfung in detail

• Oral only, on one day: there is no written or multiple-choice part.
• 30 to 60 minutes per candidate, usually alone; up to four candidates may be examined together.
• Held in German by a state examination commission: a chair and two further members.
• Subjects: Pharmazeutische Praxis and Spezielle Rechtsgebiete für Apotheker, plus a subject where your training differed.
• Offered at least twice a year; each state sets its own dates. There is no national exam date.
• You are invited at least seven days before the exam, and you may repeat it twice.

Source: § 22d Approbationsordnung für Apotheker.

Documents checklist

Based on the Berlin and Bremen lists. Your state's list is the one that counts.

• Application form for a degree from a third country, and proof that the state is responsible (for example a job offer or residence there).
• Signed and dated CV in table form; passport or ID; birth certificate (and marriage certificate if your name changed).
• Pharmacy degree, transcripts showing the content and length of your studies, and your licence to practise.
• Certificate of good standing from the authority where you practised, and police clearance certificates (Germany and home country), usually not older than three months.
• A medical certificate from a doctor licensed in Germany, not older than three months.
• Certified copies and translations by publicly appointed or authorised translators.
• Language certificates (B2, and later the C1 specialist exam).

A realistic timeline

Estimate, not an official figure: for most people the language levels take longest. Starting German early, while you collect documents, shortens the whole process.

How to prepare

• German drug names and brands: learn the German trade names of the medicines you already know, and pharmacy terms for counselling.
• Pharmacy law: Spezielle Rechtsgebiete für Apotheker is a Kenntnisprüfung subject, so start with the basics of the Apothekenbetriebsordnung (ApBetrO), the rules for running a pharmacy.
• Practise speaking: both the Fachsprachprüfung and the Kenntnisprüfung are oral, so rehearse counselling conversations out loud.
• Ask your state's pharmacists' chamber and recognition advice services (such as IQ Netzwerk or ZSBA) about preparation courses.