Medical studies - recognition of professional qualifications acquired
Doctors from third countries, EU, EEA and Switzerland
The legal basis for practising medicine is the Federal Medical Order (BÄO). Anyone wishing to obtain a licence to practise medicine must have completed medical training, and also meet the personal requirements for this profession.
A licence to practise medicine is required for permanent practice. Please submit the documents according to the application by post.
Please note that the documents sent (including, for example, checking the application documents for completeness) can only be processed if the Stuttgart Regional Council is responsible for the case submitted.
To specify the local jurisdiction, please send suitable proof, for example the statement of a potential employer in Baden-Württemberg (hospital, clinic or doctor's practice) that there is an interest in your employment in the case of the licence to practise medicine. If personal circumstances are asserted (for example, close relatives in Baden-Württemberg), suitable documents must also be submitted from which this can be understood.
Please note that all applications for a licence to practise medicine which were previously processed in another federal state or if you are/were resident in another federal state must now include a definite job offer. The documents to be submitted must be accompanied by the promise of a position subject to the granting of the licence to practise medicine to the applicant.
Provisional and time-limited degree certificates issued by universities are not sufficient for the granting of the German licence to practise medicine.
Application for the granting of a licence to practise medicine with a professional qualification acquired in another EU country (pdf, 39 KB) (german language)
Enclosure 2 - Medical certificate (pdf, 25 KB) (german language)
According to the Federal Medical Order (Bundesärzteordnung, BÄO), the equivalence of the foreign medical studies with the current German medical studies is a prerequisite for the granting of the licence to practise medicine. The licence to practise medicine is to be granted - upon proof of the other prerequisites such as fully completed medical training, health suitability, absence of criminal convictions, sufficient German language skills - if proof is provided of equivalent studies
The curriculum for the determination of equivalence via an expert opinion must be submitted in the original (usually with a German translation).
This original - like all other submitted documents - remains with the authority after the conclusion of the procedure.
All other documents to be submitted must be an officially certified copy (of the original).
An administrative fee is charged for application withdrawals.
Contact
Recognition of foreign qualifications in the health sector
Regierungspräsidium Stuttgart
Department 95.2
Landesanerkennungsstelle für Gesundheitsberufe (LAfG BW)
Ruppmannstraße 21
70565 Stuttgart
Please submit application documents by post only.
Contact form
FAQ Academic Health Professions (in german)
Please note: Longer processing times
We ask for your understanding that due to the continous increase in applications, longer processing times within the legal deadlines must be expected. In order to ensure that applications are processed as quickly as possible, it is currently not possible to reach the case workers by telephone.
General enquiries about the current state of processing cannot be answered. If you have specific questions about an application that has already been submitted, please send an e-mail to the responsible clerk, stating your name, date of birth and job title as well as a call-back number.