Fachsprachprüfung (medical language test)

German law requires every doctor applying for the Approbation to have the German language knowledge needed to practise. The Federal Medical Code (Bundesärzteordnung, section 3) sets this as a condition. In practice, the states test medical German through a Fachsprachprüfung, usually run by the state medical chamber (Ärztekammer).

The Ärztekammer Westfalen-Lippe describes its test as checking professional language skills in a medical context, oriented to level C1 of the CEFR. General German at B2 is expected as a minimum before you sit it.

At the Ärztekammer Westfalen-Lippe the test has three parts of 20 minutes each, 60 minutes in total:

1. Doctor-patient conversation: taking a history from a simulated patient.
2. Written documentation: writing up the case as a medical report.
3. Doctor-doctor conversation: presenting the patient to a colleague, including medical terminology.

The pharmacists' chamber in North Rhine uses a similar three-part, 60-minute structure, and other chambers follow comparable models, but details and dates differ, so check the page of the chamber responsible for you.

• Doctors with foreign qualifications applying for the Approbation or a temporary Berufserlaubnis, including those who later sit the Kenntnisprüfung.
• Dentists and pharmacists, through their own chambers. In North Rhine, the dental chamber charges €450 including retakes, and the pharmacists' chamber runs a 60-minute, C1-oriented test for €375 per attempt.
• Other health professions in some states. In Bavaria, the state office for nursing runs a Fachsprachenprüfung at B2 for health professions such as physiotherapy and midwifery, and accepts specialist language certificates recognised in other states.

Language rules for nurses differ by state, so ask the authority handling your recognition which certificates it accepts, for example telc Deutsch B1-B2 Pflege.

1. Apply for the Approbation to the authority in the state where you want to work, as part of the recognition procedure.
2. Reach at least B2 general German and prepare medical German to C1.
3. The authority registers you with the chamber. In North Rhine-Westphalia, the central recognition office (ZAG-aH) registers candidates for the Westfalen-Lippe test.
4. The chamber confirms your date. In Westfalen-Lippe tests usually run four times a month on a Thursday or Saturday.
5. The result goes to the authority as part of your file.

You cannot usually apply to the chamber directly. In North Rhine-Westphalia, the Bezirksregierung Münster handles eligibility and refers candidates for the medical, dental and pharmacy language tests, and the chamber then runs the exam.

Fees are set by each chamber. The Ärztekammer Westfalen-Lippe charges €400. You can repeat the test, and that chamber recommends a retake date between three and six months later.

• General certificates are not enough. A B2 or C1 certificate in general German does not replace the medical test for doctors.
• Documentation is one of the three parts, so practise writing structured reports in German.
• Different states, different rules. Apply in the state where you plan to work.

Our Fachsprachprüfung guide compares states and preparation routes.