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Procedure descriptions
Geriatric nurse, work educator, home and family carer, curative education assistant, remedial educator, youth and home educator, social worker, social education worker with foreign professional training - apply for permission to use the professional title
If you want to work in a specific nursing or social profession in Germany without restriction, you need a state licence.
The licence authorises you to use the corresponding professional title and to practise the profession.
You need a licence for the following professions:
- Nursing assistant
- Nursing assistant for the elderly
- Labour educator
- Home and family carer
- Curative education assistant
- Curative education carer
- Curative educator
- State-recognised educator, specialising in youth and home education
- Social worker
- Social pedagogue
Citizens of the European Union or the European Economic Area who only wish to work in Germany temporarily and occasionally do not require a state licence. However, they must register their activity with the competent authority. Further information can be obtained from the competent authority.
Get free advice on the recognition of your foreign professional qualification. You have a legal right to this counselling. The specially trained staff at the advice centres listed below will discuss with you what options are available with your qualification and what procedure seems to make the most sense. They will also support you in making an application and compiling the necessary documents.
Responsible authority
Stuttgart Regional Council
Details
Prerequisite
- Professional qualification: corresponding foreign professional qualification
- Personal qualification:
- personal reliability
- health suitability (except for social workers and social pedagogues)
- sufficient knowledge of the German language: at least level B2 of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages
Note: Your nationality, the origin of your qualification and your residence status are not relevant.
Procedure
The competent authority will check whether your qualification obtained abroad is equivalent to the corresponding German qualification.
It will recognise your qualification as equivalent if there are no significant differences between your foreign qualification and the corresponding German qualification.
In addition to your education, the competent authority will also take into account the professional experience you have gained in Germany or abroad. Any significant differences identified in the professional training can be compensated for by relevant professional experience.
You will receive the permit if your qualification is recognised as equivalent and the other requirements are also met.
If there are significant differences between your qualification and the German reference qualification, you can take part in an equalisation measure (examination or adaptation period) in order to achieve equivalence. You can obtain further information from the competent authority.
Deadlines
none
Required documents
- Application form or online application
- Registry office documents on name, place and date of birth (e.g. birth/marriage certificate, extract from the family register)
- Proof of citizenship: passport, identity card or residence certificate
- Current, complete curriculum vitae in tabular form with precise details of your educational and professional background
- Proof of education: Certificates, diploma, licence to practise, registration, overview of subjects and studies, specialist examination, specialist internship and so on
- Further proof of qualifications, if applicable
- Proof of relevant professional experience (e.g. job reference, work book, index)
- if you are resident
- in Germany: Certificate of your main residence in Baden-Württemberg. You can obtain this from the registration office responsible for your place of residence. (Copy of the registration);
- abroad: Proof that you intend to practise your profession in Baden-Württemberg. Suitable documents must be submitted for this purpose, e.g. confirmation from the future employer
- Proof of the German language skills required for practising the profession from a recognised language institute (can be submitted later)
The competent authority will request the following documents in the course of the procedure:
- For proof of personal reliability (not for social workers or social pedagogues):
- If you are resident in Germany: documents from your home country and from your country of training that prove your personal reliability, as well as a German certificate of good conduct for submission to an authority
- If you live abroad: Documents from your home country and your country of training that prove your personal reliability
- Current medical certificate stating that you are not unfit for the profession with date, stamp and signature of the doctor (not for social workers or social pedagogues)
The competent authority may request further documents.
Note: Please only send certified copies and never originals! A copy in the original language and a copy of a German translation are required for documents in a foreign language. Translations must be made by a publicly appointed or sworn interpreter or translator or by a publicly appointed or sworn interpreter or translator. Submitted documents cannot be returned.
Costs
20,00 EUR up to 250,00 EUR
Processing time
- Maximum four months
- Social worker, social pedagogue: maximum of three months.
The period begins with the receipt of the complete documents.
Miscellaneous
none
Legal basis
Richtlinie 2005/36/EG des Europäischen Parlaments und des Rates
Berufsqualifikationsfeststellungsgesetz Baden-Württemberg (BQFG-BW)
Pflegeberufegesetz (PflBG)
Ausbildungs- und Prüfungsverordnung Arbeitserziehung (APrOArbErz)
Heilerziehungspflegeverordnung (APrOHeilErzPfl)
Ausbildungs- und Prüfungsverordnung Heilerziehungsassistenz (APrOHeilErzAss)
Heilpädagogenverordnung (APrOHeilPäd)
Jugend- und Heimerzieherverordnung (APrOJuHeErz)
Landeshochschulgesetz (LHG)
Release note
machine generated, based on the German release by: Sozialministerium Baden-Württemberg, 28.11.2025