Erlaubnis zum Führen der Berufsbezeichnung Hebamme durch automatische Anerkennung Erteilung

Would you like to work as a midwife in Germany? Then you need a state permit. To do this, you must have your foreign professional qualification recognized. Foreign professional qualifications can be automatically recognized under certain conditions.

The profession of midwife is regulated in Germany. This means that in order to work as a midwife in Germany, you need a state license. With this permit, you can use the professional title "midwife" and work in the profession.

You can also obtain a state permit from the competent authority in Germany if you have a professional qualification from abroad. In order to obtain the permit, you must have your foreign professional qualification recognized.

In the recognition procedure, the competent authority compares your professional qualification from abroad with the German professional qualification and checks its equivalence. In some cases, your professional qualification can be recognized automatically. This means that no equivalence check is carried out. It is assumed that the training is equivalent.

As a rule, your professional qualification is automatically recognized if you obtained your professional qualification in a country of the European Union (EU), the European Economic Area (EEA) or Switzerland. However, there may be exceptions to this rule. This depends on the country in which you completed your training and when.

There may be other cases in which your professional qualification is automatically recognized. The competent authority will inform you. If your professional qualification is not automatically recognized, other regulations apply.

You must also meet other requirements for the permit to be issued. Further requirements include, for example, sufficient German language skills and health suitability.
You can also apply for the procedure from abroad.

• The responsible office will tell you which documents you need to submit. Important documents are generally
  • Proof of identity (identity card or passport)
  • Marriage certificate (if your name has changed due to marriage)
  • Curriculum vitae
  • Proof of your professional qualifications (e.g. certificates, professional certificate)
  • Proof of training
  • Proof of your relevant professional experience as a midwife
  • Proof of other relevant knowledge for working as a midwife
  • Perhaps: You do not yet live or work in the EU, the EEA or Switzerland? Then you must provide proof: You want to work in the profession in Germany. Proof can be, for example, applications for a job, invitations to interviews or personal statements
• You only need to submit the following documents if your professional qualification originates from the EU or the EEA and was completed before a certain date (cut-off date). The competent authority will inform you:

  Certificate of conformity

  • If no certificate of conformity is available:
  • Proof of the content and duration of your training (e.g. list of subjects and grades, study book, diploma supplement, transcript of records)
  • Certificate: You must have worked legally and continuously as a midwife for at least three years during the last five years before the certificate is issued. In some cases, you only need to provide evidence of two years. This depends on your training. The competent authority will inform you.
• You usually hand in these documents later. The responsible office will inform you when you should hand in the documents:
  • Proof of your personal suitability: criminal record extract or certificate of good conduct from your country of origin. The certificate must not be older than 3 months at the time of application.
  • Proof of your health suitability: Medical certificate. The certificate must not be older than 3 months at the time of application.
  • Proof of your German language skills: Language certificate
• The responsible office will tell you which documents you need to submit as a simple copy, a certified copy or the original.

• You have a professional qualification as a midwife, which is automatically recognized.
• You want to work as a midwife in Germany.
• Personal suitability: You are reliable to work as a midwife and have no criminal record.
• Health suitability: You are mentally and physically fit to work as a midwife.
• You have German language skills at the required level. This is normally language level B2 according to the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR).

Application
You submit an application to the competent authority for permission to use the professional title "midwife".
You submit the application online or with the scanned documents in pdf format to the competent authority by e-mail.
You can submit an application if you do not yet live in Germany.


Examination of the application by the competent authority
The competent authority will check whether you meet all the requirements for being granted permission to use the professional title "midwife". One requirement is that your professional qualification is recognized.

Automatic recognition
There are various cases in which a professional qualification can be automatically recognized. As a rule, this applies if you have acquired your professional qualification in a member state of the EU, the EEA or Switzerland. The competent authority will inform you about the possibilities for automatic recognition. In the case of automatic recognition, the equivalence of your professional qualification is not checked individually. This means that if you also meet all other requirements (reliability, health suitability, German language skills), you will receive permission to use the professional title "midwife".

Certificate of conformity for professional qualifications acquired before the country of training joined the EU/EEA:
Professional qualifications from the EU or EEA can also be automatically recognized if they were started before the EU/EEA accession of your country of training (or do not correspond to the legal designations). To do this, you must submit a certificate from the competent authority in your country of training stating that your professional qualification meets the minimum EU standards ("certificate of conformity"). If your professional qualification does not meet the minimum standards, you must provide proof of your professional experience. You must have worked as a midwife in your country of origin for 3 consecutive years in the 5 years prior to submitting your application. This must be confirmed by the authorities in your country of origin.

If your professional qualification is automatically recognized, you must meet the other requirements. You will then receive permission to use the professional title "midwife".

Partial access to the profession for professional qualifications from the EU, EEA or Switzerland
Your professional qualification is not equivalent and the differences are too great? Then you may be able to work in the profession with partial access to the profession. With partial access to the profession, you can also work as a midwife without recognition. There are certain requirements for this. Your professional qualification must include at least one so-called reserved activity of the German professional qualification of a midwife. Only specially trained persons may carry out reserved activities.
You must also provide proof: You are personally suitable, in good health and have the required knowledge of German.

With partial access to the profession, you may only carry out certain tasks as a midwife. You apply for partial access to the profession at the competent authority.

Freedom to provide services
Do you only want to provide services in Germany occasionally and for a short period of time? Then you do not usually need a state permit. You must fulfill these requirements:

• You must be established in another EU or EEA member state or in Switzerland.
• You must provide proof of your professional qualification.
• You must provide proof of German language skills at the required level.
• You must prove your personal suitability.
• You must notify the competent authority of your activity in writing.

The competent authority will inform you.

Notice of equivalence
The equivalence assessment (recognition procedure) is also carried out during the permit procedure. You can apply for a separate decision on the result of the assessment.

Procedure for ethnic German repatriates
As an ethnic German repatriate, you can go through the recognition procedure either in accordance with the laws mentioned here or in accordance with the Federal Expellees Act. You can decide for yourself. The responsible office will advise you on which procedure is right for you.

Using the (male) professional title "maternity nurse"
Until the end of 2024, you can also apply for the (male) professional title "maternity nurse". The regulations of the Midwives Act as amended until December 31, 2019 will then apply. Your competent authority will inform you about the details.

Legal remedy
You can take legal action against the decision of the competent authority within a certain period of time (for example, by lodging an objection). The decision will then be reviewed. Details can be found in the information on legal remedies at the end of your decision. We recommend that you first speak to the competent authority before taking legal action against the decision.