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Psychotherapist; application for a license to practice

Psychotherapists can apply for a license to practice if they have completed their psychotherapeutic training in Bavaria or in an EU member state, an EEA member state or in Switzerland and wish to practice their profession in Bavaria.

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Anyone wishing to work as a psychotherapist in Germany requires a special professional license - the Approbation. Training to become a psychotherapist is acquired as part of a Bachelor's or Master's degree course at a university and concludes with a state examination, the psychotherapeutic examination.

In Bavaria, the license to practice is issued by the government of Upper Bavaria if you have completed your psychotherapeutic training at a university in Bavaria.

Licensure is linked to various requirements relating to the successful completion of training as a psychotherapist and personal and health suitability for practicing the profession.

  • Birth certificate/parentage certificate or extract from the parents' family register
    (certified copy)
  • if the name used differs from that on the birth certificate: proof of a change of name (e.g. marriage certificate)
    (certified copy)
  • valid proof of identity (e.g. passport)
    (certified copy)
  • complete and personally signed curriculum vitae

    (tabular and chronological list of the training courses completed and the relevant gainful activities pursued, stating the periods (month/year) and enclosing the relevant supporting documents)

  • medical certificate (original)

    This must be issued and signed by a general practitioner or internist practicing in Germany or another state party to the Agreement on the European Economic Area or in Switzerland and bear a practice or clinic stamp. If the practice or clinic stamp is not available in German, a German translation of the stamp is required.

  • Certificate of good conduct of document type "O
    • If the applicant has already stayed in Germany for more than six months in the past or has had or still has a residence in Germany.
    • In Germany, this must be applied for at the registration office of the place of residence, stating the purpose "Approbation as a psychotherapist". The certificate of good conduct is sent directly to the competent authority by the Federal Office of Justice.
  • Proof of your completed education (certified copy)
    • In the case of training in Bavaria, this is sent directly to the Berufszulassungsstelle by the Landesprüfungsamt.
    • In the case of training in an EU member state, an EEA member state or in Switzerland: proof of training such as diploma or, if applicable, further country-specific proof in accordance with Annex 5 of Directive 2005/36/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 7 September 2005 on the recognition of professional qualifications.
  • for training abroad: if applicable, certificate of good standing (certified copy)

    Required from all countries where the health professional activity has already been practiced.

  • for training abroad: proof of the language skills required for practicing the profession

    (Proof can be provided in different ways. You can find more information on this under "Special instructions").

A fee of EUR 200 for training in Germany or EUR 250 to 500 for training in another EU member state must be paid for the license to practice.

The application for approval is not subject to a time limit.

The granting of a license to practice medicine or a professional permit requires, among other things, that you have the necessary knowledge of the German language to practice your profession. The 87th Conference of Health Ministers in 2014 agreed in a key points paper on the requirements for knowledge of the German language and how this knowledge can be demonstrated. The following applies:

1. the required German language skills are deemed to be proven for applicants for whom the licensing authority determines without doubt that German is spoken and written fluently (e.g. as a native language) or that the completion of medical, dental, pharmaceutical or psychotherapeutic training (proof of training) was obtained in German.

2. proof of the required German language skills is generally deemed to have been provided if the applicant has completed at least ten years of general schooling at a German-speaking school or has completed at least three years of vocational training in German.

3. if the proof is not deemed to have been provided in accordance with 1. or 2. above, the language skills required for exercising the profession are deemed to have been provided by submitting a certificate from an ALTE-certified language institute at level B2 of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR) (certified copy).

4. specialist language tests taken at the Chamber of Psychotherapists or the competent authority of another country, as well as special specialist language tests from other examination institutions, are recognized if they are suitable to prove the language skills required to practice the profession. Whether this requirement is met in individual cases must be clarified in advance with the competent professional licensing office.

Administrative court action

Status: 22.02.2025
Editorial responsibility Bayerisches Staatsministerium für Gesundheit, Pflege und Prävention
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