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Farrier; application for the equivalence of an examination certificate and state recognition

You can apply for a review of the equivalence of an examination certificate obtained abroad and for state recognition once the examination certificate has been equivalized.

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A farrier, officially called a farrier in Germany, is a specialist in the care (trimming) and shoeing of animal hooves with horseshoes or other materials. He also traditionally makes the horseshoes and horseshoe nails himself in the forging process or adapts the horseshoes to the individual shape of the hoof. The work also includes the treatment of injured and diseased hooves.

Anyone who has passed an examination to become a farrier outside the scope of the Farriery Act or abroad must first have their foreign examination certificate equated with the examination certificates under the German Farriery Ordinance in order to obtain state recognition as a farrier in Germany.

The legal requirements for the equivalence of the examination certificate and state recognition as a farrier are regulated in the Ordinance on the Equivalence of Examination Certificates Acquired Outside the Scope of the Farriery Act or Abroad with the Examination Certificates under the Farriery Ordinance and their Consideration in State Recognition (Farriery Recognition Ordinance - HufBeschlAnerkennV).

There are two different ways of checking whether your certificate is equivalent to the certificate of a state-certified farrier in Germany. As a rule, it depends on the examination certificate you have obtained or your training institution.

1. equalization of an examination certificate according to § 2 para. 2 HufBeschl-AnerkennV

  • You have an examination certificate from abroad which is listed in Annex 1 to § 2 Para. 2 of the HufBeschl-AnerkennV and
  • can prove that they have attended a regulated and relevant training program lasting at least two years.

or

2. equivalency of an examination certificate according to § 2 para. 4 HufBeschl-AnerkennV (if the acquired examination certificate is not listed in Annex 1 of the HufBeschl-AnerkennV)

  • You have an examination certificate or a professional qualification from abroad and
  • can prove that the examination certificate or professional qualification obtained there entitles you to take up and practice the profession of farrier in your country of origin and
  • an equivalence assessment carried out by the competent authority has established that the skills, knowledge and abilities demonstrated by the documents submitted are equivalent.

  • The following documents are required for state recognition after the examination certificate has been equated:
    • Proof of passing an examination in the field of farriery and horseshoeing (examination certificate/final documents)
    • Proof (not older than six months) of the reliability required for practicing the profession (certificate of good conduct or confirmation from the country in which the examination certificate was obtained)

In the case of farriery, the aim of equalizing a qualification is subsequent state recognition. In principle, two steps are required for this:

  1. Equating examination certificates obtained outside the scope of the Farriery Act or abroad with the examination certificates according to the Farriery Ordinance and taking them into account for state recognition
  2. Recognition as a state-certified farrier with the positive decision on the equivalence of examination certificates acquired abroad.

The application must be submitted electronically to the Government of Upper Bavaria.

The charging of costs (fees and expenses) in connection with the implementation of an equivalence procedure and (or) recognition procedure is governed by the Costs Act (KG).

If the equivalence of an examination certificate and (or) state recognition as a farrier in accordance with the HufBeschl-AnerkennV should be possible, the fee range is EUR 5 to EUR 25,000 (see Art. 6 para. 1 sentence 3 KG).

When determining the fee within this fee range, the administrative effort of all authorities and bodies involved in the official act and the significance of the matter for the parties involved must be taken into account.

If an application for the equivalence of an examination certificate and (or) state recognition as a farrier is to be rejected, the fee to be set for the official act applied for (see above) can be reduced to one tenth.

If an application is withdrawn or otherwise settled before the official act has been completed, a fee of between one tenth and three quarters of the fee to be set for the official act applied for shall be charged, depending on the progress of the case and the expenses. The minimum fee is EUR 15, but no more than the fee stipulated for the official act (see Art. 8 para. 2 KG).

The charging of expenses is governed by Art. 10 of the Costs Act. These may be incurred in particular in the case of a postal delivery order.

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The competent authority confirms receipt of the documents to the applicant within one month and informs the applicant whether any documents are missing for the decision.

A decision on the equivalence of the examination certificate and state recognition must be made no later than three months after submission of the complete documents. This deadline may be extended by one month in justified cases that are particularly difficult to assess. If there are doubts about the authenticity of the certificates and training certificates submitted or about the rights conferred by them, the competent authority or body in the country of origin may verify the authenticity or the rights conferred by them; the expiry of the deadline is suspended for this period.

Depending on the complexity of the case, the processing of an application usually takes between 1 and 3 months, in particularly difficult cases up to 4 months.

An objection may be lodged with the competent authority against a (negative) decision by the competent authority under federal state law on an application for equivalence of an examination certificate and (or) state recognition as a farrier. In addition, the applicant has the option of bringing an action before the locally competent administrative court.

Status: 08.12.2025
Editorially responsible for prodecure description: Bayerisches Staatsministerium für Ernährung, Landwirtschaft, Forsten und Tourismus
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