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Veterinarian; application for a license to practice medicine for training in Germany

Veterinarians can apply for a license to practice if they have completed their veterinary training in Germany and wish to practice veterinary medicine in Bavaria.

Online services & Forms

Online services

  • Antrag auf Erteilung einer Approbation

    You can apply online to the relevant government for a license to practice or permission to temporarily practice an academic medical profession.

    Service note: If you have already submitted an online application and have questions, you can contact the ZAABY - Zentrale Anerkennungsstelle für Approbationsberufe in Bayern (info.ZAABY@reg-ob.bayern.de). Please note that ZAABY is currently receiving a large number of applications and inquiries. It may therefore take some time to process your request, so please bear with us.

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Procedure details

If you want to work as a veterinarian in Germany after studying veterinary medicine, you need a special professional license - a license to practice medicine.

After successfully completing your studies, you can apply for a license to practice as a veterinarian. This license allows you to practice the profession of veterinarian in Germany independently and on your own responsibility.

You will receive a license to practice for an unlimited period of time. It is valid for the entire Federal Republic of Germany.

Your license to practice can be revoked if you are no longer reliable to practice the profession. This may include violating professional regulations or committing a criminal offense. Your license can also be revoked if you have health problems relevant to the practice of the veterinary profession.

You will receive your license to practice as a veterinarian under the following conditions:

  • You have completed the prescribed veterinary training and passed the state examination.
  • You have completed your professional training in Germany.
  • You have not been guilty of any conduct that makes you unworthy or unreliable to practise the profession.
  • You are medically fit to practise the profession.
  • You have the necessary knowledge of the German language to practice your 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 internal medicine practitioner established in Germany or another signatory state to the Agreement on the European Economic Area or in Switzerland and stamped with a practice or clinic stamp. If the practice or clinic stamp is not in German, a German translation of the stamp is required.

  • Certificate of good conduct of document type "O"
    • If the applicant has already spent more than six months in Germany in the past or has had or still has a place of 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 veterinarian". The certificate of good conduct will be sent directly to the competent authority by the Federal Office of Justice.
  • Proof of impunity
    • Submission of criminal record extracts from all countries outside Germany in which the applicant has resided for more than six months.
    • The criminal record extracts must not be older than three months when the application is received.
    • Certified copies of these extracts must be submitted.
    • In addition, a certificate of good conduct of document type "O" if the applicant has already spent more than six months in Germany in the past or has had or still has a place of residence in Germany (see above).
  • Proof of your completed training (certified copy, will be sent directly to the professional licensing office by the State Examination Office for training in Bavaria).
    • 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.

You must submit the application for a license with the required documents to the competent authority.

A fee of EUR 200 must be paid for the license.

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

Administrative court action

Status: 08.12.2025
Editorially responsible for prodecure description: Bayerisches Staatsministerium für Gesundheit, Pflege und Prävention
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