Recognition of qualifications as a teacher

The recognition office for domestic and foreign teaching qualifications issues recognitions and checks the equivalence of your qualification. The procedure is usually subject to a fee. You can find more information in the information brochure of the Recognition Office.

The application – possibilities and ways

You can submit your application for recognition of your foreign qualification as a teacher from abroad if you can prove a legitimate interest, such as the prospect of employment at a school in Berlin. Once you have submitted the application with all the necessary documents, you will receive a written notification of recognition.

Please do not send your application documents by email, instead use the service of the Single Point of Contact Berlin to submit your application and documents.

non-German Documents

All documents that are not written in German must additionally be supported by a German translation, the documents under no. 05, no. 08 and no. 11 by a sworn translator.

Documents that are not written in Latin script

Translations of foreign documents that are not written in Latin script must additionally contain a transliteration according to the ISO standard.

Format requirements for the online application

Each document must be uploaded as an individual document in PDF or JPEG format. Please do not submit merged files with all documents in one file, as this makes the administrative process more difficult and lengthy.

Fees and processing times

The processing times are generally as follows:

You have two options for submitting your application:

• Brief assessment notice – a fee of 55.00 euros is charged for this.
• Detailed assessment – a fee of 222.00 euros will be charged for this.

If the examination of your application shows that you do not have a completed qualification as a teacher, a fee of 55.00 euros will be charged.

The recognition procedure will determine whether the training you have provided is actually a completed training programme as a teacher (short notification and detailed notification).

If the Accreditation Office confirms that you have completed your teacher training, you can apply for a position as a substitute teacher, as a native speaker teacher at bilingual schools or for native language teaching, as well as for advertised positions as a “teacher under the law of the home country”.

If you apply for the detailed assessment notification, it will also be checked whether the foreign qualification as a teacher corresponds to the training of teachers in Berlin to such an extent that it can be equated with a Berlin teaching post.

If there are significant differences in training that do not allow immediate recognition of equivalence with a Berlin teaching post, conditions will be imposed which you must fulfil before before full equivalence can be granted, e.g. completion of an adaptation course. You can find more information on differences in training and compensation options in the FAQ list and in the information brochure on this page.

Once you have been granted equal status you can be employed permanently at a public school in Berlin, provided you can prove German language skills at level C 2 of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR) when you are hired.

At the latest when you are hired for an indefinite period in the Berlin school service, you must prove that you have German language skills at level C 2 of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR).

You can find various ways of acquiring this language knowledge in the flyer “Language Skills and Pathways”.

If you still have to compensate for educational differences, it is advisable to acquire the language skills by the start of the school-practical adaptation course or the assessment test. This will increase your chances of successfully completing your recognition procedure.

The Accreditation Office offers a one-off simplified application procedure to persons who can prove special protection status in accordance with § 24 of the Residence Act.

As in the regular procedure, please submit your application online via the service portal Berlin.

The documents to be submitted differ from the regular documents and formal requirements as follows:

• The application procedure is free of charge.
• Completeness of the documents is not required, but a copy/scan or photo of the diploma should be available if possible. In addition, the signature of a written declaration in German and, if possible, the respective national language on the correctness of the information provided and the authenticity of the documents submitted is required.
• Translations and transliterations should be submitted if possible. The translation of the certificate by a sworn translator is not required, but desirable. Typewritten documents are also accepted.
• Applications are not subject to the usual processing time.
• Proof of a language placement test or certificate of participation in a German course (e.g. from a VHS) is required in order to be able to make a decision on the type of decision (short or detailed assessment). For resource reasons, a detailed assessment is only issued in this procedure if language skills of at least C 1 level are proven in this step. For persons with lower language skills, a brief assessment is issued.

Due to the different regulations to the regular procedure, the validity of the notifications issued in this simplified procedure is limited to a maximum of three years and contain a reservation indicating that the information provided is incomplete. It is possible to extend the validity of the notification as part of the regular procedure and for a fee.

The (Second) State Examination for a teaching profession is generally recognised and entitles you to work in Berlin as a teacher at public schools.

The First State Examination for a teaching profession or a “Master of Education” degree obtained in a federal state other than Berlin generally give you access to the preparatory service. Only in exceptional cases can access not be granted, for example if the subjects are not trained in Berlin.

The competent application office decides on admission to the preparatory service.