FAQ - Recognition of qualifications as a teacher

If you want to work as a teacher in the public education sector in Berlin, but have acquired your professional qualification as a teacher outside of Germany, you will need to have your professional qualification recognised. The recognition is a notification confirming that you have a completed qualification as a teacher in the country in which you obtained your qualification. A brief assessment notificaton is sufficient for this.

For permanent employment, an equivalence assessment of your qualification compared to the corresponding teaching qualification in Berlin is usually also required. On request, the Accreditation Office for Teacher Qualifications will also check the equivalence of your qualification and assess the equivalence or any differences in training. If there are significant differences in training, conditions will be imposed which you must fulfil before you can receive recognition of equivalence. If there are no differences in training or if these have already been compensated for, you will receive a notification of equivalence.

Yes, even with a brief assessment notification confirming that you are qualified as a teacher, it is possible to apply 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 according to the law of the home country”.

You can also apply for a teaching position in other federal states once you have achieved the same status as a teacher in Berlin. The respective competent office of the other federal state decides whether it is possible to be employed in the teaching profession in another federal state.

Since the training of teachers can differ from federal state to federal state (different teaching professions and subjects), you should submit your application in the federal state in which you wish to work as a teacher.

Differences in training may exist, for example, if

• study and examination achievements in a second teaching subject are not proven to a sufficient extent or are completely missing (in Germany, teacher training always takes place in at least two teaching subjects),
• there is no evidence of practical school training comparable to the Berlin preparatory service with final state examination for a teaching post.

The foreign teaching qualification is assigned to a Berlin teaching post as part of the recognition procedure by the Accreditation Office. The decisive factor is the type of school or grade level for which the teaching qualification was acquired in the country of origin. You can only choose for which teaching post you wish to achieve equivalence, if your qualification can be assigned to several teaching posts in Berlin.

The procedure for the recognition of foreign teacher training is regulated by the Gesetz zur Anerkennung und Gleichstellung ausländischer Lehrkräftequalifikationen (Lehrkräftequalifikationsfeststellungsgesetz Berlin – LQFG Bln)

The organisation of the adaptation course and the aptitude examination is regulated in the Verordnung über den Anpassungslehrgang und die Eignungsprüfung nach dem Lehrkräftequalifikationsfeststellungsgesetz Berlin (Ausgleichsmaßnahmenverordnung – AusglMV).

For people who started their adaptation course before the 2024/25 school year still applies the Gesetz zur Umsetzung der Richtlinien 89/48/EWG, 92/51/EWG und 2001/19/EG für Lehrerberufe (EG-Richtlinienverordnung für Lehrerberufe – EG-RL-LehrVO)

As a rule, the detailed assessment notification is the right one, as an equivalence assessment is only carried out in the detailed assessment notification. If no differences in training are found, you can be immediately equated with a Berlin teaching post. If there are differences in training, the detailed assessment notification will tell you what you need to do to compensate for these differences in training.

The brief assessment notification only contains confirmation that you have a completed qualification as a teacher. It is sufficient if you only need a certificate for submission to the Job Center or for employment at a private school or other educational institution to prove that your qualification is a completed training as a teacher. The brief assessment notification is also sufficient for temporary employment in the public school service in Berlin or for employment as a native speaker teacher or a teacher according to the law of the home country.

Documents must be translated by a sworn translator. The other documents can be translated by yourself or by acquaintances. In our Brochure for teachers with international degrees you will find more details on page 11.

Yes.

If all the required application documents have been submitted in full and it is clearly recognisable that you have a completed qualification as a teacher in accordance with the law of the respective country, you will receive a notification which will be sent to you by registered post.
The processing times are generally as follows:

• EU member states 3-4 months
• EEA countries that are not EU members 4-6 months
• All other countries 6 months

In individual cases, it may be necessary to obtain an expert opinion from the Central Office for Foreign Education (Zentralstelle für ausländisches Bildungswesen – ZAB) to assess your qualification. In these cases, processing may be extended by the processing time required by the Central Office for Foreign Education.

There are currently no deadlines in Berlin within which the requirements must be fulfilled. Since it cannot be ruled out that the legal basis and thus also the recognition practice will change, you should complete the requirements within the following five years if possible.

The teacher training programmes offered by the Berlin universities are suitable for compensating for differences in training.

You can apply for a degree programme at any time, but you can only receive advice from the university that is tailored to your individual needs on the basis of the detailed assessment notification. We therefore recommend that you only contact the university once you have received the detailed assessment notification. The application deadlines and modalities can be found on the universities’ homepages.

For the teaching degree programme at integrated secondary schools and grammar schools, we recommend selecting NC-free subjects in order to speed up your chances of gaining a place.

Unfortunately, for legal reasons, achievements that you have made as part of the extra-occupational studies for lateral entry at the Studienzentrum StEPS cannot be taken into account for the process of recognition of equivalence: They are not suitable to compensate for differences in training.

The school-practical adaptation course takes place in a school-practical seminar and at a school. It includes participation in events of the General Seminar, events of the Specialist Seminars or the Specialist Seminar as well as the practice of the profession at a public school. The seminar and the school are assigned to you.

During the school-practical adaptation course, you will receive a maintenance allowance in the amount of the candidate salary for the corresponding teaching post.

You do not have to take any more examinations, but you do have to pass them successfully.

The duration of the practical school adaptation period is determined in the detailed decision. If at the beginning of the practical school part of the adaptation period you do not yet have proof of language skills at level C 2, the practical school adaptation period is automatically extended by six months, as in this case you must attend a job-related language course at the School Practical Seminar at the beginning.

The assessment test consists of two teaching samples, which must be reflected upon in a subsequent examination interview. A further examination component is an oral examination in which knowledge of the Berlin school system and Berlin school law must be demonstrated.

Before the qualifying examination, you will teach for four weeks in the learning groups in which you will take the examination. You will not receive any remuneration for this exam-preparatory teaching.

The examination can be repeated once if you fail. It is not possible to switch to the adaptation course.

You can decide for yourself whether you would prefer to take an adaptation course or an aptitude examination. However, once a decision has been announced, it can no longer be changed.

An aptitude examinatioin can be suitable in the following cases:

• if you are already working at a school and the type of school matches the teaching post with which you can be equated,
• if you already have very good language skills at level C 2 or your mother tongue is German,
• if you have already acquired in-depth knowledge of the Berlin school system and the teaching culture favoured here and your school management expressly recommends that you take the examination after observing your lessons.

In all other cases, the adaptation course is recommended. In some cases, you can also complete the adaptation course while working.

You can also compensate for differences in school practice through professional experience if the professional activity fulfils the following criteria:

The professional activity

• was carried out after the acquisition of the foreign teaching qualification,
• was practised continuously or in no more than two blocks of time for at least three years,
• was exercised to the extent of at least half the regular weekly working time,
• relates to the subjects and grades for which equal status is sought.

The professional experience must also include, on a pro rata basis, experience in subjects or disciplines which you may have studied in the context of additional training and must be evidenced by a certificate issued by the school or the ministry responsible for education.

Yes. Language skills at level C 1 are recommended for additional training (study credits). Please enquire at the universities about the exact requirements for taking up studies.

For the school-practical compensatory measures (adaptation course or aptitude test), we recommend language skills at level C 2, as this will significantly increase your chances of success.

You can take language courses from the usual providers or complete a vocational language course for teachers at the Humboldt University Language Centre. A vocational language course can also be attended as part of the practical school adaptation course, although this will lead to a six-month extension of the adaptation course.
The Senatsverwaltung für Bildung, Jugend und Familie offers you a free school-related language test. The prerequisite for registration is participation in an information event in preparation for the language test. There you will also receive detailed information on the procedure and content of the language test. If you are interested in the information event and the language test, please contact the Accreditation Office by E-Mail at anerkennungen.lehrer@senbjf.berlin.de

A recognised C 2 certificate must be presented at the latest for permanent employment in the public school service. We recommend submitting the proof before the start of compensatory measures in school practice, as this will significantly increase your chances of success and automatically shorten the adaptation period by six months.

The procedure for refugee teachers with a residence status in accordance with Section 24 of the Residence Act was developed for people who are only expected to stay in Germany temporarily and who are unlikely to be able to submit all documents in full or who do not currently have the necessary financial resources for sworn translators and procedural costs. As no fees are charged and the Senatsverwaltung für Bildung, Jugend und Familie can only issue a preliminary assessment of the existing qualification due to a lack of documents, the notifications issued in this procedure are only valid for a limited period of time. The procedure can only be utilised once.

Please note that the procedure does not apply if you have been obliged to take up residence in another federal state.

No, because you can apply for a de-termination at any time for a fee. The prerequisite is that you can present the necessary documents.