Your recognition procedure as Sworn in Court interpreter (m/f)
in Schreinerbauer, Bavaria

The profession of Sworn in Court interpreter (m/f) is in Germany.
Recognition of your professional qualification is necessary for you to be able to work in the profession in Germany. You are also able to apply for recognition after you enter the country. See “My other options” for further information.

Quick-Info

There are two necessary procedures.

The first procedure is called:

Assessment of equivalence

The equivalence assessment is carried out by the for recognition. The competent authority is dependent on which you have.

Your professional qualification can be:

Once equivalence has been successfully determined, you must apply for the second procedure. This procedure is called

officially sworn in.

Please note: if the equivalence of your professional qualification cannot be established, you can also provide evidence of your specialist knowledge in other ways. The competent authority responsible for the official swearing-in will advise you.

Personal aptitude
Professional suitability
Financial stability
Minimum age: 18
You already live in a country of the or have permanent residency there.

You require knowledge of German at level B2 of the .
If your professional qualification has already been recognised, this means: You have the necessary German language skills.
You can provide evidence of your German language skills via a . The will advise you.

One month at the latest following receipt of your application by the : The competent authority will notify you of receipt of the documents. They will inform you if documents are missing. The procedure begins when the documents are complete.
After 3 months at the latest you will receive containing the result. In specific cases the competent authority may extend the procedure.

You are required to pay for the procedure. The will inform you of the exact costs.
There may be additional costs, e.g. for or

It may be possible for costs to be paid via financial support. You can apply for financial support if you live in Germany and before you submit your application.

Documents for my application

Competent authority

German: zuständige Stelle
The “competent authority” implements the recognition procedure. The competent authority can be, for example, a government agency, an office or a Chamber. The recognition in Germany.

Application form from the
If there is no application form, then apply without a standard application form
Proof of identity (e.g. passport or personal identification)
Marriage certificate (if your name has changed through marriage)
Curriculum vitae

Evidence of your professional suitability: .
If it is not possible to determine for the language for which you would like the swearing-in process to be completed, you may be able to demonstrate your specialist knowledge in other ways. Potential evidence includes:
Evidence of your : e.g. higher education certificate, language certificate at level C2 of the .
Evidence of the content and duration of your training (e.g. diploma supplement, transcript of records)
Evidence of your :
. The document must be a maximum of six months old when applying.
Declaration that you are financially stable.
Declaration regarding whether you have had previous convictions in the five years prior to making the application.
Declaration that you have not been entered in any list of debtors.
Declaration no insolvency procedure has been initiated.

The competent authority will inform you as to which documents you must produce as originals or submit as copies. Some copies must be . We recommend that you do not send originals by post.

You must submit your documents in German. must prepare the translations. Contact the competent authority to find out whether they also accept translations from abroad.

My steps to recognition

If you live or work in the [G ID=“1834”]EU, EEA or Switzerland[/G], you can apply.

You can also send the application by post to the competent authority. Do not send originals.
You may be able to send the application via email. Ask your competent au-thority before you do. Later on in the recognition procedure, you may be required to submit origi-nal copies or of the documents.
You are sometimes able to apply online. Later on in the recognition procedure, you may be required to submit original copies or certified copies of the documents.

The [G ID=“1595”]competent authority[/G] receives the [G ID=“1888”]application[/G]. It will confirm receipt of the application within one month. When the competent authority has received all the documents from you, it will process your application.

The competent authority then checks other requirements for the swearing-in.

The procedure takes a maximum of 3 months. In specific cases the competent authority may extend the procedure. At the end, the competent authority sends you a containing the result.

Outcomes: Official swearing in

If the evidence of your specialist knowledge fulfils all the requirements for the official swearing in, then you will be officially sworn in.

You are permitted to use the professional title “Sworn-in court interpreter for [name of language]”. Professionally you have the same rights as a person with the German professional qualification.

Outcomes: No official swearing in

If proof of your professional suitability cannot be determined, then you do not meet all the requirements and you will not be officially sworn in.

Compensation measures

If your professional qualification is not equivalent you may be able to complete a . A compensation measure allows you to compensate for . Substantial differences are listed in your .

There are a range of compensation measures:

In certain cases, the decides whether you complete an adaptation period or take an aptitude test. Some-times you can choose between an adaptation period and an aptitude test.

If you successfully complete the compensation measure and all other requirements (e.g. [G ID=“1770”]personal suitability[/G], knowledge of German, etc.), you will be sworn in. Then you will have the same professional rights as a person with a German [G ID=“1853”]professional qualification[/G].

Counselling

If you do not meet all requirements, you can find out from the competent authority about the options available to you. Were you not able e.g. to provide evidence of your personal aptitude? The competent authority can help you with this.

My other options

Do you need recognition in order to work in Germany? You can also apply for recognition after entering the country. For this you need a recognition partnership with your future employer in Germany.

The following requirements apply to a recognition partnership:

You have completed training of at least two years or a degree.
Your qualification is recognised by the state in the country of training. The Central Office for Foreign Education (ZAB) will confirm this for you.
You need German language skills at least at level A2 of the
You have found an employer.

You may also be able to work in a non-regulated profession in Germany without recognition:

This is possible, for example, with completed training and professional experience. What's also important is how much you earn, whether you have a contract of employment, whether you speak German and how old you are. We recommend that you complete the Quick-Check here, this will provide all the information: Make-it-in-Germany.com.
This is possible, for example, with a higher education qualification: Find out whether it is comparable to a German higher education qualification. There are two ways of checking this.
anabin database: You will find universities in the database. Your university must be recognised in the database (H+). AND your higher education qualification must be assessed as equivalent. This then means that your qualification is equivalent to a German higher education qualification. Save as a PDF. This is evidence. Further information and a guide is available at Make-it-in-Germany.com.
Statement of Comparability: What if your university or qualification are not in anabin? In this case you can apply to the Central Office for Foreign Education (ZAB) for an individual statement of comparability. The statement of comparability is a document that confirms the equivalence of your higher education qualification with a German higher education qualification.

Do you have any questions? Do you need help with the application? Seek advice! You will find your councelling centre one step back under Counselling offers.
Do you have questions regarding entry or residence? For more information see Make-it-in-Germany.com.