Pharmacist; application for a permit to temporarily practice as a pharmacist

If you want to practice the profession of pharmacist in the Federal Republic of Germany without a license as a pharmacist, you need a permit.

Description

If you wish to practice the profession of pharmacist in the Federal Republic of Germany, you generally require a license to practice as a pharmacist. If you have not completed your training in a member state of the European Union or a contracting state of the Agreement on the European Economic Area or Switzerland, you can also be granted a permit to temporarily practice the profession of pharmacist upon application. The permit may be restricted to certain activities and places of employment. It may only be granted revocably and only up to a total duration of two years at the most. In exceptional cases, the permit may be extended beyond this period. In Bavaria, the Government of Upper Bavaria and the Government of Lower Franconia are responsible for issuing the permit. The Government of Upper Bavaria is responsible if you wish to practice the profession of pharmacist in the administrative districts of Upper Bavaria, Lower Bavaria, Upper Palatinate or Swabia. The government of Lower Franconia is responsible if you wish to practice the profession of pharmacist in the administrative districts of Upper, Middle or Lower Franconia.

If you have completed your training in an EU/EEA state or Switzerland, you will not usually be granted a permit. Instead, you must immediately apply for an Approbation. An exception applies if there is a special interest in the granting of the permit with regard to the intended practice of the profession of pharmacist.

In certain cases, nationals of an EU/EEA state or Switzerland may practice the profession of pharmacist in the Federal Republic of Germany without an Approbation or without a permit to temporarily practice the profession of pharmacist, provided that they temporarily and occasionally act as providers of services within the meaning of Article 57 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (ex Article 50 of the EC Treaty). However, they are subject to a notification requirement. The Government of Upper Bavaria and the Government of Lower Franconia will inform you - in accordance with the distribution of responsibilities described above - whether you require a permit.

Prerequisites

In principle, the most important requirement is that you can prove that you have completed a full course of training as a pharmacist in accordance with the law of the state in which you obtained your training.

Further requirements are:

  • that you are not guilty of any conduct which would render you unworthy or unreliable to practice as a pharmacist (reliability and worthiness),
  • you are not unfit in health terms to practice as a pharmacist (health suitability), and
  • you have the knowledge of the German language required for the exercise of the profession (required is knowledge of specialist languages in a profession-specific context at level C1 according to the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages; the language skills are to be proven by a specialist language examination conducted by the Bavarian State Chamber of Pharmacists on behalf of the competent government, if such an examination is deemed necessary by the government); for more information, see "Further links".

Deadlines

There are no deadlines to meet.

Required documents

  • 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)

  • Proof of exemption from punishment

    • Submission of criminal record extracts from all countries outside Germany in which the applicant has resided for more than six months.
    • The criminal record excerpts must not be older than three months at the time of their submission.
    • A certified copy of each of these extracts must be submitted.

  • Proof of your completed education (certified copy)

    • Proof of education such as diploma
    • If necessary, further country-specific certificates

  • Proof of authorisation to practise medicine in the country of training and/or the country of origin

    (certified copy)

  • if applicable, certificate of good standing (certified copy)

    (Required from all countries where the health professional activity has already been exercised in the last five years. This certificate must not be older than three months at the time of its presentation).

  • Technical language test to prove the required language skills

    (The registration with the competent chamber of health professions is carried out by the professional registration office. The result is transmitted directly from there).

  • On separate request:

    • Certificate of good conduct of document type "O", if the applicant has already stayed in Germany for more than six months in the past or has had or still has a residence in Germany.
      • In Germany, this must be applied for at the registration office of the place of residence, stating the purpose "Permission as pharmacist". The certificate of good conduct is sent directly to the competent authority by the Federal Office of Justice.
      • It must not be older than one month at the time of submission.
    • Medical certificate (original)
      This must be issued and signed by a general practitioner or internist practicing in Germany or another state party to the Agreement on the European Economic Area or in Switzerland and bear a practice or clinic stamp. If the practice or clinic stamp is not available in German, a German translation of the stamp is required.

Forms

Please select a location in "Localization" so that the address of the responsible authority can be filled in.

  • Prefillable Form, Bavaria-wide: Ärztliches Attest
    Please note

    This form has to be signed and sent to the responsible authority. You can sign the form manually and send it by email/fax or sign the form electronically with your qualified electronic signature an send it by (secure) email. If the responsible authority has set up a De-Mail account, you can also send the form by De-Mail using an sender-confirmed message.

Online procedures

Fees

    • The costs for the permit are basically dependent on its period of validity. For each year or part thereof, 100 euros are charged.
    • In addition, there are the costs for the language test, if required. These currently amount to 400 euros.

Legal bases

Remedy

Administrative court proceedings; information

administrative claim

Links to more information

Related issues

Status:19.09.2023

Responsible for editing:Bayerisches Staatsministerium für Gesundheit und Pflege

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  • Online transactions, Bavaria-wide
  • Online transactions, locally limited
  • Form, Bavaria-wide
  • Form, locally limited
  • Prefillable Form, Bavaria-wide
  • Legal bases, Bavaria-wide
  • Legal bases, locally limited
  • Fees, Bavaria-wide
  • Fees, locally limited
Bild zur Leistungsbeschreibung

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If you select a location under "Localization" the contact details of the responsible authority and, if applicable, locally valid information will be displayed.

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