In this post you will learn which documents you need in order to apply for a “Defizitbescheid” (assessment notice/recognition notice) in Germany, specifically in this case in Hesse.
If you are from a country from outside of the EU and you want to work in Germany as a nurse, recognition of your qualifications will be necessary.
One of the steps in this procedure is to obtain this so called “Defizitbescheid” (assessment notice), which will tell you, how your foreign professional qualifications compare to German ones and if there are differences, what to do in order to get to the desired level so you can be fully recognized in Germany.
Official information brochure (in German)
Below you’ll find a link to the official German document (Antragsformular) containing a list of all the necessary documents for a Defizitbescheid in Hesse.
Important
All the documents listed in the text box below need to be officially certified by a notary, in your municipality or the embassy, after you make a black and white copy of them.
Afterwards, these documents have to be translated by a publicly appointed/authorized translator.
diploma
transcript of records/subject list
certificate of the state examination
proof/verification of work experience (if existent)
*Every federated state in Germany has its own rules concerning the official certification of documents. In Hesse it is possible to certify documents by a notary, at the embassy or in your municipality, while the federated state of Rhineland-Palatinante only accepts certifications by a notary or the embassy.
Tabular CV and application for recognition forms
How to fill out the “Antrag” (application for recognition form)
The form is mostly straight forward, but if you have a question about any of the form fields feel free to contact us for help.
If you are sending in all the documents yourself, you can use the following address:
Hessisches Landesamt für Gesundheit und Pflege
Dezernat IV 4
Gesundheitsfachberufe
Heinrich-Hertz-Straße 5
64295 Darmstadt
We hope that our first post in English was useful to you and if you want to know more about similar topics, follow our blog or any of our other social media sites.
Your Jobs & Spirit team
Updated on the 2.1.2025
Hi, I am really thankful for this website and I live in India. I have a masters degree in Social work and i would like to work in Hessen state. I got my degree recognized by ZAB and the result says that my masters degree is equal to German’s masters degree. Social work is a regulated profession in Hessen and what should i do now? Who should i contact in Hessen? How should i get state recognized as social worker? I have completed A2 in Goethe and now i am studying B1. There is no one to guide me as i live in India. Please, I need help. Thank you.
Hi,
we are glad that our website was of some help to you.
Unfortunately we only work with nurses and don’t have experience with other professions, but if you have received the so called “Defizitbescheid” your next step should be to find an employer in Germany who can start some sort of visa procedure for you.
We don’t know how or where to find them so that part is up to you.
We wish you the best of luck.
Greetings of the day,
Thank you so much for replying back. I will see what i can do. Thank you 🙂
I can’t apply for the deficit notice. I’m a physiotherapist. What is the procedure to get deficit notice.
What is the certificate of state exam and how can we obtain this document
Hello,
a certificate of state examination won’t be necessary, if you have a university degree.
It’s usually issued for people who finish nursing via a school degree. From our experience that is mostly the case in the Balkan states. After finishing school and the mandatory practical training, there is another exam that has to be passed in order for the state to recognize you as a nurse.
We hope this helps.
Guten Tag
Welche Dokumente und Sprachniveau werden benötigt, um ein Zertifikat von Hessen zu erhalten?
Guten Tag,
falls Ihre Frage ist, welches Sprachniveau Sie benötigen, um einen Defizitbescheid in Hessen anzufordern, dann ist die Antwort, dass Sie gar kein Sprachzertifikat benötigen.
Nach Ihrer Anreise in Deutschland und nachdem Sie die Anerkennung abgeschlossen haben, werden Sie ein B2-Niveau benötigen und obwohl Sie für den Defizitbescheid kein Sprachzertifikat benötigen, müssen Sie mindestens ein B1-Sprachzertifikat haben, um ein Visum zu erhalten.
Viel Erfolg.
Do you have any idea, about pre-approval from Bundesagentur für Arbeit in Hessen? how long does the process take? and is it true that there is a delay in Hessen? Because ididnt received any answer from my employer what are the cause of the delay. I already have a contract and Linggoda account..Thankyou in advance
Hello,
if you have submitted all the documents with the “Defizitbescheid” to the “Ausländerbehörde” our experience is that you have to wait about a month for your pre-approval, if there aren’t any problems.
As far as we know the delay concerns the issuing of the “Defizitbescheid” and that can take from 6 to 8 months at the moment.
So if you have used the fast track procedure for skilled workers and you requested the “Defizitbescheid” via the “Ausländerbehörde”, then the process could take considerably longer, but we can’t tell you how long.
We wish you the best of luck and hope that you will receive your pre-approval soon.
Kind regards,
the Jobs & Spirit team
How many days to get the Preliminary approval from ZAV in Hessen?
Hello,
it depends on which procedure you used.
From our experience if you chose the fast-track admission procedure you should have it within a month after submitting all documents, if it was any other procedure it could be a bit longer.
We hope this helps.
Hello, my Application in Hessen Darmstadt is morethan 3months now but still i haven’t receive my Notice of Recognition. I also followed up to my Agency but still they don’t know. How can i follow up the Authority of Hessen ?
Hello,
we are sorry to inform you, that we just recently called Hessen for one of our own candidates and they told us that they are understaffed and have only reached the applications that reached them in August of 2022. They also told us that at the moment people waiting for a Defizitbescheid in Hessen won’t be waiting 3 months anymore, but more likely 7-8 months …
We wish the best of luck to you and hope that the situation will change soon.
I received my noticed of Determination from Hessen. What are the next step after?and how long will take after i sent back to them?
Hello,
the next step would be to find an employer in case you don’t already have one and afterwards start the visa procedure and you will have to have at least a German B1 certificate.
You can find further information about that right here on our website: https://www.jobsandspirit.com/en/employee/
Also, if you have received your “Defizitbescheid” from Hessen you don’t send it back to them. You keep if for yourself, because you will need it for your visa procedure and the recognition later on.
Good luck 🙂
Hello,
Could you please help me;
The Hospital has contacted me to send them „Defizitbescheid des Regierungspräsidiums Stuttgart 8falls“ and i really have no idea what i‘m gonna do.
Thank‘s in advance
With best regards.
Hello,
in order to be able to help you, we need more information.
So you can contact us on WhatsApp 00385 91 1803 964 and we can talk about it.
Thank you.
Kind regards,
the Jobs & Spirit team
Hello,I got Anpassunglehrgang in Dramstadt Hessen . But my hospital is not accepting this recognition because of new nursing council law. I applied few hospital with this ,they are not accepting. Can you help me?
Hello,
thank you for contacting us.
If you contact us directly via WhatsApp – 00385 911803964 – we can look into it and see, if we can help you.
Hi Preema,
Were you able to fix your challenges? I’m also going through the same thing right now. What can I do?
Hello, I would like to ask you
Do we need a license to practice the profession in order to apply for recognition
Hello and thank you for contacting us,
depending on where you come from and in which state you want to work, you need at least a diploma and sometimes also a licence to get fully recognized.
You can find a full overview of all necessary documents for recognition for all states here: https://www.jobsandspirit.com/en/2022/10/05/all-application-forms-for-the-defizitbescheid-by-federal-state/
We hope this was of help to you.
Your Jobs & Spirit team
Hello.
I am a nurse with Masters degree and I wish to work in Germany. I had applied to few hospitals but they are asking for Defizitbescheid. Could you please tell me what is it and how long would it take to get this document
Hello,
thank you for your question, Karen.
After you send your diploma, transcript of records of your master studies and a few other forms to Germany, you will get this so called “Defizitbescheid”, which is a document that lists the differences, between your formation and the formation for nurses in Germany and it will tell you how to make up for the differences.
Some employers want you to have a Defizitbescheid before you start working for them, but the problem here is, that you can’t actually apply for one without an employer in the desired state you want to work in.
The only state in Germany that issues them without an employer (at least at this point) is the state “Bundesland” of Nordrhein-Westfalen.
But in our opinion if you don’t want to work in that state, it doesn’t make too much sense to get one, because it will have to be in the state you are planning to work in, before you can get your visa.
The other problem is that employers don’t really always understand that.
So the solution is to either find an employer in Nordrhein-Westfalen or an employer who understands that you will apply for one, once you have a contract.
The waiting time for a Defizitbescheid is up to 3 months.
We hope this helps and we wish you good luck and all the best.
How long will take the Equivalent assessment in Hessen Darmstadt?
Hello,
thx for contacting us. Unfortunately, it is not possible to give you an exact timeframe. I depends on how much work they have. In theory it shouldn’t take longer than 3 months, but at the moment we have a candidate who is already waiting longer than 3 months. In general, up to 3 months should be the rule.
Best of luck – the Jobs & Spirit team
It is possible it takes longer 6 months? How to track my application?
Hello,
in rare cases it is possible that it takes longer than 6 months, but that is usually due to some complications. Technically, by law, it shouldn’t take longer than 3 months. Unfortunately, there is no real way to track it. You can only write and email or call them and hope for an answer.
We hope this helps and good luck.
Need a translation for Hessen State?
Hello and thank you for contacting us.
That is correct, if you wish to be recognized as a nurse in the state of Hesse, your documentation needs to be translated into German.
You will find further information in this blog post.
Kind regards,
the Jobs & Spirit team
Good afternoon dear sir/madam!
I am a certified medical doctor MBBS MS (general surgeon). Can I apply for (Defizitbescheid) or it is just for nurses?
If not then please guid me how a medical doctor apply?
Hello,
you’ll have to apply for some kind of Defizitbescheid, but it is not the same as for nurses. It’s an application for approbation.
We don’t really work with doctors, so you can find all the information you need here: https://www.make-it-in-germany.com/de/arbeiten-in-deutschland/gefragte-berufe/aerzte#:~:text=Wenn%20Sie%20Ihre%20Arztausbildung%20im,Dienst%20am%20Patienten%20t%C3%A4tig%20werden.
Or you can type in your questions here and it will lead you to more information: https://www.anerkennung-in-deutschland.de/html/en/skilled-workers.php
We wish you the best of luck.
Hello. Can the employer retrieve “Defizitbescheid” instead of me? I am already in my home country, I can not get a visa without this document, unfortunately.
Hello, sorry for the late response. If you already applied for the Defizitbescheid and it was finished, you can send the “Regierungspräsidium” an email and ask, if the can send it to your employer. But sometimes a pdf is enough and it’s always possible to request the Defizitbescheid as a pdf via email as well. I hope this helps. If you need more help, you can contact us directly.
Hello,thank you for your great work. I would like to know how long it can take for me to get defizitbescheid after submission of all required documents.
Thanks in advance.
Hello,
thank you for contacting us.
Usually it should be up to 3 months, but you can never really know for sure, also depending on the situation in Germany.
People in some federal states in Germany wait more than half a year …
We hope this helps and good luck with your Defizitbescheid 🙂
How long does recognition process for Nurses takes place?
Hello, thank you for taking the time to read our blog and I hope that it was of some help to you. It depends on quite a few factors how long the recognition process for nurses takes. The short answer is: after you receive your “Defizitbescheid” and start working in Germany it should take somewhere between 6-12 months and in some cases it can be quicker (also depends whether you have a B1 or B2 level of German). If you are interested in more information on the topic, feel free to contact us directly.
Hi i would like do my forgein recognition in hessen.
If we saw correctly you already contated us, so you can ask us anything you need to know. Thank you for reaching out.
Hello, can I get a pdf copy of my deficitsbecheid, knowing that I am not the person who deposited the documents in your office, and I have given him a athorization to do so, as I have not been able to contact him for a long time and I doubt that he no longer wants to give me a copy of my deficitsbecheid, thank you very much
Hello, I am not sure I understand you fully, but will answer what I think I understood. Generally, if you are the one who has sent in the documents, you can ask for a pdf copy of your Defizitbescheid otherwise that is only possible if you have power of attorney. If you gave someone power of attorney to send in documents in your name, you can revoke the power of attorney and request your Defizitbescheid as a pdf or you can also simply request your Defizitbescheid. I hope that answers your question. Kind regards
Thank you for your understanding, I gave a power of attorney to someone and he submitted the documents to you, how can I prove that I am the owner of the Deficitsbecheid to get a pdf copy of it, thank you very much