Registering with the chamber of physicians: a different body entirely

The Approbation authority and the chamber of physicians are two separate institutions. Chamber membership is also a precondition for the pension exemption.

A common misunderstanding in the first weeks: the authority that issued your Berufserlaubnis is not the body you register with as a doctor. These are two institutions with two separate procedures.

Who does what

• The state Approbation authority decides on recognition, Berufserlaubnis and Approbation.
• The state or district chamber of physicians keeps the register of doctors, administers the medical-language examination, and runs specialty training.

Why this is urgent

Chamber membership is a precondition for the pension exemption: Section 6(1) no. 1 SGB VI requires compulsory membership of both the professional pension scheme and the professional chamber. And that exemption has a three-month deadline. Let the chamber registration slide and you lose the backdating.

When you move to another state

Different state, different chamber, new registration. This gets forgotten often, and then the evidence for crediting your specialty training turns out to be missing later.

What each chamber sets for itself

Deadlines, forms and fees are in each chamber's own statutes. All chamber addresses are in the authority table on this site; ask them directly about fees and deadlines.