Allgemeine Beeidigung als Gerichtsdolmetscherin oder Gerichtsdolmetscher mit Berufsqualifikation aus dem Ausland Erteilung

Would you like to work permanently as a court interpreter in Germany? Then you need the general swearing-in as a court interpreter. You can also be sworn in with a qualification from abroad.

The activity as a sworn court interpreter is regulated in Germany. This means that in order for you to be able to work as a court interpreter in Germany on a permanent basis, you need a general swearing-in. Even with a qualification from abroad, you can be sworn in generally.

To do this, you must have your foreign qualification recognised in advance. That's a different procedure. The competent authority compares your qualification with a German degree and carries out an equivalence check. The body responsible for the equivalence check depends on the professional qualification you have obtained.

Note: If there is no comparable interpreter exam for your qualification in Germany, you may be able to prove your professional aptitude in a different way. The responsible office for the general swearing-in will inform you.

If your qualification has been recognised as equivalent, you can apply for the general swearing-in from the competent authority. They must also meet other requirements for general swearing-in. An important prerequisite is, for example, the required reliability.

• Curriculum vitae
• Proof of your expertise: Certificate of equivalence
• If you do not have a certificate of equivalence, you may be able to prove your specialist knowledge in other ways: for example, through a university degree, language skills at level C2 according to the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR) or a state language proficiency test.
• Perhaps: Proof of basic knowledge of German legal language
• Proof of your personal suitability:
  • Certificate of good conduct for submission to an authority: The document must not be more than 6 months old at the time of application.
  • Declaration of whether you have received a penalty or a measure of correction and security in the last 5 years prior to the application.
  • Declaration of whether insolvency proceedings have been opened against their assets and whether discharge of residual debt has not yet been granted. Or whether you are registered in the list of debtors.

If your documents are not in German, you must submit German translations of your documents. Translations must be carried out by translators who are publicly appointed or authorised.

You may need to submit more documents as the process progresses. The competent authority will inform you.

• Professional aptitude: You have the necessary language skills in the German language and the language to be sworn in. And you have a basic knowledge of German legal language.
• Personal suitability: You are reliable for working as a court interpreter. You have a health constitution sufficient for work and have no criminal record.
• They live in orderly financial circumstances.
• You are a citizen of a country of the European Union (EU), the European Economic Area (EEA) or Switzerland. Or you live in one of these states or are professionally resident there.
• Minimum age: You are at least 18 years old.

Application

You submit an application for a general swearing-in as a court interpreter to the competent authority. You can submit the application with the documents to the competent authority or send it by post. Do not ship originals. Sometimes you can also send the application electronically. The competent authority will inform you.
The competent authority will then check whether you have the necessary specialist knowledge and meet all other requirements.
 

Certificate of equivalence

In order to apply for the general swearing-in, your professional qualification must already have been recognized in Germany. That is a different procedure with another competent body. The equivalence of your qualification from abroad with a German degree will be checked. If your qualification is equivalent, you will receive a notification. This will enable you to prove your professional aptitude for the general swearing-in at the competent authority.

If there is no comparable interpreter exam in Germany for your foreign qualification, you may be able to prove your specialist knowledge in a different way. For example, through a foreign university degree or language skills at level C2 according to the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR). The responsible office for the general swearing-in will inform you.

Possible results of the exam

If you can prove that you have the necessary specialist knowledge and meet all other requirements, you will generally be sworn in as a court interpreter. They may then use the designation "Sworn interpreter for [indication of language]" or "Sworn interpreter for [indication of language]".

Are there any significant differences between your foreign qualification and the German qualification? In this case, your foreign qualification will not be recognised as equivalent.

Compensatory measures

In most cases, they can take a compensatory measure to compensate for the lack of knowledge and training content.

There are various compensatory measures:

• Adaptation period: The adaptation period lasts a maximum of three years.
• Aptitude test: The aptitude test examines the areas where significant differences have been identified.

As a rule, you can choose between an adaptation period or an aptitude test. Perhaps the competent authority will decide what compensatory action you need to take.

If you have successfully completed the compensatory measure and meet all other requirements, you will be sworn in. Then you have the same professional rights as a person with a German qualification.

Sometimes documents are still missing from the procedure. The competent authority will then inform you by when you have to submit the documents.

You can take legal action against the decision of the competent authority within a certain period of time (e.g. lodge an appeal). The decision will then be reviewed. Details on this can be found in the information on legal remedies at the end of your decision. You should first talk to the relevant body before taking legal action against the decision.

• General swearing-in as a court interpreter with professional qualification from abroad
• In order to work as a court interpreter on a permanent basis, you need a general swearing-in certificate in Germany.
• You can also be sworn in with a qualification from abroad. To do this, you must first have your foreign qualification recognised in Germany. That's a different procedure. It is called: equivalence determination.
• If there is no comparable interpreter examination in Germany, the professional aptitude can perhaps be determined without recognition of the qualification.
• Prerequisite: Citizenship of a country of the European Union (EU), the European Economic Area (EEA) or Switzerland. Or you have your place of residence or professional establishment in one of these countries.
• Further requirements: professional qualifications, suitability, reliability, orderly financial circumstances, minimum age: 18 years
• Competent authority: the Higher Regional Court in the district in which you live or are professionally established. Or another body, depending on the regulations in the respective federal state. Otherwise, the Berlin Court of Appeal.