Nachweis der fachlichen Eignung zur Führung eines Unternehmens im Güterkraftverkehr

If you want to establish a business that transports goods by road, you must demonstrate your professional competence.

You will need this certificate of qualification to apply for a licence for the domestic transportation of goods by road or for an EU licence for the transportation of goods by road within the European Union. As a business operator or transport manager, you must demonstrate that you have the professional expertise required for running a road haulage company.

You normally demonstrate this by passing an exam. In Germany, you will sit the exam at your local Chamber of Commerce and Industry ( IHK).

In the examination, you must prove that you have the required legal and business knowledge, knowledge of technical standards and applicable regulations, and knowledge of road safety. The guidelines for the preparation of the exam contained in the link in the 'further information' section provide an overview (in German) of the required knowledge.

It is advisable to prepare in depth for the exam, for instance by attending a preparational course or through intense self-study. However, these are not legal requirements for registering for the examination.

The exam is a comprehensive examination consisting of two written parts and one oral part. You must achieve at least 50 percent of the total marks in both of the written parts to be admitted to the oral exam. If you also achieve at least 50 percent of the total marks in the oral exam, and your overall score is at least 60 percent of the grand total of marks, you have passed the exam. If you have achieved at least 50 percent of the available marks in both of the written parts and have already achieved at least 60 percent of the grand total of available marks, you are exempted from the oral examination.

In certain cases, a transitional arrangement may allow for your professional competence to be certified without sitting the exam. If you have successfully completed a recognised course of vocational training in the freight forwarding and logistics sector which began before 4 December 2011, the Chamber of Commerce and Industry will issue a certificate to you upon request without the need to sit the exam.

If you held a managing position in the freight forwarding industry for ten years or more before 2009, you can also be issued a certificate of professional competence without needing to take the exam. Please refer to the information linked in the 'further information' section.

• If taking the exam: none
• If furnishing proof of qualification:
  • Recognised certificate of professional qualification
• If furnishing proof of professional experience:
  • Documents proving your professional activities

• To register for the exam: none
• To demonstrate professional qualification: certificate of successful completion of one of the following recognised courses of training (with a start date before 4 December 2011) as a:
  • Road and rail transport agent (, focusing on road transport
  • Freight forwarding agent (/)
  • Transport specialist (/)
  • graduate in business management () specialising in freight forwarding from the business department of the Lörrach or Mannheim universities of cooperative education
  • graduate in business management () in transportation and logistics, specialising in road freight, from the Heilbronn university of applied sciences
  • Bachelor of Arts in business management/freight forwarding, transport and logistics from the Lörrach or Mannheim universities of cooperative education
  • Bachelor of Arts in transport management and logistics, specialising in transport logistics, from Heilbronn University of Applied Sciences ()
• To demonstrate competence based on professional experience:

At least 10 years working in management positions in a road haulage company

The fee for the examination depends on the applicable schedule of fees at your local Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

To demonstrate your competence by taking the exam, please register for the exam in writing or online with your local Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

• The Chamber of Commerce and Industry will confirm your registration.
• You will start by taking the two written parts of the exam.
• After you have passed these successfully, you can take the oral exam.
• About two weeks after the exam, you will receive your certificate of professional competence.

With this certificate, you can apply for a licence for your business from the competent authority.

To demonstrate your professional competence without sitting the exam, please submit your written application including all the supporting documents to the Chamber of Commerce and Industry. Once your application has been processed, you will receive your certificate by post.

As a rule, you will be informed about whether you have passed the exam or not about two weeks after you have taken it.

This document provides an overview of the subject matter of the exam: Guidelines for preparing for the examination (German only)

The web page of the German Chambers of Industry and Commerce contains additional information on the examination of expertise: Overview of expertise examinations held by the Chambers of Commerce and Industry (German only)
 

There is more information on the conditions under which you may be exempted from sitting the exam here:  Information sheet on demonstrating professional competence without an exam (German only)

The procedure can only be carried out in German.

• In some federal states: appeal
• Administrative court action
• More detailed information is contained in the notification informing you of whether you have passed or failed the exam

• Operating a commercial road haulage company requires a licence
• One prerequisite to obtaining the licence is demonstrating the required professional competence
• As a rule, professional competence is established by means of an examination through the Chamber of Commerce and Industry

You can find the Chamber of Industry and Commerce responsible for you here: IHK competence finder

• Forms: Yes
• Online procedure: Available in some cases
• Written form requirement as per German Civil Code Art.126: No
• You are not required to appear in person.