Certified translation and apostille for the Approbation

Translation notice: This text is a translation. Only the German version is binding.

For the Approbation (license to practice dentistry in Germany), you need many documents from your home country. If a document is not in German or English, you need a translation. Since November 1, 2026, it may also be in English ^[8]. The authority decides itself whether a translation is needed and for which documents ^[2]. In short: First, you have the authenticity of your documents confirmed. Then you have them translated by a certified translator. Your authority decides what exactly is needed. That is why it is worth asking first.

The order: authenticity first, then translation

There are two separate steps:

1. Confirm the authenticity. This is done with an apostille or a legalization (Legalisation). Both go on the document itself, that is, on the original ^[1].
2. Get a certified translation. A translation is not a public document. That is why there is no apostille or legalization for it ^[1].

So the rule is: first have the authenticity confirmed, then translate. The sources do not agree on whether the apostille itself must also be translated. Ask your authority about this.

Apostille or legalization?

Which of the two you need depends on the country where your document was issued.

• Legalization: It confirms the authenticity of a foreign public document. It is issued by the mission abroad (embassy or consulate) of the country where the document will be used ^[1]. For Germany, this means the German embassy or the German consulate in your home country ^{[1] [4]}.
• Apostille: Many countries have signed the Hague Convention of October 5, 1961. Between these countries, the apostille replaces the legalization. An authority in your home country issues the apostille ^[1].
• Countries without legalization: In some countries, the German missions abroad currently do not legalize documents. In that case, they check the document in another way, through administrative assistance (Amtshilfe) ^[1].

You can find the lists of countries at the Federal Foreign Office (Auswärtiges Amt) ^[1].

An example: The NiZzA in Lower Saxony (Niedersachsen) requires an apostille or a legalization by the German embassy for the documents on the completion of your dental degree ^[4].

Who may translate

For applications from November 1, 2026, the translation must come from a publicly appointed or sworn translator (öffentlich bestellt oder beeidigt) (§ 83a Abs. 1 ZApprO) ^[8]. For applications up to October 31, 2026, it must come from a publicly appointed or authorized translator (öffentlich bestellt oder ermächtigt) ^[2]. In Germany, you can find them in the database of the federal and state justice authorities ^[3].

Whether a translation from abroad is enough is not the same everywhere:

• Some offices do not accept translations made abroad ^[2].
• The NiZzA accepts translations from Germany and from abroad. Abroad, the translator must be authorized there to make sworn translations ^[4].
• The LAGuS in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania (Mecklenburg-Vorpommern) names translations from Germany and from other EU countries ^[5].

The authority itself decides on translations from abroad ^[1]. So ask first which translations it accepts.

The LAGuS also names rules for the form: The translation is made from the original or from an officially certified copy, including the certification note. The translation and the source document must be firmly attached to each other ^[5]. These notes have no date and were accessed before November 1, 2026. So they describe the procedure for applications up to October 31, 2026. For applications from November 1, 2026, the rules in the section below apply ^[8].

Copies and originals

Applications up to October 31, 2026: Do not send originals ^[2]. If the authority asks for documents "in the original," you usually submit officially certified copies (amtlich beglaubigte Kopien) ^[2]. There are exceptions: In Bavaria (Bayern), for example, the medical certificate and the curriculum must be submitted in the original ^[6].

If copies must be certified, your authority will tell you who may do this. An example from Lower Saxony, as of January 2024: There, cities, municipalities and districts may certify copies, as well as every authority within its area and notaries ^[4]. The NiZzA generally does not accept certifications by other offices or by translators ^[4].

Applications from November 1, 2026: You submit your documents as a copy or electronically (§ 83a Abs. 1 ZApprO). The authority asks for originals or certified copies only if there are justified doubts about the authenticity, the content or the translation (§ 83a Abs. 4 ZApprO) ^[8].

What has changed since November 1, 2026

New rules have applied since November 1, 2026. For dentistry, they are in a regulation (Verordnung) that amends the licensing regulations for dentists (ZApprO) ^[8]. They apply to applications from November 1, 2026. For applications up to October 31, 2026, the old rules still apply (§ 133 Abs. 4 ZApprO) ^[8].

• You submit your documents as a copy or electronically (§ 83a Abs. 1 ZApprO) ^[8].
• If a document is not in German or English, you need a translation. It may be in German or in English. In justified exceptional cases, the authority can ask for a German translation (§ 83a Abs. 1 ZApprO) ^[8].
• The translation must be done by a publicly appointed or sworn translator (§ 83a Abs. 1 ZApprO). The authority can allow other translators or translate a document itself with a translation program if equivalent quality is ensured (§ 83a Abs. 2 Satz 2 ZApprO) ^[8].
• The authority asks for originals or certified copies only if there are justified doubts about the authenticity, the content or the translation (§ 83a Abs. 4 ZApprO) ^[8].
• The certificate of good conduct (Führungszeugnis), documents from the country where you trained and the medical certificate may be at most three months old (§ 84a Abs. 7 ZApprO) ^[8].
• If you take the Kenntnisprüfung (knowledge test) directly, you do not have to submit the documents for the review of equivalence. Study plans (curricula), for example, then do not have to be copied, translated or certified ^[7].

The regulation says nothing about the apostille and legalization. Your authority still decides whether you need them.

Paid cooperation: For certified translations, we work with Kolibridge GmbH (Arabic and Spanish). Kolibridge offers certified translations by translators authorized by a regional court (Landgericht) and helps with superlegalization (Überbeglaubigung), apostille and legalization. With the code ZAHNPRUEF10, you get 10% off until December 31, 2026. You can find all the information in the app under Translations & Apostille.

Cost and time

How much a certified translation costs and how long it takes is not verifiable from official sources. There is no official price list for it. Get a written quote first.

Common mistakes

• Sending originals. For applications up to October 31, 2026, the authority usually needs certified copies ^[2]. For applications from November 1, 2026, copies or electronic documents are enough ^[8].
• Wrong order. If you translate first and get the apostille afterwards, the apostille is not in the translation. If the authority also wants a translation of it, you pay twice.
• Copy certified by the wrong office. This mainly affects applications up to October 31, 2026, and new applications for which the authority asks for certified copies because of justified doubts ^[8]. Not every office may certify. A certification by the translator, for example, is not enough for the NiZzA ^[4].
• Not asking first. The rules differ from state to state and are changing right now. Ask your authority first.

What applies in your federal state?

Which documents your authority requires is described in the Fahrplan zur Approbation (roadmap to the Approbation) in ZahnPrüf. It covers all 16 federal states. One roadmap is free. The roadmap packages contain a notice about the new law; some chapter texts still describe the old situation. A short overview of apostilles and translations is available in the app on the page Translations & Apostille.

Key points

• First confirm the authenticity (apostille or legalization), then translate ^[1].
• For applications from November 1, 2026, publicly appointed or sworn translators may translate ^[8]; for applications up to October 31, 2026, publicly appointed or authorized translators ^[2].
• Your authority decides whether a translation from abroad is enough ^{[1] [2]}.
• Applications up to October 31, 2026: do not send originals, send certified copies ^[2].
• Applications from November 1, 2026: copies or electronic documents are enough; originals or certified copies only if there are justified doubts. Translations may be in German or English ^[8].
• Since November 1, 2026, for example, you no longer need translated curricula for the Kenntnisprüfung ^[7].

Frequently asked questions

Can I have the translation done in my home country?
That depends on your authority. Some offices accept translations from abroad, others do not ^{[1] [2] [4] [5]}. Ask first.

Does the translation also need an apostille?
No. A translation is not a public document. That is why the apostille goes on the document itself, not on the translation ^[1].

Sources

The sources are in German.

1. Auswärtiges Amt: Internationaler Urkundenverkehr (legalization, apostille, translations, with lists of countries). auswaertiges-amt.de – As of: 30.09.2026, accessed on 21.10.2026
2. Bundesinstitut für Berufsbildung (BIBB): Dokumente für die Antragstellung. anerkennung-in-deutschland.de – accessed on 21.10.2026
3. Justiz Nordrhein-Westfalen: Dolmetscher und Übersetzer (with a link to the database of the justice portal of the federal government and the states, gerichts-dolmetscher.de). justiz.nrw – accessed on 21.10.2026
4. Niedersächsischer Zweckverband zur Approbationserteilung (NiZzA): Checkliste Antragsunterlagen Approbation Zahnarzt/Zahnärztin, Drittstaat. nizza.niedersachsen.de – As of: January 2024
5. Landesamt für Gesundheit und Soziales Mecklenburg-Vorpommern (LAGuS): Hinweise zur Übersetzung fremdsprachiger Urkunden und Bescheinigungen. lagus.mv-regierung.de – no date, accessed on 21.10.2026
6. BayernPortal: Zahnarzt/Zahnärztin; Beantragung einer Approbation bei Ausbildung in einem Drittstaat. bayernportal.de – As of: 30.09.2026
7. Bundesministerium für Gesundheit: Fragen und Antworten zum Gesetz zur Beschleunigung der Anerkennungsverfahren ausländischer Berufsqualifikationen in Heilberufen. bundesgesundheitsministerium.de – As of: 26.03.2026
8. Verordnung zur Beschleunigung der Anerkennungsverfahren ausländischer Berufsqualifikationen in Heilberufen vom 27.10.2026, BGBl. 2026 I Nr. 326, Artikel 4 (§§ 83a, 84a Abs. 7 und 133 Abs. 4 ZApprO) – published on 30.10.2026, in force since 01.11.2026