Fachsprachenprüfung in Bremen: format, fees, formal notice

In short

In Bremen the Ärztekammer Bremen (the Bremen medical chamber) runs the Fachsprachenprüfung on behalf of the Senatorin für Gesundheit, Frauen und Verbraucherschutz (the state health department) — and only once the authority has commissioned it for your case. After a round of introductions there are three parts of 20 minutes each: history taking, a Kurzbericht (short report) for physician colleagues, and presenting the patient to a „leitender Arzt“ (senior physician) with a short list of medical terms at the end. The fee is €530, also for every retake. You receive the result as a Bescheid (formal administrative decision) that can be challenged.

At a glance

Item	Bremen
Examining body	Ärztekammer Bremen, on behalf of the Senatorin für Gesundheit, Frauen und Verbraucherschutz
Registration via	the Senatorin as licensing authority; the chamber acts only once commissioned
Fee per attempt	€530; €300 for a new date if you cancel after the invitation
Duration and parts	introductions, then 3 × 20 minutes; under the decree at least 60 minutes in total
Part 2 (documentation)	Kurzbericht to inform physician colleagues, in full sentences
Medical-terms task	a short list of common medical terms; you fill in the German names
Permitted aids	your own notes, also in part 3 (do not read them out); handed in at the end
Result	Bescheid: „Die erforderlichen Fachsprachenkenntnisse sind gegeben“ or „nicht gegeben“ (the required language skills are / are not present)
Pass rule	majority decision of the committee; the chair decides in a tie
Retakes	as often as you like, each time after a new commission from the authority

How the exam works in Bremen

The basis is a decree (Erlass) of the Bremen health senator of 23 January 2015 and the chamber's „Aufgabenstellungen“ (task descriptions) for candidates. Under the decree the exam is an individual exam of at least 60 minutes before at least two examiners, at least half of whom are physicians; the examiners should have German as their first language and several years of professional experience in Germany. And: „Das Fachwissen der Antragstellenden wird im Rahmen des Fachsprachentests nicht bewertet.“ (Applicants' medical knowledge is not assessed in the language test.)

Before the exam starts, the committee members introduce themselves. They would be pleased, the chamber writes, if you introduced yourself too and briefly described your professional career; then the procedure is explained and you can ask questions. The general structure of the FSP is described in the three parts in detail.

Part 1: doctor–patient conversation (20 minutes)

„Führen Sie ein Anamnesegespräch mit einem (gespielten) Patienten.“ (Take a history from a [simulated] patient.) You record personal details, current complaints, previous illnesses, medication and family history, tell the patient your suspected diagnoses and explain them when asked, suggest diagnostics and therapy, and explain the measures — using words that are easy to understand and avoiding medical terms where possible. Notes are explicitly encouraged: you „sollten sich schriftliche Aufzeichnungen machen“ (should take written notes). You do not have to show them to the committee, but you must hand them in at the end of the exam.

Part 2: short report (20 minutes)

Using your notes, you summarise the conversation „zur Information ärztlicher Kollegen in Form eines Kurzberichts“ (as a short report to inform physician colleagues): sensibly structured, with the facts reproduced correctly and concisely. At the end you can set out suspected diagnoses and the next steps. You write in full sentences, including complex sentence structures. One warning is unmistakable: „Ergänzen Sie keinesfalls ‚erdachte‘ Textblöcke wie beispielsweise theoretisch mögliche Beschwerden, einen körperlichen Untersuchungsbefund oder Befundberichte.“ (Never add "invented" blocks of text such as theoretically possible complaints, a physical examination finding or findings reports.)

The decree speaks of a document typical of the profession, „z. B. Kurzarztbrief“ (e.g. a short doctor's letter); the chamber does not mention a pre-printed form. Letter conventions are explained in the Arztbrief — but unlike the letter Brandenburg requires, a Bremen report contains no findings.

Part 3: doctor–doctor communication (20 minutes)

You present the patient to a physician examiner playing a senior physician. You may use your notes but should not „vom Blatt ablesen“ (read them out); instead you discuss the condition in a collegial conversation. The chamber asks you to translate the patient's words into professional medical language — its own example: if the patient complained of „Verstopfung“ (constipation in everyday German), you say „Obstipation“. Finally you fill in the German names in a short list of common medical terms. More on this under medical terms.

Registration and dates

Whether you need a Fachsprachenprüfung is decided by the Senatorin für Gesundheit, Frauen und Verbraucherschutz. The chamber writes: „Wir können erst tätig werden, wenn diese Behörde uns den Auftrag erteilt.“ (We can only act once this authority commissions us.) Questions about requirements and procedure therefore go to the Senatorin's professional-law unit, not to the chamber. Under the decree, a B2 certificate is „grundsätzlich“ (as a rule) required for admission. The Marburger Bund (the doctors' union) lists no other language certificates such as telc for Bremen; besides the Bremen exam, only an FSP you passed at another state's chamber during that state's procedure is accepted.

The fees are set in the Ärztekammer Bremen's fee regulations of 26 June 2023: item 5.02, „Verfahren zur Durchführung/Wiederholung des Fachsprachentests“ (conducting or repeating the language test), costs €530; item 5.03 — rearranging a date after you cancel once invited — costs €300. The amendment of 17 November 2025, published on 28 January 2026, concerns only the radiation-protection section; the FSP fee is unchanged. The comparison with other chambers is in the fee overview.

For the Berufserlaubnis (temporary licence), Bremen requires B2 and a medical language test at C1; according to the Senate, once they have passed the FSP, physicians can already work as junior doctors. Passing the Fachsprachenprüfung is also a prerequisite for the Approbation. Whether you additionally need a Kenntnisprüfung (medical knowledge exam) is decided by the authority — the difference is explained in FSP or Kenntnisprüfung.

Assessment and result

You pass if the committee finds that you have the German needed for comprehensive medical practice. It decides by majority; in a tie the chair has the casting vote. Neither the chamber nor the authority publishes a points scheme.

The form of the result is unusual: the chamber reports it to the Senatorin without delay, and you receive a „rechtsmittelfähigen Bescheid“ (a formal decision open to legal challenge) stating that the required language skills are „gegeben“ (present) or „nicht gegeben“ (not present). The decree does not say whether the committee tells you the result orally on the day. The deadline and the type of challenge are set out in the instructions on legal remedies attached to your Bescheid; if in doubt, seek advice.

Retakes

„Die Fachsprachenprüfung kann beliebig häufig wiederholt werden“ (the exam can be repeated as often as you like), says the decree — unlike the Kenntnisprüfung, which may be repeated only twice. However, the chamber organises a new date only once the authority commissions it again, so contact the Senatorin again. The €530 is charged for a retake too. How to prepare for the next attempt is covered under failed the FSP.

Tips for the exam in Bremen

Prepare your introduction. The committee asks for a few sentences about yourself and your career — a good moment to settle into speaking German.
Invent nothing in the short report. No examination findings, no "typical" complaints the patient did not mention. What is missing stays missing; suspected diagnosis and next steps go at the end.
Keep notes as keywords, not sentences. In part 3 you should speak freely, not read out.
Translate in part 3. Practise turning the patient's words into medical terms on the spot. Examples from fsppruefung.de's fictional practice cases: „Wasser in den Beinen“ (water in the legs) → Ödeme, „Luftnot im Liegen“ (breathless when lying down) → Orthopnoe, „Brennen beim Wasserlassen“ (burning when passing urine) → Dysurie.
Practise the list in the other direction. At the end you go from the medical term to the German word.
Cancel after the invitation only in an emergency. A new date then costs €300.

Sources

Ready to practise instead of reading?

Your first complete exam simulation is free.

Start for free