FSP exam in Bavaria: process, cost and retakes at the BLÄK

Who runs the FSP in Bavaria?

The exam is run by the BLÄK's Stabsstelle Fachsprachenprüfung (its FSP office) at Haidenauplatz 5 in Munich. There is no other exam location in Bavaria. Whether you have to sit it is decided not by the chamber but by the authority that handles your application for the Approbation (full licence) or Berufserlaubnis (temporary permit): the ZAABY, the central recognition office of the Regierung von Oberbayern.

The exam tests medical German at level C1. The basis is general German at B2, which you prove with a recognised certificate; B2 itself is not tested again. The FSP is not a practical exam: you explain examinations, you do not perform them, and your medical knowledge is not graded.

How do I register for the FSP in Bavaria?

You cannot register directly with the chamber. The steps are:

1. Apply for the Approbation or Berufserlaubnis at the Regierung von Oberbayern (ZAABY).
2. The Regierung passes your name to the BLÄK. The chamber writes to you and sends an email with an Ordnungsnummer (payment reference).
3. Transfer 550 euros using that reference. Cash is not accepted; international transfers may carry bank fees.
4. Send back your CV, a recognised B2 certificate and the signed page 2 of the chamber's letter with your preferred month.
5. Only when the fee and documents have arrived does the chamber give you a date. It tries to match your preferred month but cannot promise it.

The BLÄK gives about eight weeks from its letter to the exam day. It says it examines around 300 candidates a month and held 3,557 exams last year (chamber page, read on 21 October 2026).

How much does the FSP cost in Bavaria?

Fees range from 400 to 650 euros across Germany's chambers; all of them are compared in our article FSP exam in Germany: cost and format in all 17 chambers.

What happens on exam day in Munich?

Plan two and a half to three hours on site, including waiting. The exam itself takes about 60 minutes, and the three parts count equally.

The panel has two doctors and one linguist. The chamber does not issue a separate certificate; the result goes straight to the Regierung, which decides on your application.

What does each part ask for?

Part 1, doctor-patient talk. The chamber's task sheet asks you to cover the patient's personal details, current complaints, previous illnesses, medication and family history. Then you tell the patient your suspected diagnoses, suggest further tests and treatment and explain what will happen, in plain words rather than medical terms. You may take notes; you hand them in at the end, and they are not graded.

Part 2, documentation. You summarise the talk as a Kurzbericht (short report) for colleagues on a structured form, and in the second part of the form you write full sentences. You may use your notes from part 1. You choose laptop or handwriting. The laptop has a German keyboard (QWERTZ); if you practise on an English keyboard at home, you will lose time on z, y and the umlauts.

Part 3, doctor-to-doctor talk. A medical examiner plays a colleague. You report on the patient and answer the follow-up questions, now using medical terms. Switching between everyday German in part 1 and medical German in part 3 is the heart of the exam.

How is it marked, and what is the pass mark?

The chamber marks only your (medical) language, not whether your diagnosis is medically right. You pass when the panel finds that you meet the requirements in all three parts (§ 11 of the procedural rules), so one strong part cannot make up for a weak one. The BLÄK publishes no pass score; since 1 March 2025 it uses a revised marking module, developed after a study by TU Berlin.

• If you stop during the exam, you have failed. Parts already done are not carried over.
• Using any aid that is not allowed fails the whole exam. Only the writing materials in the room are allowed.
• A retake is always the whole exam, never a single part.

How many people pass the FSP in Bavaria?

The BLÄK published figures for 2024: 3,030 exams (2023: 2,091). 53 percent passed at the first attempt and 49 percent at the second (Bayerisches Ärzteblatt 3/2025, the chamber's journal). The examiners name common reasons for failing: not catching medical terms correctly, not explaining things clearly, not turning medical terms into lay language correctly, not knowing German routines such as informing patients and documentation duties, and treating the FSP as a simple language test.

Failed: what happens next?

1. On the day, the panel gives you an information sheet. The next working day the chamber tells the ZAABY that you did not pass.
2. The panel tells you how long to prepare, depending on your score. The chamber plans with three to six months; the procedural rules recommend at least three.
3. To retake, email fsp@blaek.de. You receive a payment request for 550 euros and, once paid, a new date.
4. If you do not want to retake, tell your caseworker at the ZAABY in writing.

There is no limit on attempts. The chamber says it can take a few days before you get your new date, and it cannot name one before then, even if you ask.

How should I prepare?

The chamber recommends a C1 course and, if possible, an observership (Hospitation) in a hospital or practice. In the chamber journal interview, an examiner names about one year of preparation as typical. Practise all three parts under real time: the history out loud, the report on a German keyboard in 20 minutes, the handover to a colleague with medical terms. How a report for colleagues is built is shown in our article on the Arztbrief in the FSP. Timed practice tasks are under Practice.

Does an FSP from another German state count in Bavaria?

The Regierung von Oberbayern decides case by case: it accepts an exam from another state if it is equivalent to the BLÄK exam. Ask the ZAABY before you pay a fee somewhere else. The office that asks for the proof decides.