FSP exam in Germany: cost and format in all 17 medical chambers

The standard format

Ten of the 17 chambers follow the so-called Westphalian model, first used in Münster in 2014: a patient interview (Anamnese) with a doctor or actor playing the patient, a written documentation of that case, and a conversation with a senior doctor in which you present the patient. Each part takes about 20 minutes, and a panel of three, at least two of them doctors, marks you. Many chambers end with a short list of medical terms to translate into everyday German.

All 17 chambers at a glance

Which chamber can I choose?

Usually you sit the FSP at the chamber of the state where you applied for your licence (Approbation) or work permit. In Schleswig-Holstein the state authority registers you at the Mecklenburg-Vorpommern chamber; Saarland accepts an FSP passed elsewhere. Whether another chamber's result counts in your case is decided by the authority handling your application, so ask it first.

How do the formats differ in practice?

• Written part: most chambers want a short report on a template; Brandenburg and Mecklenburg-Vorpommern want a full doctor's letter typed on a computer, which takes practice at typing German medical text.
• Extra parts: Hessen adds a separate 20-minute vocabulary test; Sachsen-Anhalt adds documents, a lab phone call and a film; Rheinland-Pfalz has six parts and stops the exam at the first part failed.
• Consent talk: in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern the patient interview includes explaining a procedure from a consent form you read beforehand.

How to prepare

Practise the three standard parts under real timing, then add whatever your chamber does differently. Our guides cover the patient interview and the doctor's letter. For the new licensing law in force from 1 November 2026, see Kenntnisprüfung 2026.