FaMED and Kenntnisprüfung: Language Evidence and Medical Knowledge

FaMed assesses professional German communication. The Kenntnisprüfung assesses medical knowledge and skills within a licensing procedure. Passing either assessment does not, by itself, issue a medical licence.

Your responsible authority determines the route for your qualification and application. Do not assume every foreign-trained doctor must take a Kenntnisprüfung, or that document assessment always starts only after the language exam.

Compare the purpose

The official knowledge-test rules cover internal medicine and surgery, with additional aspects such as emergency medicine, pharmacotherapy, imaging, radiation protection and professional legal issues. They are not a promise of a particular set of elective questions. The old claim that the board must consist of three professors was too specific.

Check equivalence and application requirements

A qualification may be recognised through the applicable recognition procedure; in other cases an authority can require a knowledge assessment. EU/EWR/Swiss and third-country routes must not be treated as identical. Use your authority's current instructions and any decision issued in your case.

A Berufserlaubnis is a separate permission that can have restrictions. Do not assume you can work while waiting merely because you passed FaMed or booked a Kenntnisprüfung.

For destination-state language requirements, read the recognition guide. For the current FaMed fee and live booking sources, use our administrative guide. No universal KP price or completion timeline is promised here.

Transfer useful communication habits

Practice distinguishing patient-reported information, documented findings and your own interpretation. Use precise times, medication names and clear summaries. A framework such as SBAR can help you organise a practice presentation, but it is not a universal mandated answer structure for either assessment.

Try the presentation exercise, then compare your answer with the actual assignment. See the preparation app before deciding whether its available exercises suit your language goals.

Sources and review

Editorial check: 18 October 2026, human medicine. Knowledge-test rules, §37 ÄApprO, Temporary permission, §10 BÄO, Exam flow. Practice examples are created by FaMED Prep; they are not predictions of exam questions.