Vocational language courses in Germany (BSK): who can join and how to register

3 min read · 8 steps · Updated 3 October 2026

The integration course takes you to B1. Many jobs ask for more, and almost every job uses words that no general course teaches: the e-mail to a customer, the handover on a ward, the safety briefing on a building site. The vocational language courses were built for that step. They follow on from the integration course, are paid for by the federal government, and exist in versions for job seekers, employees, apprentices and people waiting for recognition of a profession.

This is general information, not legal advice. For your own case, speak to an advice centre.

Step by step

1. Know the two kinds of course

   Basic courses end with a recognised certificate at a target level: A2, B1, B2, C1 or C2. Special courses teach the language of one field without a general exam: courses for doctors, nurses and other health professions in the recognition process, courses for technical and commercial jobs, and the Job-BSK, which is built around one workplace and can take place at the employer.

   Done

2. Check the language requirement

   For most courses you must have finished an integration course or show German at level B1. Lower levels are accepted for some courses: A1 for the course with target A2, and A2 for a Job-BSK. The courses with targets A2 and B1 are only open to people who went through the integration course without reaching B1.

   Done

3. Check that you belong to a group that may join

   The courses are open to people from outside the EU, EU citizens and Germans with a migration background who are in one of these situations: registered as a job seeker or receiving citizen's allowance or unemployment benefit; looking for or already in vocational training; going through the recognition of a professional qualification; or employed but struggling with German at work.

   Done

4. Get the certificate of eligibility

   You cannot simply enrol. If you are registered as a job seeker or receive benefits, ask your employment agency or job centre for the certificate (Berechtigungsschein). If you work, are an apprentice or are in a recognition procedure and receive no benefits, apply to the regional office of the BAMF responsible for your state. The BAMF lists one e-mail address per region on its page.

   Done

5. Find a course

   With the certificate you receive an extract from the current course programme. The full, daily updated list is in the KURSNET database of the employment agency. Courses run in person or online, full-time or part-time in the evening, so an employee can take one next to the job.

   Done

6. Register with the provider

   Take the certificate to the course provider and sign up. The provider places you in the right module and tells you the start date. Courses for popular levels in big cities fill up, so register early.

   Done

7. Know what it costs

   Taking part is free as a rule. Only people with a taxable annual income above 20,000 euros (40,000 euros for a couple assessed together) pay a contribution of 2.56 euros per lesson, which is half the real cost: 1,024 euros for a 400-lesson course. An employer may pay that for you, and if you pass the final exam you can claim half of your contribution back.

   Done

8. Take the exam

   Basic courses end with a certificate exam at the target level. The certificate is recognised by employers and by recognition offices, and it is often the piece of paper that a B2 or C1 requirement in a job advert or a licence procedure asks for.

   Done

Good to know

The courses are the second stage of the state language system. The first stage is described in integration course in Germany: who can join and what it costs.

Health professionals in the recognition procedure should ask specifically for the courses for academic medical professions or for nursing: they teach the language of the knowledge test and the ward.

If you are unemployed, the course counts as an active step and the job centre will usually support it. The rest of that situation: lost your job in Germany: how unemployment benefit works.

Which certificate you need for which purpose: which German level do you need.

Rules, amounts and deadlines change. Check the official source named at the end before you act, and ask the office in your city, because procedures differ from town to town.

In short: Courses A2 to C2 plus special courses for health, technical and commercial jobs and the Job-BSK. Usually B1 or the integration course first. Certificate of eligibility from the agency, job centre or BAMF, then sign up with a provider. Free below 20,000 euros taxable income.