Professional supervisor; application for registration

Anyone wishing to provide professional care must register with the competent care authority (parent authority).

Depending on how long you have been working as a professional caregiver and which degree or professional qualification you hold, different regulations apply with regard to the registration procedure and proof of expertise.

Responsible parent authority: The guardianship authority in whose jurisdiction the registered office of the professional guardian is located or is to be established. If the professional supervisor does not have a registered office and no such office is to be established, local jurisdiction shall be based on the professional supervisor's place of residence.

Please note the annual program of the 2026 lecture series of the Care Office in the Forms section.

The requirements for registration as a professional supervisor are

• personal suitability and reliability,
• sufficient expertise to work as a professional supervisor and
• professional liability insurance to cover the liability risks arising from the professional activity for financial losses with a minimum sum insured of EUR 250,000 for each insured event and EUR 1 million for all insured events in an insurance year.

Personal suitability is assessed during an interview. Reliability is checked by submitting certain documents and declarations.

A professional caregiver must be able to legally represent the person being cared for in all areas of responsibility ordered by the court. Extensive proof of expertise in various areas is therefore required:

• Knowledge of care and accommodation law, the associated procedural law and in the areas of personal and property care
• Knowledge of the social support system and
• Knowledge of communication with people with illnesses and disabilities and of methods to support decision-making

Proof of expertise can be provided by

• Submission of a certificate of successful completion of a recognized course of study, training or further education or a recognized course of expertise,
• Certificates or other proof of achievement from non-recognized courses of study, training or further training, if these prove the acquisition of the required knowledge in whole or in part (in the case of only partial proof, the knowledge must otherwise be proven by completion of a recognized course of study, training or further training or a recognized specialist course),
• Proof of qualification for judicial office or successful completion of a degree in social pedagogy or social work or
• In individual cases: other proof, insofar as the proven knowledge corresponds to the requirements of a recognized expert training course in terms of content and scope.

The following applies to professional supervisors already working before January 1, 2023 (existing supervisors)

• There is no aptitude interview.
• All professional caregivers who were already providing professional care before January 1, 2020 are protected and do not have to submit a certificate of competence.
• Professional caregivers who have been professionally active for less than three years as of January 1, 2023 must provide proof of their expertise by June 30, 2025 at the latest. If the required proof of expertise is not provided by the deadline, the registration will be revoked.

For all others:

• Proof of expertise must be provided to the parent authority in full with the application for registration.
• A simplification applies to employees of recognized care associations. These can be registered if they are unable to provide full but essential proof of their expertise at the time of application, provided that the other requirements are met and the care association ensures that the person is supervised and monitored by an employee who is registered as a professional caregiver until full proof of their expertise is provided. In this case, full proof of expertise must be provided within one year of registration.

• If partial proof of expertise can be provided, but full proof cannot yet be provided only because the necessary study, training or further training courses are not available, applicants can be provisionally registered. In these cases, provisional registration ends at the latest on June 30, 2025.

• Certificate of good conduct
• Information from the central debtor register
• Declaration of insolvency, investigation or criminal proceedings
• Declaration of previous registration procedures
• Certificates of competence (insofar as these have not been issued):
   
  • Certificate of successful completion of a recognized course of study, training or further education or
  • Certificate of successful completion of a recognized expert training course or
  • other evidence
     
• Declaration on the time scope and organizational structure of the activity
• Proof of professional liability insurance
• Decision on the appointment as a professional supervisor (existing supervisor)
• Overview of all currently supervised cases, stating the court file number (portfolio supervisor)

• Lecture series 2026 - Care center

  Committed support, making provisions yourself, understanding the law

A fee of EUR 200 is charged for registration.

Existing supervisors are exempt from the fee.

Additional fees may be incurred if a preliminary decision is requested to determine the expertise or if a registration decision must be revoked or withdrawn.

• Ordinance on the Registration of Professional Caregivers (Caregiver Registration Ordinance - BtRegV)
• §§ 23 ff. Care Organization Act (BtOG)

The registration procedure begins with the application, which must be submitted to the locally competent parent authority.

All necessary documents must be submitted with the application.

Personal suitability is checked during an interview (exception: portfolio managers).

Upon request, the parent authority will decide by separate notification before the registration procedure is initiated whether and to what extent the other evidence can be provided by the documents submitted.

Even after registration, there are still notification and reporting obligations vis-à-vis the parent authority:

• Every six months, changes in the portfolio of care cases must be reported (stating the respective file numbers and the responsible courts).
• Changes that may affect the registration must be reported immediately.
• Changes to the overall scope in terms of time, the organizational structure and a change of registered office or place of residence must also be reported.
• Every three years, a current certificate of good conduct, information from the central debtor register and a declaration as to whether insolvency, investigation or criminal proceedings are pending must be sent.
• If a determination procedure regarding the applicable remuneration table has been carried out on the basis of Section 8 (3) of the Guardianship and Caregiver Remuneration Act (VBVG), this must also be communicated without being asked.

Violations can lead to revocation of the registration.

Professional supervisors must take part in professional training courses on their own responsibility and submit proof of this to the home authority.