Examination procedure
What is the exam day like?
Part 1: Written examination (multiple choice test to tick off)
Part 2: Oral examination (answer questions freely in front of the examination board)
The examination starts in the morning, usually between 8:30 and 9:00 a.m., with the written part. Please note the information on your invitation letter and be there in good time. Any delays will be at your expense. Please take your invitation letter, a valid identity document and a writing utensil (e.g. biros) with you to the examination. Aids such as encyclopaedias, textbooks or similar are not permitted. not permitted.
Follow the instructions of the examination board and get yourself “ready to go”. If you do not feel fully fit before the start of the examination, you still have the opportunity to withdraw from the examination. The examination will then be considered as “not taken”. You also have the opportunity to express any reservations you may have about certain examiners in advance (e.g. due to bias). These will be recorded and may result in you being offered another examination date without the “offending examiner”. Please note: Cheating and gross disruptions lead to exclusion from the examination. The examination is then deemed to have been “failed”.
You have 120 minutes to complete the 72 questions (“multiple choice”) in the written examination. Read the questions and the different answer options carefully and mark the correct answers by ticking them on the separate answer sheet.
If you have passed the written examination, you will receive a confirmation of this and will be admitted to the oral examination. If you did not score enough points in this first part of the examination, the examination day is over for you at this point and you have the opportunity to prepare better for the next examination date. Since the evaluation of the written multiple-choice examination by means of templates usually takes place quite quickly, the subsequent oral examination can take place promptly afterwards, often on the same day or the day after. However, this varies from IHK to IHK and also depends on the number of examination participants.
Go to oral examination you will be asked to appear before an examination board, either individually or in a group. The examination board must consist of at least three members who have the relevant expertise, are personally suitable and will question you about the subject matter in accordance with the examination regulations. The duration of the oral examination should be approximately 15 minutes per person. The questions are often asked in a practical manner as case studies. The main focus is on “law” and “dealing with people”. Formulate your answers thoughtfully and clearly in German!
After the end of the oral examination, the board retires briefly for deliberation. If you have also answered at least 50% of the questions correctly in the oral examination, you have passed the examination. The examination committee decides by majority vote whether you have passed or failed the examination. You will be informed of your result immediately after the deliberations. The examination certificate as written proof of your expertise (according to § 34a GewO) will be sent to you by post a few days later!
By the way, the examination is a non-public event. All examiners are sworn to secrecy about the content and course of the event. So you don’t need to be afraid. Even though an exam is not an everyday situation: Try to appear competent and confident! But never be “know-it-all” and always avoid lecturing the examiners or asking them questions.
How is it assessed? When does one fail the examination? When does one have the “34a licence?”
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