Professional supervisor; application for registration

Anyone wishing to act as a professional guardian must register with the competent guardianship authority (home 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 home 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, the local jurisdiction is based on the professional supervisor's place of residence.

The requirements for registration as a professional supervisor are

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

Personal suitability is checked 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 support system under social law 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 course of expertise),
• Proof of qualification for judicial office or successful completion of a degree course in social pedagogy or social work, or
• In individual cases: other proof, insofar as the content and scope of the proven knowledge corresponds to the requirements of a recognized training course.

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 (with the exception of stock supervisors).

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

Even after registration, there are still notification and reporting obligations towards the parent authority:

• Every six months, changes in the number of guardianships 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 register of debtors and a declaration as to whether insolvency, investigation or criminal proceedings are pending must be sent.
• If an assessment procedure has been carried out on the basis of Section 8 (3) of the Guardian and Caregiver Remuneration Act (VBVG) with regard to the applicable remuneration table, this must also be communicated unsolicited.

Violations can lead to the revocation of registration.

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

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

• There will be 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.

The following applies to all others:

• Proof of expertise must be provided in full with the application for registration to the parent authority in the form of documentation.
• A simplification applies to employees of recognized care associations. These can be registered if they cannot 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.

• Applicants can be provisionally registered if they are able to provide partial proof of expertise but are unable to provide full proof because the necessary study, training or further training courses are not available. In such cases, provisional registration ends at the latest on June 30, 2025.

• Applicants must submit the following documents:
  
  • 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 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 current supervisions, stating the court file number (existing supervisor)

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.