reasonable accommodation in examinations

What is it about?

What is compensated is not the performance itself, but the ability to demonstrate it. Those who would be disadvantaged under standard conditions due to a disability or chronic illness receive an adapted form of examination. The constitutional anchor is the prohibition of discrimination under Article 3(3) sentence 2 of the Basic Law; the examination law dimension is equal opportunity in examination law. Typical measures include extended processing time, additional breaks, a separate room, enlarged question sheets, or technical aids. The substantive examination requirements may not be altered.

How is it applied for?

In practice it usually works as follows: the application must be submitted at the latest together with the application for admission to the examination, accompanied by a medical certificate describing the performance-impairing effect. The competent office then determines the form of the adjustment and has its own margin of assessment in doing so, which is why identical diagnoses can be treated differently in different states. For pharmacists, § 6(7) of the Pharmacy Licensing Regulations refers to the interests of candidates with disabilities. The distinction between a lasting condition that affects performance capacity itself and a mere difficulty in demonstrating it remains contested; the Higher Administrative Court of Berlin-Brandenburg ruled on this on 13 March 2025 (OVG 5 S 13/25). Time limits and requirements follow from the applicable examination regulations and state law and should be checked by a lawyer if in doubt.

What applies when studying in an EU country?

Universities in Bulgaria, Romania, Hungary, or Croatia handle reasonable accommodation differently — sometimes generously, sometimes very formally — and German medical certificates often have to be translated and certified there. This should not be relied upon. For later German procedures, such as the knowledge test, German rules apply again, and the application must be submitted early to the competent office.

Common misconception

Reasonable accommodation does not protect grades. It also does not appear on the certificate. And it can barely be enforced retrospectively after the examination: those who sit without applying and only mention the impairment after seeing the result will find it very difficult. Nor does reasonable accommodation replace withdrawal when the illness is acute and performance on that day would in any case not be possible.