IHK examination according to § 34a GewO

Successfully passing an IHK professional examination usually involves more than just knowing, understanding and applying specialist knowledge. From a socio-psychological point of view, enormous advantages can be achieved through the first appearance and general basic knowledge in dealing with people. The blog posts further down the page are designed to help you do just that!

The sense and purpose of the examination is to be able to prove that you can perform security tasks on your own responsibility and have the necessary knowledge. Accordingly, the expert can exercise and comply with the necessary legal regulations and specialist duties as well as powers and their practical application.

IHK examination (§ 34a GewO) (Wozu?)

There are activities in the security industry that require expertise!

Anyone who carries out or wishes to carry out one of the following activities must be able to prove that they have successfully passed an examination of expertise in accordance with § 34a GewO.

Patrols in public traffic areas or in areas with actual public traffic (city patrols, shopping centres or urban/subway areas)
Protection against shoplifters (department stores' detective)
Guarding the entrance area of discotheques in the catering industry (bouncers)
Leading function in the guarding of refugee accommodation centres
Guarding of large events with protected access in a managerial function
Traders (e.g. management of a GmbH)

Information on the examination procedure (How does the examination work?)

The examination consists of a written examination, for which 120 minutes are allowed, and an oral examination, which requires approximately 15 minutes of specialised discussion per candidate. Up to five candidates (5 persons) can be examined together in the oral examination. You will only be admitted to the oral examination if you have previously passed the written part of the examination! The entire examination can be repeated as often as necessary. However, the written examination is only valid for 2 years and must then be taken again.

The examination is conducted exclusively in German.

The following diagram decodes how the examination will proceed in accordance with the BewachV, IHK framework plan and examination regulations:

Part I. Written examination

Part II. Oral examination

Receipt of the certificate

Part I. Written examination (What is tested?)

Im schriftlichen Prüfungsteil sind Multiple-Choice-Fragen zu allen Sachgebieten des Unterrichtungsverfahrens zu bearbeiten. Die Schwerpunkte liegen bei den Themen „1a. Recht der öffentlichen Sicherheit und Ordnung, 3. Bürgerliches Gesetzbuch, 4a. Straf- und Verfahrensrecht“. Die Fragen aus dem jeweiligen Schwerpunkt geben jeweils 2 Punkte und sind damit besonders aufmerksam zu bearbeiten. (82 Fragen, 100 Punkte)

1a. Recht der öffentlichen Sicherheit und Ordnung (7 Fragen – 11 Punkte)
1b. Gewerberecht (5 Fragen – 8 Punkte)
2. Datenschutzrecht (5 Fragen – 8 Punkte)
3. Bürgerliches Gesetzbuch (13 Fragen – 21 Punkte)
4a. Straf- und Verfahrensrecht (13 Fragen – 21 Punkte)
4b. Umgang mit Waffen (5 Fragen – 8 Punkte)
5. Unfallverhütungsvorschriften (8 Fragen – 13 Punkte)
6. Umgang mit Menschen (19 Fragen – 19 Punkte)
7. Sicherheitstechnik (7 Fragen – 11 Punkte)

4 Fragen mit 2 Punkten & 3 Fragen mit 1 Punkt
3 Fragen mit 2 Punkten & 2 Fragen mit 1 Punkt
3 Fragen mit 2 Punkten & 2 Fragen mit 1 Punkt
8 Fragen mit 2 Punkten & 5 Fragen mit 1 Punkt
8 Fragen mit 2 Punkten & 5 Fragen mit 1 Punkt
3 Fragen mit 2 Punkten & 2 Fragen mit 1 Punkt
5 Fragen mit 2 Punkten & 3 Fragen mit 1 Punkt
19 Fragen mit 1 Punkt
4 Fragen mit 2 Punkten & 3 Fragen mit 1 Punkt

Part II. Oral examination (What is tested?)

The oral part of the examination also covers all of the subject areas mentioned above. Here, the focus is on the ‘Law of public safety and order’, in particular with regard to the delimitation of the tasks and powers of the police and the security industry. Other areas of specialisation are ‘commercial law’ and ‘data protection law’. It also depends on the operator application. In the oral part of the examination, the candidate is tested on the applicability of previously acquired knowledge using case studies and situational tasks:

‘What do you do in the following situation? An aggressive dog runs towards you and ...’

Successful completion (for what?)

The entire examination is deemed to have been successfully passed if both the written and the oral examination are completed with at least 50 per cent (sufficient) of the total points to be awarded. This is followed by the issue of the ‘Certificate of successful completion of an examination of expertise in accordance with Section 34a GewO’. Colloquially, this certificate is also known as a ‘34a certificate’ or simply a ‘certificate of competence examination’ or ‘SKP’ for short.