Search
Contact
21.05.2021 | KPMG Law Insights

OVG Münster: Use of the professional title “engineer

OVG Münster: Use of the professional title “engineer

Issue: An employee who had been working in the construction industry for many years successfully completed a one-year course of further education at the Cologne University of Applied Sciences to become a fire protection construction manager. He later enrolled in a certificate program in “Preventive Fire Protection.” Due to the lack of a first university degree, he had to pass all examinations of the four-semester certificate program by the third semester in order to subsequently transfer to the master’s program. He successfully passed this aptitude test. Subsequently, he also successfully completed the master’s program with the degree “Master of Engineering (M. Eng.)”. He then applied for registration as a voluntary member of the NRW Chamber of Civil Engineers. This application for registration was rejected by the Ingenieurkammer-Bau NRW. The plaintiff had no legal right to the registration. He had not completed a scientific or technical course of study as defined by the Engineering Act. The Administrative Court dismissed the action against the decision issued. In the appeal proceedings, the Higher Administrative Court of Münster recently had to clarify the question under which conditions a university graduate in North Rhine-Westphalia is entitled to use the professional title “engineer” (OVG Münster, judgment dated March 5, 2018, Ref.: 4 A 542/15).

Reasons for Decision: The legal basis for the inclusion is § 38 para. 2 Sentence 1 lit. b) in conjunction with. § 30 para. 1 No. 1 Building Chamber Act NRW (BauKaG), § 1 para. 1 No. 1 lit. a) NRW Engineering Act (IngG). The prerequisites are that the applicant is active in the construction industry (Section 29 (2) BauKaG), is entitled to use the professional title “engineer” (Section 30 (1) No. 1 BauKaG), is not registered in the list of consulting engineers and has his main residence or place of employment in NRW. The authorization to use the professional title “engineer” is based on § 1 para. 1 No. 1 lit. a) IngG, which requires a successfully completed course of study in a technical or scientific field (hereinafter referred to as technical studies) at a German university lasting at least three years. The plaintiff fulfills these requirements. He had successfully completed a two-year advanced technical master’s degree (“Preventive Fire Protection”) at a German university with the master’s examination. With the admission to the master’s program, the equivalence of his professional qualifications with those of a completed undergraduate degree had been established. In addition, he successfully completed a one-year advanced technical degree program to become a fire protection construction manager. Overall, the plaintiff had thus successfully completed a technical course of study at a German university over the minimum duration of three years.
The term study refers to the process of studying. The study would not necessarily have to be within a degree program. Graduates must be given the opportunity to make up for missing study time by taking a separate technical course of study instead of having to complete a completely new three-year course of study. The requirement of a successful completion of studies also does not depend on a specific degree. It is not necessary that the course of study be undergraduate (bachelor’s degree), nor can it be inferred from the law that a certain proportion of “engineering-specific” course content is prescribed. These requirements would also not result from further interpretation. The latter had been suggested by the NRW Chamber of Civil Engineers, among others, but had not yet been expressly included by the legislator. Furthermore, the assessment of whether the relevant minimum duration of studies is present is based solely on the years of study. The number of hours of instruction or the number of credit points received are irrelevant for this purpose.
Significance for practice: The regulations in the engineering laws of the federal states differ. Recently, in June 2018, a new model engineering law was passed by the Conference of Economic Ministers of the German states. This also includes a requirement for a minimum proportion of “engineering-specific” subjects in mathematics, computer science, natural sciences and technology (STEM). The engineering laws of the federal states are to be based on this model engineering law. With the agreed minimum content of 50%, this requirement still falls short of the demand of various associations. In the Lower Saxony Engineering Act, a minimum of 70% is already required to use the professional title “engineer”. Developments in the countries therefore remain to be seen. However, in the absence of such a provision, it cannot be “read into” the law. In the event of changes to the state law regulations, however, engineers who have already been registered may assume that they will continue to be entitled to use the professional title of “engineer” in order to protect their legitimate expectations.

Do you want to get in touch with the author? Then call Jannike Ehlers at +49 (0)40 360994-5021 or write to her at jannikeluiseehlers@kpmg-law.com – she looks forward to hearing from you.

Explore #more

29.08.2025 | Unkategorisiert

Statement by Ulrich Keunecke on the special infrastructure fund in Politico

KPMG Law financial expert Ulrich Keunecke explains how the infrastructure special fund can be leveraged with capital from private investors. You can find the article…

25.08.2025 | Deal Notifications

KPMG Law is advising APELOS on the refinancing and acquisition of a practice group with around 50 practice locations.

KPMG Law Rechtsanwaltsgesellschaft mbH (KPMG Law) and KPMG AG Wirtschaftsprüfungsgesellschaft (KPMG) advised APELOS Therapie GmbH, a leading therapy practice group in Germany, on the refinancing…

15.08.2025 | In the media

KPMG Law Statement in Die-Stiftung.de on the topic of foundation registers – The long road to digital order

The entry into force of the foundation law reform on July 1, 2023 marks a turning point in the German foundation system. The list of…

14.08.2025 | KPMG Law Insights

Electromobility in logistics – legal challenges

In order to reduce its CO2 emissions, the logistics industry is increasingly turning to electromobility. This is not only due to ESG regulations such as…

07.08.2025 | KPMG Law Insights

NIS2: How energy suppliers must protect themselves against cyber attacks

In July 2025, the Military Counterintelligence Service reported a significant increase in spying attempts and disruptive measures by the Russian secret service, according to media…

06.08.2025 | KPMG Law Insights

Tax havens: When business relationships trigger criminal proceedings

A German tech company had been paying license fees to a contractual partner in Panama for years without ever having any problems. However, few people

06.08.2025 | Deal Notifications

KPMG Law, KPMG in Germany and KPMG in Switzerland advised Bureau Veritas on the acquisition of Dornier Hinneburg and its Swiss subsidiary Hinneburg Swiss

KPMG Law Rechtsanwaltsgesellschaft mbH (KPMG Law) together with KPMG AG Wirtschaftsprüfungsgesellschaft (KPMG) and KPMG AG Switzerland advised Bureau Veritas Group (Bureau Veritas) on the acquisition…

05.08.2025 | Deal Notifications

KPMG Law advises Athagoras Holding GmbH on the acquisition of IGES Group

KPMG Law Rechtsanwaltsgesellschaft mbH (KPMG Law) provided legal advice to Athagoras Holding GmbH, a platform of the Munich-based PE firm Greenpeak Partners, on the acquisition…

05.08.2025 | In the media

Wirtschaftswoche honors KPMG Law as top law firm in public procurement law

The current ranking of the Handelsblatt Research Institute in cooperation with WirtschaftsWoche has selected the top law firms and top lawyers in the legal fields…

04.08.2025 | Deal Notifications

KPMG Law and KPMG AG advise NMP Germany on the acquisition of DESMA Schuhmaschinen GmbH

KPMG Law Rechtsanwaltsgesellschaft mbH (KPMG Law) has provided legal advice to NMP Germany GmbH (NMP) on the acquisition of DESMA Schuhmaschinen GmbH (DESMA). KPMG Law…

Contact

Dr. Jannike Ehlers

Senior Associate

Fuhlentwiete 5
20355 Hamburg

Tel.: +49 (0)40 360994-5021
jannikeluiseehlers@kpmg-law.com

© 2024 KPMG Law Rechtsanwaltsgesellschaft mbH, associated with KPMG AG Wirtschaftsprüfungsgesellschaft, a public limited company under German law and a member of the global KPMG organisation of independent member firms affiliated with KPMG International Limited, a Private English Company Limited by Guarantee. All rights reserved. For more details on the structure of KPMG’s global organisation, please visit https://home.kpmg/governance.

 KPMG International does not provide services to clients. No member firm is authorised to bind or contract KPMG International or any other member firm to any third party, just as KPMG International is not authorised to bind or contract any other member firm.

Scroll