The §34a Sachkundeprüfung is a two-part exam, written then oral, and both have to be passed. There is no official minimum study time and no prescribed course to sit it, so a good plan means learning the scoring rules first, then working through the seven subject areas in order of how much of the DIHK framework plan each one takes up.
Do I need a preparation course first?
No. A Vorbereitungslehrgang is not a legal condition for registering with your local Chamber of Industry and Commerce (IHK), and self-study is an accepted route. Keep the Sachkundeprüfung distinct from the separate 40-hour Unterrichtung also provided for under § 34a GewO: that shorter qualification is aimed at lower-responsibility security roles and is not a substitute for, or a prerequisite of, the Sachkundeprüfung itself.
Which subject areas should I study first?
Start with the two heaviest-weighted areas, then work down. The written exam’s 82 questions are drawn from seven Sachgebiete fixed by § 7 BewachV, and the DIHK framework plan gives them very different amounts of material:
- Straf- und Strafverfahrensrecht einschließlich Umgang mit Waffen (criminal and criminal procedure law, including weapons handling): the heaviest area.
- Recht der öffentlichen Sicherheit und Ordnung (public security and order law, including trade law and § 34a GewO itself): the second-heaviest.
- Umgang mit Menschen (dealing with people): behaviour in dangerous situations and de-escalation technique.
- Unfallverhütungsvorschrift Wach- und Sicherungsdienste (accident prevention for security services), based on DGUV Vorschrift 23 and DGUV Vorschrift 1.
- Datenschutzrecht (data protection law), the Bürgerliches Gesetzbuch (possession, property, house rights, liability, found property), and Grundzüge der Sicherheitstechnik (mechanical security, alarm and access systems): the three lightest areas, weighted roughly equally.
Neither the DIHK nor individual chambers publish an official per-topic question count, so this order is an estimate of syllabus weight from the DIHK Rahmenplan, not an official quota.
What is the pass line, and what should I know before drilling questions?
60 of the 120 available points, 50 percent. Each question is worth as many points as it has correct answers, at most two, and the exam shows each question’s point value. Since 1 July 2025 every IHK scores partial answers, so on a two-point question each correctly marked answer earns a point, and marking a second option never costs you the point you already have. The one rule that costs you the whole question: marking more options than the point value earns zero points for that whole question, so never mark more options than the point value.
How should I use timed mock exams?
Practise under the same structure as the real written part: 82 questions, 120 minutes, 60 points to pass. One detail is worth knowing if your practice tool does not reproduce the real exam’s multiple-selection format exactly: on the real exam, a two-point question is marked proportionally, so finding one of the two correct answers still earns a point, while a practice tool that marks the same question all-or-nothing will tend to score you more strictly, never more leniently, than the real result. Treat a passing mock score under that stricter marking as a solid sign you are ready.
How do I prepare for the oral part?
Separately, since written-question drilling does not cover it. The oral part runs about 15 minutes per candidate, with up to five candidates examined together in the same session, and concentrates mainly on subject areas 1 and 6, public security and order law and dealing with people, typically through a discussed case scenario. You are admitted to it only after passing the written part, and no nationally published catalogue of oral scenarios exists, so the exact questions vary by examiner and chamber.
What does registration cost, and what happens if I fail a part?
There is no single nationwide fee. Depending on the Chamber of Industry and Commerce you register with, the cost runs roughly between 122 and 430 euros, so confirm the current schedule before booking a date. Either part can be retaken on its own if you fail it. The one deadline to track: once you pass the written part, you have two years to also pass the oral part, or the entire Sachkundeprüfung counts as not passed and the written part has to be taken again from scratch.
The two-part structure, oral format and seven subject areas come from § 34a GewO and §§ 7, 9 and 11 BewachV, freely available at gesetze-im-internet.de. Written-exam scoring, applied the same way by every IHK since 1 July 2025, and the two-year oral deadline come from the IHK examination rules, and each IHK sets its own fee. The §34a Sachkundeprüfung course in RiverMap Learning’s Berufsprüfungen Deutschland app has 717 original questions and 300 flashcards across all seven subject areas, each question citing the law or official guidance it is based on, plus a timed mock built to the same 82-question, 120-minute, 60-point structure described above. This app is an independent study tool, not affiliated with the DIHK, any IHK, or any public authority, and reproduces no official exam questions.