Anyone brokering or advising on mortgage loans in Germany runs into the §34i Sachkundeprüfung, and the regulation behind it fixes some things tightly while leaving others to the individual chamber. Here is what the Immobiliardarlehensvermittlungsverordnung actually states.
What is the §34i Sachkundeprüfung, and who needs it?
It is the qualifying exam required under § 34i of the Gewerbeordnung for anyone acting as an Immobiliardarlehensvermittler, a mortgage credit intermediary who arranges or advises on loans secured against residential property. The Immobiliardarlehensvermittlungsverordnung (ImmVermV) sets out the exam in detail, and its syllabus is Anlage 1 (zu § 1 Absatz 2) of that regulation. Like several of its sibling exams under the GewO, it has a written part and a separate practical part, and the written part is what a multiple-choice practice pack can actually prepare for.
What does the written part cover, and what is left out?
Only chapters 2 and 3 of Anlage 1. ImmVermV § 3 Absatz 2 restricts the written part to the Sachgebiete in § 1 Absatz 2 Satz 1 Nummer 2 und 3. Chapter 1 of Anlage 1, Kundenberatung, is examined separately: § 3 Absatz 4 defines the practical part as a simulation of a client-advice conversation, something a written multiple-choice test cannot represent. So an Immobiliardarlehensvermittler candidate needs both parts to qualify, but a revision app built on multiple-choice questions can only, and honestly only, prepare for the written one.
How does the written material break down for study?
The regulation names two Sachgebiete for the written part, and § 3 Absatz 2 requires them to be examined in a balanced relation to one another. It does not subdivide them further. For studying, RiverMap Learning splits the material of chapters 2 and 3 into seven groups. These are a teaching arrangement, not a statutory division, and nothing in ImmVermV attaches a threshold to any of them:
- Rechtliche Grundlagen – legal and business capacity, contract law, land and land-equivalent rights, the notarial purchase contract, Auflassung
- Grundbuch – how the land register is structured, the ranking of registered rights, and changes and unregistered encumbrances
- Vermittlerrecht und Aufsicht – consumer-credit law, information and conduct duties, the Kreditwesengesetz, the Geldwäschegesetz, legal status, supervision and the internal market
- Verbraucherschutz und Wettbewerb – consumer-protection basics, arbitration bodies, unfair competition, prohibited advertising and data protection
- Wirtschaft und Steuern – property and credit markets, economic cycles, monetary policy, interest-rate levels, basic interest calculation and tax aspects
- Kreditprodukte und Finanzierungsbedarf – reasons for financing, credit products, financing needs and components, interest calculation and financing offers
- Prüfung, Sicherung und Beendigung – comparing loan terms, creditworthiness checks, loan security, risks and ending a credit agreement
What is the pass mark, and how many questions are there?
At least 50 percent of the attainable points in each of the two Sachgebiete on its own, not just as an overall average across both. The threshold in § 3 Absatz 7 attaches to the Sachgebiete of § 1 Absatz 2 Satz 1 Nummer 2 und 3, and to nothing smaller: the seven study groups above carry no pass mark of their own. What the regulation does not fix is the format around that threshold. Under § 3 Absatz 9 each Industrie- und Handelskammer settles the details of the exam procedure by its own Satzung, so there is no nationwide question count and no nationwide time limit. RiverMap Learning’s own practice mock uses a 40-question, 60-minute format, disclosed in the app as this app’s own practice setting rather than an official one, since ImmVermV states neither figure.
Does the practice pack cover the whole syllabus?
Almost, with one item stated as excluded rather than quietly skipped. Anlage 1 item 2.11.2, economic cycles and their effect on lending, has no statutory text to cite: it is a macroeconomic topic, not a legal one, and no public source examined carried an explicit reuse licence for it either. Every other item across chapters 2 and 3 of Anlage 1 rests on statute, covering the BGB, the GBO, the KWG, the GwG, the UWG, the BDSG and the PAngV among others, each cited to the specific provision it comes from.
Every fact above comes from the Immobiliardarlehensvermittlungsverordnung itself, freely available at gesetze-im-internet.de. RiverMap Learning’s §34i practice pack, part of the Berufsprüfungen Deutschland app, drills both Sachgebiete across those seven study groups with 298 original questions and 91 flashcards, each explanation citing the specific provision it rests on.