How Often Must Workplace First Aiders (Ersthelfer) Refresh Their Training in Germany?
Betrieblicher Ersthelfer (DGUV)
At the latest every two years, via the nine-unit Erste-Hilfe-Training. Employers must also have enough Ersthelfer: 5 percent of those present in office and retail workplaces, 10 percent elsewhere.
"Von 2 bis zu 20 anwesenden Versicherten 1 Ersthelfer. Bei mehr als 20 anwesenden Versicherten in Verwaltungs- und Handelsbetrieben 5 % der Anzahl der anwesenden Versicherten, in sonstigen Betrieben 10 % der anwesenden Versicherten. [...] eine Fortbildung spรคtestens alle 2 Jahre durch das so genannte Erste-Hilfe-Training (9 Unterrichtseinheiten)"
Renewal, refreshers, and what a lapse means
- Who it applies to
- Employers in Germany under DGUV Vorschrift 1: with 2 to 20 insured persons present, at least one Ersthelfer; with more than 20 present, 5 percent in administrative and commercial workplaces and 10 percent in other workplaces.
- How it is renewed
- The Erste-Hilfe-Training (Fortbildung) of nine teaching units, completed at the latest every two years after the initial nine-unit Erste-Hilfe-Lehrgang, delivered by a training provider authorised by the accident insurers.
- When it lapses
- An Ersthelfer whose last training is more than two years old no longer counts towards the required number, so the employer falls below the 5 or 10 percent minimum by one person until the Fortbildung is done.
Renewal reminders for your calendar
Enter the date and this page builds a calendar file with the expiry date and reminders 90 days and 30 days before it. Nothing leaves your browser; the file is generated here and opens in Outlook, Google Calendar or Apple Calendar.
What this does to the roster
Germany is the one jurisdiction on this site that writes the holder count into the rule, and it writes it as a share of people present, not employed. Five percent of those present in an office, ten percent on a shop floor, and the two-year Fortbildung cycle on top. The word that matters for the roster is present: a warehouse with 60 people on the books and 40 on the early shift needs four current Ersthelfer on the early shift, and a holder on the late shift does not count. That is the per-crew arithmetic of the qualified cover pages, written into the regulation.
Two years is the shortest cycle on this site, and it is the easiest to miss by a month, because the Fortbildung is nine teaching units, roughly a day, and a day is what nobody has in the quarter it falls due. A team that trained its Ersthelfer together has them all falling due together two years later, and the ten percent rule means a shop floor of 40 present needs four, so a crew that lets two lapse in the same month is at half its required provision until the course is rebooked.
The rule counts heads present, so the rota is the compliance record. A column for each person's last Fortbildung date, and a check that every shift has its five or ten percent from people whose date is inside two years, turns a regulation about training into a constraint the person building next week's shifts can see. Stagger the cycle so no shift ever drops more than one Ersthelfer at a time, and set the reminder a quarter before the two years are up.
How many holders does that take?
Validity says whether a certificate counts today. The next question is how many valid holders the operation needs so that the required number is actually on shift once leave, sickness and the occasional lapse are priced in.
A 24/7 team of 20 in four crews needs two first aiders per crew, eight in all, and still runs about 17.5 shifts a year without one.
How Many First Aiders Does a Team of 40 Need for Two on Site?Four first aiders in a team of 40 keep two on site on all but about 1.9 working days a year. Three would leave it short on 11.5.
Common questions
- How often must Ersthelfer training be refreshed in Germany?
- At the latest every two years, per the DGUV, through the Erste-Hilfe-Training of nine teaching units. The initial qualification is the Erste-Hilfe-Lehrgang, also nine teaching units.
- How many Ersthelfer does a German workplace need?
- Per DGUV Vorschrift 1: with 2 to 20 insured persons present, at least one; with more than 20 present, 5 percent of those present in administrative and commercial workplaces and 10 percent in other workplaces. The count is of people present, so it applies per shift.
- Does an Ersthelfer whose training is over two years old still count?
- No. The Fortbildung is required at the latest every two years to keep the role, so a lapsed Ersthelfer drops out of the 5 or 10 percent count until the training is repeated. On a shift that needs four, one lapse is a quarter of the provision.
This page summarises the cited source as read on 2026-08-19. Rules change and needs assessments differ; check the source for your own case. Keeping each person's expiry date on the record that builds the rota is what the Skills tab in Soon is for.
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