HOW TO HIRE · LESSONS & TUTORING

How to hire a German tutor in the UK
The checks, the questions and the paperwork.

No register lists German tutors. Here is the vetting to ask for, how to check they fit your goal, and the terms to agree.

  • Search and compare — no account needed
  • Nearest to you first
  • One score from Google, Trustpilot and Locufy reviews

THE 60-SECOND VERSION

Hiring a German tutor in five steps

  1. Say what the German is forAn exam and its board, a move for work, business meetings or conversation. A German tutor plans each differently.
  2. Ask which check they holdA German tutor should name it: an enhanced DBS check in England and Wales, PVG membership in Scotland or an AccessNI check in Northern Ireland — and show the date.
  3. Check the teaching, not just the knowledgeA German tutor should describe how a typical German lesson runs and how they find out what a student is missing.
  4. Start with one lessonOne German lesson online or at home tells you more than any profile; commit to a block of lessons only afterwards.
  5. Write down the termsWhat happens when lessons are moved, the notice to stop, and books on top, agreed in writing with the German tutor.

BEFORE YOU BOOK

Check before you book

No register applies

There is no register of German tutors anywhere in the UK, and anyone may teach German, online or at home. Fluency and teaching skill are different things, and only the second is in a certificate you can ask to see.

Ask how long they have taught German, what training they had, and for someone who can vouch for them.

The check for teaching your child

A German tutor who works with your child for an hour each week is in regulated activity in England and Wales once it passes three days in any 30 (or any overnight session), and should hold an enhanced DBS check that includes the children's barred list. Supervision used to take some roles outside the rule; since 1 September 2026 it does not, whoever a German tutor works alongside. In Scotland the equivalent is membership of the PVG scheme, which mygov.scot says to expect for tutors or instructors a parent hires for a child. In Northern Ireland, a German tutor working for themselves applies for an enhanced AccessNI check through an Umbrella Body.

Parents cannot request the check themselves: a German tutor applies and shows you the certificate. Note the date on it; in Scotland ask for proof of current PVG membership, in Northern Ireland the shared AccessNI certificate. gov.uk →

Training as a German tutor

No licence or register applies to teaching German, and being a native speaker is not a teaching qualification. A language degree, qualified teacher status for school pupils, or a recognised certificate in teaching the language shows training; recent students at your level shows teaching.

Ask a German tutor for their teaching certificate and how many learners at your level they have this term.

Your rights when paying for a block of lessons

Like any trader, a German tutor owes you reasonable care and skill under the Consumer Rights Act 2015. The Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013 give 14 days to cancel when you book a German tutor at a distance or at your home; ask for German lessons to start sooner and you pay for those already taught. The usual dispute is a scarce tutor rearranging lessons again and again.

Get what happens when lessons are moved, the notice to stop, and books on top in writing — a Locufy message counts — before you pay for a block of lessons. legislation.gov.uk →

VAT

German lessons are exempt when a German tutor teaches personally as a sole trader or partner, German being ordinarily taught in schools and universities; a language school company or its employees charge the standard rate. On top of that, an individual whose taxable sales stay under £90,000 a year is not registered, charges no VAT and has no VAT number to give.

Ask whether you pay the German tutor directly or a language school; an individual under £90,000 adds no VAT. gov.uk →

“Will you show me your DBS, PVG or AccessNI certificate?”

A good answer: A straight yes. A German tutor who works with children online or at home expects to be asked.

“Have you taught German for my exam or goal recently?”

A good answer: A specific answer — GCSE or A level and the board, National 5 or Higher in Scotland, or the work or travel situation you need. A German tutor who prepares exam pupils knows the speaking and writing tasks.

“How do you teach German cases and word order?”

A good answer: Step by step, with lots of short practice — the part most learners find hardest.

“How much of each lesson is speaking?”

A good answer: Most of it, with exam speaking tasks practised in format for school pupils.

“Can you help with German for work?”

A good answer: Emails, meetings and vocabulary for the job, if that is the goal.

“Do you set work between lessons?”

A good answer: Short vocabulary and grammar tasks, checked next time.

“If my child is ill, or you are, what happens to that German lesson?”

A good answer: A rule you can live with, in writing — and fairness both ways: if a German tutor cancels, the German lesson is rescheduled or refunded.

Booking by the hour

  • The rate per hour, and whether evening or weekend lessons cost more
  • The minimum booking — one hour is usual — and whether an early finish is charged in full
  • What each side brings: the course book, a headset for online lessons, the tutor's reading and listening material
  • The aim agreed before the first hour: an exam, a Goethe certificate, work in Germany or conversation
  • ID checked and the rating, and vetting for a learner under 18

Walk away if

  • No vetting shown, though the German tutor would see your child for an hour each week
  • A German tutor who promises workplace German in a few months
  • They teach every learner from the same German course book, whatever the goal
  • No refund rule for a block of lessons, or one that changes after you pay
LOW
£30
TYPICAL
£40
HIGH
£48

What a German tutor costs: £30–£48 per hour

German tutors charge by the hour; scarcity keeps rates steady, and business German costs more than conversation. German Lessons price guide →

Guide prices compiled by the Locufy team from published Irish and UK provider price lists and 2026/27 cost guides. Updated 2026.

KNOW WHAT TO LOOK FOR? NOW FIND ONE

German tutors near you, with the badges that matter shown

ID checked, trader status and one score from every review — on the card, before you message anyone. Nearest first. No account needed to look.

Or post the job free and let them come to you, or book by the hour.

  1. Level checkConversation and a short written task to place the learner.
  2. PlanExam, work, relocation or conversation sets the topics.
  3. Each lessonSpeaking, one grammar point practised in context, and reading or listening.
  4. Between lessonsVocabulary with genders learned, and a short written piece.
  5. ReviewA timed task or recorded conversation compared with the first.

Cases
The four forms German nouns and articles take depending on their role in a sentence.
Gender
Every German noun is masculine, feminine or neuter; learned with the noun.
Word order
German verb position rules, especially in subordinate clauses.
Higher German
Scotland's SQA course.
CEFR level
The A1 to C2 scale for language ability, often asked for by employers.
Business German
Lessons on workplace vocabulary, emails and meetings.

AFTER

When the job is done

Keep the recordsHold on to the grammar notes and the invoices; together with the agreed terms they settle most disagreements.
Test the progressEvery half term, have a short conversation in German on a topic from your lessons, or sit a timed past-paper task — fluency and accuracy should both show movement.
Know what is promisedWorkplace German in a few months is not something anyone can guarantee; the agreed German lessons, well taught, is.
Leave the reviewOnly booked German lessons can be reviewed on Locufy; if something went wrong, the make-it-right step sends it to the German tutor first.

STEP 1Tell the German tutor, in writingName the German lessons that fell short and the remedy you want; with German tutors, it is often a scarce tutor rearranging lessons again and again. Where German lessons paid as a block of lessons were not taught with reasonable care and skill, the Consumer Rights Act 2015 entitles you to a repeat or a fair reduction.
STEP 2Use the make-it-right step on LocufyLeave under four stars and you are asked whether to send it to the German tutor first; we follow it through, then the review is published.
STEP 3Get help from Trading StandardsNo regulator covers German tutors, so a consumer complaint goes to Trading Standards through your nation's helpline: Citizens Advice on 0808 223 1133 in England and Wales, Advice Direct Scotland on 0808 800 9060, or Consumerline on 0300 123 6262 in Northern Ireland.
STEP 4Money still in disputeSmall claims handle a dispute with a German tutor without a solicitor: up to £10,000 in England and Wales (small claims track), £5,000 in Scotland (simple procedure) and £5,000 in Northern Ireland. Bring the grammar notes and the invoices to the claim.

Hiring a German tutor: questions people ask

Not automatically. Teaching your child for an hour each week counts as regulated activity in England and Wales once it passes three days in 30, which a barred person may not do, so the check worth seeing is an enhanced DBS with the children's barred list — or PVG in Scotland, AccessNI in Northern Ireland.

No UK nation licenses this work or keeps a register of it. A language degree or teaching certificate shows training; ask for students they teach German to now.

£30–£48 an hour, with £40 typical; exam and business German with an experienced teacher cost most. The German lessons price guide breaks it down; search your town above to see German tutors who work near you.

Normally no. German is a school subject, so a German tutor working as a sole trader or partner is exempt; a language school run as a company, or its employed teachers, is standard-rated and adds VAT once over £90,000.

Fewer people teach German than French or Spanish in the UK, so availability, not distance, often sets the choice — online widens it.

Usually well over a year of regular lessons and practice for confident workplace German.

MORE GUIDES

More hiring guides in lessons & tutoring

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German tutors near you

German tutors in LondonGerman tutors in ManchesterGerman tutors in BirminghamGerman tutors in GlasgowGerman tutors in BelfastAll german tutors on Locufy →

Sources — checked October 2026

  1. gov.uk (DBS) — regulated activity with children
  2. gov.uk — change to the definition of regulated activity with children from 1 September 2026
  3. mygov.scot — who needs PVG scheme membership (personal employers)
  4. nidirect — AccessNI checks for the self-employed and personal employees
  5. gov.uk — Education and vocational training (VAT Notice 701/30)
  6. gov.uk — statement from the qualification regulators on GCSEs, AS and A levels in England, Wales and Northern Ireland
  7. gov.scot — school leaver attainment in National Qualifications (SQA)
  8. Consumer Rights Act 2015, section 49 — reasonable care and skill
  9. Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013, regulation 30 — cancellation period
  10. Citizens Advice — deciding whether to make a small claim (England and Wales)
  11. Scottish Courts and Tribunals — guide to simple procedure
  12. nidirect — small claims process (Northern Ireland)
  13. Education and vocational training (VAT Notice 701/30) — 6.1 The treatment of private tuition
  14. GOV.UK — VAT rates
  15. GOV.UK — Register for VAT: when to register