The topic of the article are the exams of qualification to become a pastor of a parish that were established by Joseph II as a part of the reforms of the church administration in his lands. The paper is based on the sources stored in the Diocesan Archive of the Brno bishopric and therefore it focuses primarily on the situation in the diocese of Brno. It studies the form of the exams in the course of the historical development, the process of enforcement of their results during the final appointment of priests to benefices and the way this statutory and time-tested method was harmo¬nized with the Canon Law.