Whether you can demand an internship certificate depends on the legal classification of the internship: voluntary internships in a company are legally usually treated like a training or employment relationship — with full certificate entitlement. In mandatory internships as part of school or university studies, there is often no statutory entitlement; however, a certificate is usually standard and can be requested in practice in almost all cases. For entry-level professionals, it is often the most important document for applications.
Voluntary internship: full certificate entitlement
Anyone who voluntarily completes an internship to acquire professional skills and knowledge generally falls under the Vocational Training Act (§ 26 BBiG) — with a corresponding entitlement to a written employment reference, as with trainees. If the "internship" is in fact a disguised employment relationship with normal work performance, § 109 GewO applies anyway, with entitlement to a basic or a qualified employment reference.
Mandatory internship: no statutory automatic entitlement — but standard practice
For compulsory internships prescribed by school, training, or study regulations, the BBiG does not apply; a statutory entitlement to a certificate often does not exist. In practice, however, nearly every company issues an internship certificate or a reference — actively and in good time before the last day, ideally from the supervisor.
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What a good internship certificate contains
Time period and department, a concrete description of tasks and projects, acquired knowledge — and ideally an assessment of performance and conduct in the usual certificate language. Especially for short internships: the more concrete the description of duties, the more valuable the certificate. A mere attestation ("was employed as an intern from … to …") devalues the job application.