Qualification documents for university admission in Germany

Short answer

Start with the university’s procedure; a VPD may be a preliminary step, not the application itself.

Sources: uni-assist e.V.

Who decides

The university decides admission and transfer recognition.

Sources: KMK / ZAB

Check this before paying

Ask the university whether its procedure requires a uni-assist VPD.

Sources: uni-assist e.V.

When this applies

Only some uni-assist universities use VPD. The university confirms which applicants and records need that procedure.

Sources: uni-assist e.V.

Which document

The university’s requested records and, where applicable, a VPD issued for that university.

Sources: uni-assist e.V.

Avoid the wrong purchase

A ZAB Statement is not university admission; obtaining a VPD does not complete the university application.

Sources: ZAB / KMK · uni-assist e.V.

What this does not do

Academic comparison does not grant admission or permission to practise a regulated profession.

Sources: ZAB / KMK

Your next official step

Read the VPD procedure and confirm the university’s separate application instructions.

Sources: uni-assist e.V.

Admission and transfer credit are university decisions

KMK assigns undergraduate/postgraduate admission and transfer recognition to universities. The document needed for an application must therefore be checked with that university. An employer-facing academic statement does not grant admission.

Sources: Who decides academic admission and transfer recognition · Statement of Comparability scope and limits

VPD is prepared for a recipient, not a general application

uni-assist issues a VPD for the chosen university. After receiving it, applicants using this procedure still apply directly to the university with the requested records. The general VPD page states a one-year validity period; confirm the recipient’s acceptance rule before assuming an existing document must be replaced.

Sources: University-specific preliminary review documentation

TUM example: two steps and two degree levels

When TUM requires a VPD, apply through uni-assist and separately through TUMonline. A VPD request alone is not a degree-programme application. Bachelor’s and Master’s VPDs are separate; TUM does not accept a VPD requested for another university.

TUM states that its VPD can be accepted for three years if the relevant entrance qualification and admission requirements have not changed. This is TUM’s conditional acceptance policy, separate from uni-assist’s general one-year statement. Use the intended university’s current instructions; do not generalise TUM’s period. Applicant exceptions and programme deadlines must also be checked there.

Sources: TUM VPD plus separate TUMonline application · University-specific preliminary review documentation

DiploWay preparation: keep each submission distinct

Record two destinations if the VPD procedure applies: what goes to uni-assist and what goes to the university. Note the correct degree level and which submission completes the university application. This checklist does not assess grades, admission eligibility or language proficiency.

Explore another use for the same qualification

• Non-regulated work: Qualification evidence for non-regulated work in Germany
• Immigration documents: Academic qualification proof for named German work routes
• Regulated profession: Find the recognition authority for regulated work in Germany