Do you need an APS certificate?

APS applies to applicants with qualifications from China, Vietnam or India, subject to the procedure and the exemptions that apply in each country. If your qualifications come from elsewhere, it is not part of your application.

uni-assist.com 指南APS阅读约 8 分钟最后核对: 2026/08/19

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简要答案

uni-assist names three countries where an APS certificate is required to apply to a German university: China, Vietnam and India. The requirement follows your education rather than your nationality: APS India verifies documents issued by Indian educational institutions, and the APS office in China checks applicants who completed academic work at a Chinese university. If your qualifications come from elsewhere, an APS certificate is not part of your application. Each country runs its own procedure and its own exemptions, and APS India publishes several, so check yours rather than assuming. Indian master's applicants in Engineering, Commerce, Accounting, Finance, Economics, Business or Management have a second step, the dMAT, which applies to the summer semester 2027 intake and later ones.

Three countries, and uni-assist names them. China, Vietnam and India. For these, uni-assist states an APS certificate is a requirement for applying to a German university.
It follows your institution, not your passport. APS India verifies documents issued by Indian educational institutions, and the APS office in China checks applicants who completed academic work at a Chinese university.
A dMAT step starts with the summer 2027 intake. APS India requires it of master's applicants in selected fields for the summer semester 2027 intake and later ones, and the APS certificate is issued only once it has been checked.
Qualifications from elsewhere are outside it. uni-assist names only these three countries, so if yours were issued elsewhere an APS certificate is not part of your application.

适用对象

Anyone applying to a German university who has been told, or suspects, that they need an APS certificate.

关键事实

Countries where APS applies
China, Vietnam, India
uni-assist states the certificate is a requirement for applying, for these countries [1]
What triggers it
Where you studied
the offices for India and China describe their checks by institution, not by nationality [2][5]
dMAT, from summer 2027
Selected master's fields
Engineering, Commerce / Accounting / Finance / Economics, Business / Management; earlier intakes are not affected [3]
China procedures
Six, not one
which one you fall into decides whether there is an interview [5]

From uni-assist's own glossary and from the APS offices for India and China.

Does APS apply to you?

Read the rows by where your qualifications were issued, not by the passport you hold.

Where you studied	What the official wording says	Status
A Chinese university, or you sat the Gaokao	An APS certificate is required. The office runs six procedures, and which one you fall into decides whether you are interviewed	APS required [1][5]
An Indian educational institution	An APS certificate is required. APS India verifies documents issued by Indian institutions, and from the summer semester 2027 intake a dMAT assessment comes first for selected master's fields	APS required [1][2][3]
Vietnam	uni-assist names Vietnam among the three countries where an APS certificate is required to apply	APS required [1]
Anywhere else	uni-assist names only China, Vietnam and India, so no APS certificate is required for your application	Not required [1]
Indian qualifications, but a PhD, a public-funded scholarship, an IB or another international secondary qualification, or a language course only	APS India lists these among its exemptions, each with its own conditions, and tells applicants to check the requirements carefully before assuming they are exempt	Exemption may apply [4]
You hold the nationality of one of the three, but studied elsewhere	The offices for India and China describe their checks in terms of the institution that issued the documents, so ask the APS office for your case before assuming either way	Ask the office [2][5]

The APS certificate is a separate requirement from your university application and from any language proof. Having one does not decide admission; the university does.

结论

If your qualifications were issued in China, Vietnam or India, an APS certificate is required and the next step is your country's APS procedure. If they were issued anywhere else, it is not required at all. [1][2][5]

uni-assist names those three countries and states that the certificate is a requirement for applying, and the APS offices for India and China describe their checks by the institution that issued the documents.

Check where your certificates were issued rather than which passport you hold, check your country's own exemptions before assuming you are outside the requirement, and if you are an Indian master's applicant in one of the named fields, check which intake you are applying for: the dMAT starts with summer semester 2027.

Three countries, named by uni-assist

uni-assist's glossary describes the Akademische Prüfstelle as a joint institution of the German Embassy and the DAAD, which checks the authenticity of educational biographies and the certificates behind them, and issues a certificate when the result is positive.

It then names the scope without hedging: China, Vietnam and India. For these countries, uni-assist states, the APS certificate is a requirement for applying to a German university.

If your education is from anywhere else, an APS certificate is not part of your application. Each of the three countries then runs its own procedure, and its own exemptions, which is where the rest of this page goes. [1]

The trigger is your institution, not your passport

The two offices read for this guide both describe their work by the documents in front of them, not by the passport behind them:

APS India verifies academic documents and educational qualifications issued by Indian educational institutions for applicants intending to study in Germany.
APS China checks applicants who completed academic work at a Chinese university, and evaluates credentials from Chinese institutions recognised by China's education ministry.

APS India puts the same rule from the other side in its exemptions: no verification is needed if your relevant academic degree was not issued by an Indian educational institution. A passport from one of the three countries with a degree from a fourth is a case for the APS office to confirm. The Vietnam office was not read for this guide, so nothing here is claimed about how it words the rule. [2][5]

India: the dMAT, and which intake it starts with

APS India requires an additional assessment, the dMAT, of master's applicants whose previous degree falls within Engineering, Commerce / Accounting / Finance / Economics, or Business / Management. It publishes an official list of affected fields for interdisciplinary programmes such as Engineering Management, Business Analytics and Financial Technology.

The date is the part to get right. The requirement applies to applications relating to the summer semester 2027 intake and subsequent intakes. Two transitional exemptions sit alongside it: applicants who completed their APS online registration before 29 June 2026, or who shipped complete documents before that date, and applicants who already hold an APS certificate, who do not have to take the test.

Bachelor’s applicants, PhD applicants and participants in official exchange or partnership programmes are outside it, as are master’s applicants whose field is not on the list.

Where it does apply, the APS certificate is issued only once all required documents have been verified, the dMAT certificate included. Registration opened on 29 June 2026, the first test date is 26 September 2026 and certificates become available from 12 October 2026. [3][2]

China: six procedures, and they are not interchangeable

There is no single APS procedure for Chinese applicants. The office lists six, including the China procedure for applicants with academic work at a Chinese university, the Gaokao procedure for those applying to a bachelor's on the strength of the Gaokao, and separate procedures for exchange students, scholarship holders and doctoral candidates, university partnership programmes, and applicants to art and music schools.

Which one you fall into decides what you actually have to do, an interview included. Our China guide sets out the six and what each one asks for. [5]

Exemptions APS India publishes

Being from one of the three countries is not the end of the question. APS India lists cases where its verification may not be needed:

your relevant academic degree was not issued by an Indian educational institution;
you intend to pursue a PhD or postdoctoral project and the German institution does not require APS verification;
your highest relevant qualification is an international secondary school qualification, such as the International Baccalaureate;
you receive a scholarship funded by German or EU public funds and fall under the applicable exemption rules;
your sole purpose is a German language course, with no university or preparatory studies intended.

Each carries its own conditions, and APS India’s own instruction is to check the applicable requirements carefully before assuming you are exempt. These are India’s exemptions: China and Vietnam publish their own, and this guide does not restate them for those countries. [5]

We confirm whether APS applies before you pay for it

Applicants are regularly told they need an APS when they do not, and told nothing about the dMAT when they do. Your advisor confirms which requirements actually attach to your file.

Whether APS applies to your qualifications, checked against the official wording
The order your certificate, dMAT and university deadlines have to happen in
You approve the decisions; we prepare and submit through the official channel

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常见问题

Which countries need an APS certificate for Germany?

uni-assist names three: China, Vietnam and India. For these countries it states that the APS certificate is a requirement for applying to a German university.

Do I need an APS if I hold an Indian passport but studied in another country?

APS India describes its work as verifying documents issued by Indian educational institutions, so the trigger is where your qualifications were issued rather than your nationality. If your degree came from elsewhere, ask the APS office to confirm your case before assuming either way.

What is the dMAT?

An additional assessment APS India requires of master's applicants whose previous degree falls within Engineering, Commerce, Accounting, Finance, Economics, Business or Management. It applies to applications for the summer semester 2027 intake and later ones. Applicants who completed their APS online registration or shipped complete documents before 29 June 2026 are exempt, as are those who already hold an APS certificate. Where it does apply, the certificate is issued only after the dMAT has been verified.

Is there one APS interview for Chinese applicants?

No. The APS office in China runs six procedures, and which one applies to you decides whether there is an interview at all. Our China guide sets them out.

My qualifications are from one of the three countries. Is there any way out of it?

APS India publishes exemptions: a degree not issued by an Indian institution, a PhD or postdoctoral project where the German institution does not require verification, an international secondary qualification such as the IB as your highest relevant qualification, a scholarship funded by German or EU public funds under the applicable rules, or a German language course with no studies intended. Each has conditions, and APS India tells applicants to check carefully rather than assume. China and Vietnam publish their own.

Does an APS certificate mean I am admitted?

No. It confirms that your educational documents were checked and found authentic. The university decides on admission, and your application still has to meet its requirements.

How current is this information?

Checked on 19 August 2026 against uni-assist's APS glossary entry and the APS offices for India and China.

来源

[1]uni-assist e.V., glossary: Akademische Prüfstelle (APS) · 最后核对: 2026/08/19
[2]APS India, who is verified and what is issued · 最后核对: 2026/08/19
[3]APS India, dMAT: who takes it, from which intake, and the transitional exemptions · 最后核对: 2026/08/19
[4]APS India FAQ, stated exemptions from APS verification · 最后核对: 2026/08/19
[5]APS China, Verfahren und Services Deutschland (the six procedures) · 最后核对: 2026/08/19

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