When should you request your VPD?

Universities publish their own deadlines (for many programmes 15 July for the winter and 15 January for the summer semester), so start from yours and count back.

1. 4 months before the deadline

   Collect your certificates and transcripts and have translations prepared where required. Missing, unreadable or newly translated documents are what usually cost time later.

2. 3 months before the deadline

   Submit your VPD request. This leaves a real buffer if something has to be corrected and resubmitted.

3. 6 to 8 weeks before the deadline

   The last reasonably safe moment to request a VPD: one university advises allowing up to 6 to 8 weeks for processing. [2]

4. When the VPD arrives

   Start the university's own application immediately in its application portal and upload the VPD there. The VPD on its own is not an application. [1][2]

5. Before the university deadline

   Your complete application, including the VPD, has to reach the university. Some universities grant a grace period, or accept a signed confirmation that the VPD was requested in time, so check your university's rule instead of assuming the date is absolute. [1]

Deadlines and required documents differ between universities and programmes; always confirm yours on the university's own admission page.

The VPD (Vorprüfungsdokumentation, preliminary review documentation) is a certificate issued by uni-assist e.V. It records which certificates you submitted, what kind of university entrance they allow, and how your grade converts into the German grading system.

What it is not is an application. TUM states that an application for a VPD does not qualify as an application for a degree programme, and Würzburg describes requesting a VPD and applying for admission as two separate processes. Missing that distinction is costly: an applicant who believes the application is done stops there and misses the real deadline. [1][2]

The processing time usually quoted is four to six weeks after your online form is submitted. One university, however, advises applicants to allow up to six to eight weeks.

Plan against the longer figure. The quoted times describe processing once your file is complete; they do not include the time you may lose if a document is missing, unreadable or has to be translated again. [1][2]

The stated validity and the age a university will still accept are not the same thing. The document is issued with a validity of one year from its date of issue, regardless of the semester you selected. How long a university accepts it is the university's own decision: TUM, for example, states that it accepts a VPD for three years after issuance, provided your qualifications and the admission requirements have not changed.

So the practical rule is: assume one year, and check your target university before relying on an older VPD. [1][2]

Open your target university's application portal, start the application there, and upload the VPD as part of it. Then check whether the university also wants certified hard copies, which some request only after admission.

If you are applying to several universities, do not assume one document covers them all. The VPD is issued for the university you selected, and TUM states plainly that it does not accept a VPD that was applied for another university. Check the procedure, deadline and document list of each university separately. [1]

1. [1] Technical University of Munich — uni-assist / preliminary documentation (VPD) · Last reviewed: 2026/07/17
2. [2] University of Würzburg — Who needs a preliminary review documentation and how to get one · Last reviewed: 2026/07/17