Frequently Asked Questions

The Academic Evaluation Centre India, also known as APS India, is part of the Science Section of the Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany in New Delhi and operates in cooperation with the German Academic Exchange Service.

APS India verifies academic documents and educational qualifications issued by Indian educational institutions for applicants who intend to study in Germany.

The APS certificate confirms the result of the APS verification procedure. It documents that APS India has verified the relevant academic documents and educational qualifications submitted by the applicant.

The APS certificate is generally required as part of the documentation for the German student visa procedure.

No. APS India does not issue visas and does not decide on visa applications.

Visa decisions are made by the competent German mission. Applicants should consult the website of the German missions in India for information on visa requirements and visa procedures.

No. Admission decisions are made by the German higher education institutions. APS India does not replace the admission decision of a German university, uni-assist or any other admission authority.

Applicants must check the admission requirements of the German higher education institution to which they intend to apply.

Applicants should check the requirements of their intended German university and the German student visa procedure carefully. Since the APS certificate is generally required for the student visa procedure, applicants are advised to plan the APS procedure early.

At the same time, applicants should not submit incomplete documents or apply before the academic stage relevant to their intended admission pathway has been completed.

APS India is responsible for the verification of academic documents and educational qualifications issued by Indian educational institutions.

The applicant’s nationality is not the decisive factor. What matters is whether the relevant academic documents were issued by Indian educational institutions.

If you are unsure which procedure applies to you, please use the APS requirements quiz.

You may not need to apply for APS verification in certain cases, for example:

• if your relevant academic degree was not issued by an Indian educational institution;
• if you intend to pursue a PhD or postdoctoral project in Germany and the German institution does not require APS verification;
• if your highest relevant qualification is an international secondary school qualification, such as the International Baccalaureate;
• if you receive a scholarship funded by German or EU public funds and fall under the applicable exemption rules.

Please check the applicable requirements carefully before assuming that you are exempt.

APS verification is generally intended for applicants who plan to pursue academic studies in Germany.

If your sole purpose is to attend a German language course and you do not intend to pursue university studies or preparatory academic studies in Germany, APS verification may not be required.

APS India applies the evaluation criteria relevant for access to German higher education, including the criteria published in anabin.

If the relevant higher education institution or qualification is not recognised for access to German higher education, APS India may not be able to issue a positive APS certificate.

Applicants are advised to check the recognition status of their institution and qualification before applying.

The applicable APS procedure depends on your educational background and your intended academic pathway in Germany.

Please use the APS requirements quiz for initial orientation and then consult the checklist for the relevant procedure.

Required documents must be submitted by post or courier to APS India. Personal document drop-offs and public visiting hours are not available.

Mailing address:

Academic Evaluation Centre India
Gate No. 3, DLTA Complex
R.K. Khanna Stadium
1 Africa Avenue
110029 New Delhi, India

Due to the number of applications received, APS India cannot provide individual courier delivery updates. Please use the tracking service of your courier provider.

Documents that are issued in English or in bilingual format generally do not need to be notarized.

If a document is issued only in an Indian regional language and is translated into English, the translation must be notarized.

Please submit legible A4-sized colour photocopies of the required documents. Both sides of documents must be copied where applicable.

Please consult the relevant checklist for the exact documents required for your APS procedure.

APS applications generally require submission of the required documents according to the relevant checklist. Unless APS India explicitly requests documents by email in an individual case, applicants should follow the published document submission instructions.

Sending documents by email without being requested to do so does not replace the required application procedure.

The APS processing fee is non-refundable once paid, regardless of the outcome of the verification procedure.

Applicants should therefore check the relevant requirements carefully before submitting an application and making the payment.

The recognition of diplomas and vocational qualifications depends on the type of qualification, the awarding institution and the intended academic pathway in Germany.

A three-year diploma after Class X alone is generally not sufficient for undergraduate admission in Germany, as 12 years of schooling are normally required for access to undergraduate studies.

Applicants should check the applicable APS requirements and the evaluation criteria used for access to German higher education.

Distance education and online programmes may be considered only if the awarding university and the specific programme were recognised by the competent Indian authority for the relevant period of study.

Some disciplines and programme types may not be accepted in distance or online mode. Applicants should check the applicable recognition status carefully before applying.

TestAS is currently not a mandatory component of the APS verification procedure in India.

If a TestAS result is submitted, APS India may verify the formal authenticity of the document. APS India does not require applicants to submit a TestAS result at this time.

Applicants should separately check whether a German higher education institution or visa section requires a TestAS result for their individual case.

The Digital Master Test (dMAT) is required for selected Master’s applicants whose previous degree falls within affected fields published by APS India.

dMAT is conducted by g.a.s.t. and does not replace APS document verification, university admission decisions or anabin recognition.

Please check the dMAT information page for details.

No. A low dMAT score does not automatically lead to refusal of the APS certificate.

The dMAT result is an additional academic test result for affected applicant groups. APS India continues to verify academic documents and educational qualifications as part of the APS procedure.

APS India does not require applicants to meet a specific German or English language level for the APS verification process.

If language certificates are submitted, APS India may verify their formal authenticity. Language requirements for university admission or visa applications are determined by the relevant German university and the competent visa section.

If an applicant submits German or English language certificates as part of the APS application, APS India may verify the formal authenticity of these documents.

This does not mean that APS India determines whether the language certificate fulfils the requirements of a German university or visa section.

If academic documents were issued only in an Indian regional language, notarized English translations must be submitted.

Documents that are already bilingual, containing English and a regional language, generally do not require an additional translation.

Processing times depend on the number of applications received and on the response time of schools, boards, universities and other institutions contacted during the verification process.

APS India cannot provide a fixed processing time for every individual case.

Due to the number of applications received, APS India cannot provide individual status updates for every pending application.

If additional information or documents are required, APS India will contact the applicant directly.

Applicants can check the status of their application through the online student portal by logging into their account.

Once the verification process has been completed successfully, applicants will receive an email notification.

A “non-support” status means that the relevant school, board or university has not provided the information required for APS India to complete the verification.

APS India can only issue a certificate once the authenticity of the relevant academic records has been confirmed by the responsible institution through an official channel.

Applicants may contact their institution and request that it respond to APS India. Emails from private or non-institutional email accounts such as Gmail or Yahoo cannot replace official institutional confirmation.

Applicants are responsible for submitting genuine and authentic documents.

A document may be treated as fake, altered or irregular if it has been falsified, manipulated, edited or submitted in a way that misrepresents its authenticity, origin or content.

This may include forged marksheets, altered grades, false institutional confirmations, manipulated PDFs or documents issued without a valid academic basis.

If fake, altered or irregular documents are submitted, APS India may refuse the application and may exclude the applicant from current and future APS procedures.

Serious irregularities may also be communicated to the relevant German authorities.

APS certificates are issued in digital PDF format and sent to the email address provided during registration.

The digital APS certificate is signed electronically and must remain unchanged when submitted to universities, uni-assist, VFS or the visa section.

A digital APS certificate must remain unchanged. Do not rename, edit, modify or merge the PDF file with other documents.

The certificate should be submitted as the original standalone PDF file so that the digital signature can be verified.

Please also check the relevant information in the News and Updates section.

APS certificates are issued digitally. Applicants should keep the original PDF file safely.

If you have already received a digital APS certificate, you should use the original PDF file sent by APS India. Do not modify the file.

Applicants should normally apply with the academic documents relevant to their intended admission pathway.

APS cannot keep applications open while applicants wait for future examination results or additional semester marksheets. If further academic qualifications are completed later and these qualifications change the admission category, a new evaluation may be required.

APS certificates are issued on the basis of the academic qualifications completed and documented at the time the application is processed.

If additional qualifications are completed later and lead to a change in admission category, a new APS evaluation based on updated documents may be requested. A new evaluation requires a new payment and will be conducted according to the criteria applicable at the time of the new application.

A candidate is successful in the APS procedure if the required academic documents can be verified as authentic and the applicant fulfils the applicable evaluation criteria for the relevant APS procedure.

The APS certificate confirms the result of the APS verification procedure. It does not guarantee admission to a German higher education institution and does not guarantee that a visa will be issued.