APS Verification: complete guide

The APS (Akademische Prüfstelle), or Academic Evaluation Centre, verifies academic documents and checks whether a qualification gives access to German higher education. APS India is part of the Science Section of the German Embassy in New Delhi and works with the DAAD. The APS procedure started in China in 2001, came to Vietnam in 2007, and APS India was established in 2022.

Who needs APS?

• India: If your school leaving certificate or degree was issued in India, you almost always need an APS certificate from APS India in New Delhi to study in Germany. Your nationality is not the deciding factor; where your documents were issued is.
• China: Applicants with Chinese qualifications go through APS China in Beijing.
• Vietnam: Applicants with Vietnamese qualifications go through APS Vietnam in Hanoi.

Bachelor's rule from Winter Semester 2026/27 (India)

APS India announced updated criteria for Indian Class XII applicants, entered in anabin on 15 March 2026 and applying to admissions from Winter Semester 2026/27. You now need at least 70% of the maximum marks in Class XII even for the Studienkolleg route (a one-year university preparatory course). Direct subject-restricted admission needs 70% in Class XII plus one successfully completed year of a Bachelor's programme at a recognised university. These criteria are about undergraduate admission.

APS does not guarantee admission

An APS certificate confirms that your documents are authentic and that your qualification meets the criteria for access to German higher education. It is not a university admission: APS India says admission decisions are made by the universities, which apply their own academic, language, and program-specific rules. Plan APS in parallel with a serious shortlist, not as a substitute for one.

Distance-education exclusion

APS India accepts a distance-education Bachelor's or Master's only if both the university and the specific course were recognised by the Distance Education Bureau (DEB) for the entire duration of the course. It does not recognise distance or online degrees in these fields: medical, physiotherapy, occupational therapy, other paramedical subjects (including optometry), pharmacy, nursing, dental, architecture, law, agriculture and horticulture, hotel management and hospitality, aircraft maintenance, visual arts, sports, and the research degrees MPhil and PhD.

Who is exempt?

The German missions in India list these exemptions:

• You intend to do a PhD or postdoc in Germany.
• You receive a stipend from EU or German public funds.
• You intend to obtain a non-German degree.
• Your degree is from outside India (for example a British or US degree).
• Your highest relevant qualification is an international school leaving certificate, such as the International Baccalaureate.

If you are exempt, the visa application asks instead for proof that your school leaving certificate is recognised (anabin or a ZAB Statement of Comparability). APS exists only in China, Vietnam, and India (uni-assist), so qualifications from other countries, such as Pakistan, Bangladesh or Nepal, do not go through APS; the university or uni-assist usually checks them.

What does APS verify?

APS India publishes a separate checklist for each procedure (Class XII, JEE, undergraduates with two semesters, and graduates or postgraduates). Download the one that matches you from the APS India checklists page. For applicants with a Bachelor's or Master's degree, the June 2026 checklist asks for copies of these documents:

Checklist for graduates and postgraduates (India)

Document tips

• Send legible A4 colour photocopies. Do not send original documents unless APS India asks for them.
• Documents in English, or bilingual with English, do not need to be notarised. A document issued only in a regional language needs a notarised English translation.
• Tell your school, board, and university that APS may contact them. They must reply from an official email address; Gmail or similar addresses are not accepted.

Step 1: Online registration

Register on the APS India website (aps-india.de) and fill in your personal, education, and language details. Then print and personally sign the completed application form.

Step 2: Fee payment

APS India's June 2026 checklist lists a fee of ₹18,000, paid by bank transfer or through the CCAvenue gateway during registration. APS India recommends CCAvenue: with a manual transfer, your account is activated by hand during office hours, which lengthens the verification. The fee is non-refundable once paid.

Step 3: dMAT, if it applies to you

If your degree is in Engineering, Commerce, Accounting, Finance, Economics, Business, or Management and you apply for the Summer Semester 2027 intake or later, the dMAT certificate from g.a.s.t. is part of your APS documentation, unless you registered online or shipped your complete documents before 29 June 2026. APS India's dMAT page says you may send your APS documents before the dMAT certificate is ready; the APS certificate is issued only after the dMAT certificate has been submitted and checked.

Step 4: Send your documents

Courier the copies, with the printed and signed application form, to Academic Evaluation Centre India, Gate No. 3, DLTA Complex, R.K. Khanna Stadium, 1 Africa Avenue, New Delhi 110029. Personal drop-offs and public visiting hours are not available, so keep your courier tracking number.

Step 5: Document verification

APS asks your school, board, and university to confirm your records through an official channel. This is usually the longest part, and it depends on how fast your institutions reply. APS India cannot give individual status updates; check your status in the online student portal.

Step 6: APS certificate (digital)

Successful candidates receive the APS certificate by email as an electronically sealed PDF. APS India introduced digital certificates in April 2023. Keep the original file safe and submit it unchanged.

Total timeline

APS India states verification takes at least two weeks and gives no fixed processing time; it depends on the number of applications and on how quickly your institutions respond. We recommend starting the APS process at least 3–4 months before your application deadline to give yourself buffer.

Not in APS India's current procedure. Its FAQ, checklists, and online registration describe document verification only, and its July 2024 notice explains that its results are called a "Bescheinigung" because they are evaluation results without conducted interviews. Many older guides and forums describe a 15 to 20 minute interview in New Delhi; APS India's current FAQ, checklists, and registration describe no interview step.

What to prepare instead

• A complete file: APS India processes only complete applications and cannot keep an application open while you wait for future exam results or semester marksheets. Apply once the academic stage that decides your admission route is finished.
• Your anabin status: check your university before you apply. APS India's June 2024 notice says graduates of Indian private universities rated H+/- or H- in anabin generally cannot be issued an APS certificate.
• The dMAT, if it applies to you: a low dMAT score does not automatically lead to refusal of the APS certificate, but the result is shown on it, so prepare properly.

"Non-support" status

This status means your school, board, or university has not given APS India the information it needs. APS can only issue a certificate once the institution has confirmed your records through an official channel. Ask your institution to reply to APS India from its official email address.

New results after you applied

The certificate reflects the qualifications completed when your application is processed. If a qualification you complete later changes your admission category (for example from Studienkolleg to direct subject-restricted admission), you can request a new evaluation. It needs a new payment and follows the criteria in force at that time.

Irregular documents

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 cases may be reported to the German authorities.

Once you have your APS certificate, here is what comes next:

Using your certificate

• You receive an electronically sealed PDF by email (APS India introduced digital certificates in April 2023). Submit the original PDF unchanged: do not rename, edit, compress, scan, or merge it, or the seal cannot be verified.
• You submit the same PDF to universities, uni-assist, VFS, and the visa section.
• Upload it to uni-assist and attach it to each application.
• Carry a printed copy plus the original PDF on a USB or your phone for your visa appointment at the German embassy.

Next steps in your application

APS and visa

The German missions in India list the APS certificate as a required study visa document unless you fall under an exemption. This is why starting APS early is so important.