Is your degree recognised in Germany? How to check with anabin
Facts as of 08/2026 · reviewed every 6 months · by Benjamin Farmer
The short answer
Start with anabin, the database run by the ZAB (Central Office for Foreign Education). It shows how a foreign qualification is classified in Germany and whether your institution is recognised: H+ means state or state-recognised and accepted here, H− means not recognised, and H+/− means extra criteria have to be checked. If your degree is already listed, you can print that evaluation free of charge. If it is not listed, or an authority wants an official document, the ZAB issues an individual Statement of Comparability — the first costs 200 euros, each further one 100 euros, and it takes up to three months once both the complete application and the fee have arrived.
- Database
- anabin — run by the ZAB (Central Office for Foreign Education)
- H+
- state or state-recognised institution, recognised in Germany
- H−
- not recognised in Germany
- H+/−
- additional criteria must be checked for that institution
- Free route
- if your degree is listed, print the evaluation from the database
- Official document
- ZAB Statement of Comparability — 200 € first, 100 € each further
- Duration
- up to 3 months after complete application and payment
Check the institution and the degree — they are two separate questions
anabin holds two things you need to look at separately: your institution and your degree. The institution carries a status code, and this is where most people stop too early.
- H+ — a state or state-recognised institution, recognised in Germany.
- H− — not recognised in Germany.
- H+/− — recognition depends on additional criteria that have to be examined for a degree from this institution.
The free route most people miss
If your degree itself is listed in anabin, you can print the evaluation straight from the database at no cost. For many applications that is enough, and it costs nothing but the time to look it up.
Do this before you pay for anything. A surprising number of people apply and pay for a formal assessment that duplicates information already published for free.
When you actually need the paid Statement of Comparability
Two situations call for the ZAB's individual Statement of Comparability: your degree is not listed in anabin, or an employer or authority requires an official document rather than a database printout. The statement describes your foreign degree and sets out what it qualifies you for, professionally and academically.
The fee is 200 euros for the first statement and 100 euros for each further one. The process runs in a specific order that catches people out: the ZAB emails you a fee notice with the amount, deadline and bank details, you transfer the money within three weeks, and assessment only begins once the correct amount has arrived. The maximum processing time of three months is counted from the point at which both the complete application and the payment are in.
The expensive mistake: applying too early
If you have not yet completed your studies, or if your qualification does not correspond to a German university degree, the ZAB will reject the application — and you still pay. This is the one genuinely costly error in an otherwise cheap process.
Check anabin first, finish your degree first, and only then apply.
Do you even need this to work here?
Usually not, in the sense of a permit. Most university-level professions in Germany are not regulated, so you generally do not need an evaluation in order to be allowed to work. Its purpose is different: it makes your qualification readable to German employers and authorities who cannot judge a foreign certificate on sight — and it is regularly needed when applying for the EU Blue Card.
Regulated professions such as nursing or medicine are a different matter entirely and follow their own recognition procedure. If you are in one of those, the qualification assessment is not optional.
Working out which of these applies to you is part of what we do, and it is free for you — the employer pays our fee.
Common mistakes
- Checking only the university in anabin and never the degree itself — the two are listed separately.
- Paying for a Statement of Comparability when a free printable evaluation already exists in the database.
- Applying before graduating, which produces a rejection you still have to pay for.
- Missing the three-week payment deadline, since assessment does not start until the money arrives.
- Overlooking an H+/− status and assuming recognition is automatic, when extra criteria still have to be checked.
- Mistaking the evaluation for a work or residence permit — it assesses your qualification, nothing more.
Free tool
Blue Card check
Four questions tell you whether the EU Blue Card is realistic for you and what would need to change — free, no sign-up.
Benjamin Farmer
Executive German coach and licensed § 34d broker in Bavaria. I place international professionals with German employers — free for candidates — and walk them through exactly these steps every week.
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This guide is general information for orientation — not legal, tax or insurance advice. Rules, fees and thresholds change; the facts above were last verified 08/2026 against the sources listed below and are reviewed every six months. For decisions about your specific case, rely on the responsible authority or on qualified professionals — legal questions are handled by our partner immigration lawyers, tax questions by cooperating tax advisors.
Sources: ZAB — Statement of Comparability, fees · KMK — Central Office for Foreign Education (ZAB) · Anerkennung in Deutschland — assessment of higher education qualifications