Anerkennung der Gleichwertigkeit ausländischer Schulabschlüsse beantragen

If you have obtained a school-leaving qualification abroad and live in Thuringia, or would like to start vocational training in Thuringia, you can apply for recognition of the equivalence of your foreign school-leaving qualification.

You would like to learn a profession in Thuringia? Then the recognition of your school-leaving certificate acquired abroad may be helpful or necessary for vocational training. The employer or the vocational school can better classify your school education with the recognition.

• Application
• Foreign educational certificates in the original
• Translation of the foreign educational certificates into German by a translator/interpreter authorized by a court in Germany in the original
• Copy of a valid personal document
• in case of minors additionally: copy of the personal document of a guardian
• Proof of income, if an examination of the fee reduction is desired
• If you have changed your name, please submit proof (e.g. copy of marriage certificate).
• If you are applying from abroad, it is not mandatory to submit the original certificates. A certified copy of the certificates issued by the German embassy and a translation from the country of origin, which has been legalized by the German embassy, is sufficient.

• You must have obtained a school-leaving qualification abroad.
• You must be able to prove your school attendance by official certificates (educational certificates).

• You can apply in writing for recognition of the equivalence of your school-leaving qualification obtained abroad.
• To do so, complete the application and send it by mail to the Thuringian Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports (TMBJS) with the documents required for the examination of the application.
• The TMBJS first checks your application for completeness of the documents and sends a confirmation of receipt within two weeks of receipt of the application. If the documents are not complete, they will be requested in the confirmation of receipt.
• Once the documents are complete, the application will be reviewed and processed within three months.
• Once the application has been processed, you will receive a notification with the result of the examination and a certificate of recognition of the foreign school-leaving qualification. The original documents you submitted will also be returned to you with the decision.
• If a fee is payable, it will be specified in the decision and must be paid within 30 days.

There is no deadline for submitting the application.

You can appeal against the authority's decision to the competent administrative court within one month of notification. The competent administrative court will be named in the decision under "Information on legal remedies".

• Foreign school-leaving qualifications Recognition
• Recognition of the equivalence of a school-leaving qualification obtained abroad can be applied for in writing.
• Comparability with:
  • Hauptschulabschluss (successful attendance of at least nine ascending grades at general education schools with full-time instruction in two languages, mathematics, one science subject and one social science subject)
  • Realschulabschluss (successful completion of at least ten advanced classes at general education schools with full-time instruction in two languages, mathematics, one science subject and one social science subject)
  • University entrance qualification (based on the resolutions and agreements of the Standing Conference of the Ministers of Education and Cultural Affairs of the Länder in the Federal Republic of Germany and the assessment of the Central Office for Foreign Education; information is available in the "anabin" database: https://anabin.kmk.org/anabin.html
• Application available online on the site of the competent body.
• Required documents must be submitted.
• Fees apply.
• Responsible for Thuringia: Thuringian Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports, Department 21.

Please contact the Thuringian Ministry for Education, Youth and Sports - Department 21.

Forms available: yes

Written form required: yes

Informal application possible: no

Personal appearance required: no

Online services available: no