How to check your university in anabin before a master’s in Germany

Before you start choosing programmes, check whether your university is recognised in Germany. It’s the first thing German universities and uni-assist look at. The check is free and takes 10 minutes.

What is anabin?

anabin is an open database from Germany’s Standing Conference of the Ministers of Education and Cultural Affairs (KMK). It holds assessments of foreign universities and degrees and is maintained by the Central Office for Foreign Education (ZAB). You’ll find it at anabin.kmk.org. The interface is in German.

Step 1. Find your university

Open Institutionen → Suchen nach Institutionen.
In the Länder field, choose your university’s country.
In the Ihre Suche field, type the name and click the green icon. If nothing comes up, narrow the search by city (Orte) and look through the full list.
Open your university’s entry and find the Status line.

What the status means

H+your institution is recognised in Germany as a higher education institution. That’s a good sign, but don’t stop here (see Step 2).
H+/-recognition depends on the programme or the year you graduated. Check whether your degree is listed in the institution’s entry. If it isn’t, you’ll need an individual assessment from ZAB.
H-your institution doesn’t count as a higher education institution by German standards. Your degree probably won’t be accepted as a basis for a master’s. If you think this is a mistake, you can ask ZAB for an individual assessment.

Step 2. Check your degree type

Your university’s status isn’t the whole story. In Abschlüsse → Suchen nach Abschlüssen, find your degree (country → type: Bachelor, Specialist, Master…). The Bewertung column should say entspricht or gleichwertig, which means “equivalent to German higher education”. The wording “entspricht Fachschule” means your degree is at vocational level, not higher education level.

Common search mistakes

Transliteration. The same name is often spelled several ways in Latin script. Try different spellings, the abbreviation and a search by city.
Renamed or merged universities. If your university changed its name or became part of another one, search under both names and check which period the entry covers.
Checking only the university. H+ without a matching entry for your degree doesn’t give you the full picture.

If your university isn’t in the database

Not being listed in anabin doesn’t automatically mean your university isn’t recognised. It may simply not have been assessed yet. Your options:

ask the international office of the German university you’ve chosen, or apply through uni-assist if your programme accepts applications that way;
order a Statement of Comparability (Zeugnisbewertung) from ZAB: €208, usually around 3 months, online via zab.kmk.org (Bayernportal data as of 27 March 2026; check the current price before you apply).

H+ doesn’t mean you’re in

anabin answers one question: is your higher education recognised in principle? Master’s admission is decided by the university under its own rules. It looks at your degree profile, how many ECTS credits you have in the required subjects, your grades and your language skills. Even with H+, you can be rejected because you’re missing, say, 15 ECTS in mathematics.

To work out how many credits your diploma is worth, see How many ECTS is my diploma?

MagisterWay compares the subjects in your degree with the requirements of German master’s programmes and shows you where you qualify and where you’re short of credits. No sign-up needed. Scan recognition is in beta, by invitation: [email protected].

Check your diploma →

This article is for reference only and is not legal advice. The final decision on recognition and admission rests with the university, uni-assist or ZAB.

MagisterWay