Validation of international school certificates
Certificates confirming school attendance abroad or examinations taken outside Austria can be recognised as equivalent (validated) if validation is required in order for you to gain a particular eligibility or entitlement (e.g. employment in a profession that is regulated by law in Austria).
You can only apply to have a certificate validated if it was issued by a school abroad whose status corresponds to that of an Austrian public school or private school with public status.
Validation is based on a detailed comparison of the examinations taken and classes attended with a corresponding Austrian certificate.
If you cannot provide sufficient proof of individual subjects, appropriate additional examinations must be prescribed. The additional examinations are taken in the form of ‘Externistenprüfungen’ (examinations for external candidates).
In addition, it may also be necessary for you to attend classes or take final examinations.
Please note that validation is not required for the following purposes:
If you hold a certificate from an EU/EEA country, a procedure for the recognition of professional qualifications is required if you wish to practise a legally regulated profession.
If you wish to enter employment or work in an unregulated trade, assessment is usually sufficient.
Due to various legal regulations, no assessment or validation is required for most higher or further education courses (universities, universities of applied sciences, university colleges of teacher education, post-secondary vocational education and training (VET) colleges and adult education courses).
The education institution in question is entitled to make its own admission decisions.
Please contact the admissions office at the relevant education institution directly.
- Universities
- Private universities (accredited)
- Universities of applied sciences
- University colleges of teacher education
- Post-secondary VET colleges
Submitting your application
Your application must be accompanied by the original documents (for more information, see the relevant fact sheet) and after consultation (by phone or email) with the competent official you can then submit your application in person or by (registered) post .
Please note that face-to-face meetings are, without exception, only by appointment with the relevant official. Appointments can be arranged by phone or email and are available on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 9 a.m. to 12 noon.
Postal address
Bundesministerium für Bildung, Wissenschaft und Forschung
<Competent official – see areas of responsibility in the BMBWF>
Minoritenplatz 5
1010 Wien
Areas of responsibility – contact details
General compulsory schools
first consultancy: Tuesday and Thursday 9 a.m to 12 a.m.
T +43 1 53120-4317
Anerkennung-APS@bmbwf.gv.at
Sonja Aichhorn
Freyung 1
1010 Vienna
Academic secondary schools
first consultancy: Monday to Friday: 8 a.m. to 1 p.m.
T +43 1 53120- 4474
Anerkennung-AHS@bmbwf.gv.at
Ankica Nikolic
Haidingergasse 1
1030 Vienna
Part-time vocational schools
Karin Schreiber
Haidingergasse 1
1030 Vienna
T +43 1 53120 4489
karin.schreiber@bmbwf.gv.at
Please note that the BMBWF only validates school qualifications (part-time vocational school certificates); applications for accreditation of international apprenticeships that grant the right to practise a profession should be sent to the Federal Ministry of Labour and Economy: anerkennung‑lehrabschluss@bmaw.gv.at.
Technical, engineering, and arts and crafts schools, colleges of agriculture and forestry
Sabine Niemeyer
Haidingergasse 1
1030 Vienna
T +43 1 53120 4415
sabine.niemeyer@bmbwf.gv.at
Yasmin Catal
Haidingergasse 1
1030 Vienna
T +43 1 53120 4408
yasmin.catal@bmbwf.gv.at
Business administration schools (colleges and schools of business administration)
Norbert Hanauer
Haidingergasse 1
1030 Vienna
T +43 1 53120 4427
norbert.hanauer@bmbwf.gv.at
Schools of tourism, fashion, and art and design; schools for economic and social professions
Melanie Bilek
Haidingergasse 1
1030 Vienna
T +43 1 53120 4496
melanie.bilek@bmbwf.gv.at
Early childhood education and social pedagogy
Harald Ottmann
Haidingergasse 1
1030 Vienna
T +43 1 53120 2835; F +43 1 53120 812835
harald.ottmann@bmbwf.gv.at
Please note that in Austria, the professions of kindergarten teacher and social pedagogue are regulated professions.
The following legal regulation therefore applies:
Certificates from an EU/EEA country or Switzerland require a procedure for the recognition of professional qualifications pursuant to EU Directive 2005/36/EC; the application must be submitted to the relevant office of the state government.
Certificates from third countries (all other countries) must be validated. Please contact the competent official, Harald Ottmann, on +43 1 53120 2835 or at harald.ottmann@bmbwf.gv.at.
An assessment is possible in principle, but it does not enable you to take up employment in Austria.
Education and training in the field of sports teaching and physical education and for instructors and coaches
Günther Apflauer
Freyung 1
1010 Vienna
T +43 1 53120 2574
guenther.apflauer@bmbwf.gv.at
Documents required
For details of the documents required, please see the fact sheet for the school sector in question.
Please note the applicable certification rules for your original certificates.
Costs
Fees:
- Application (€14.30)
- School-leaving certificate (€14.30)
- Other certificates (€14.30 per certificate)
- Supporting documents (e.g. registration of residence, birth certificate, proof of citizenship, marriage certificate) (€3.90 per document)
- Certification (€14.30)
Administrative charges:
- Official notification (€6.50)
- Certification (€2.10)
The applicant must pay the costs of any translations of the required documents, certification fees, examination fees and teaching materials.
FAQs
Admission to a degree programme in Austria is decided autonomously by the host Austrian university (i.e. universities, higher education institutions, technical colleges, teacher training universities and colleges).
- An evaluation/nostrification is not required for this purpose. Please contact the admissions office of the respective educational institution directly.
Residence in Austria or in an EU member state is a mandatory requirement for an evaluation. This must be proven by means of a current confirmation of registration from the Central Register of Residence (ZMR) or an official confirmation of registration from the relevant EU member state.
Individuals with Austrian citizenship whose main place of residence is abroad can also apply for an evaluation on presentation of their Austrian citizenship.
The maximum processing time is 12 weeks – provided that all required documents have been uploaded. As a rule, the evaluation is issued after just a few weeks, depending on the workload of the competent official. Please note that any subsequent request for missing documents will delay processing.
No; applications are processed in the order in which they are received.
Please note that all the required documents must be enclosed with your application. If you are requested to submit missing documents, this will delay the process.
Nein, die Bewertungsstelle ist als Behörde dazu nicht berechtigt.
Bitte fügen Sie Ihrem Antrag die erforderlichen Unterlagen bereits übersetzt an. Eine Übersicht aller beeideten Gerichtsdolmetscherinnen und Gerichtsdolmetscher finden Sie auf der Seite des Österreichischen Verbandes der allgemein beeideten und gerichtlich zertifizierten Dolmetscher – ÖVGD
No. In the case of foreign-language certificates, a translation prepared by an officially registered (sworn) translation agency (in Austria or an EU/EEA country) is required. The translation must be officially and firmly attached to the original document or to a certified copy.
You can find a list of all sworn court-certified interpreters and translators on the Austrian Association of Sworn and Court Certified Interpreters – ÖVGD website.
No. Certificates in a language other than German must be translated by a sworn translation agency who is officially registered in Austria. The translation must be officially and firmly attached to the original document or to a certified copy.
You can find a list of all sworn court-certified interpreters and translators on the Austrian Association of Sworn and Court Certified Interpreters – ÖVGD website.
If your diploma or school-leaving certificate was issued in an EU Member State, a translation provided by an officially registered (legally certified) translation agency in the country of issue will be accepted.
If your diploma or school-leaving certificate was issued in a third country (non-EU Member State), you must provide either a translation of the diploma/school-leaving certificate by a translation agency officially registered (legally certified) in Austria OR confirmation of the accuracy of the existing translation from a translation agency (legally certified) in Austria.
You can find a list of all sworn court-certified officially registered (sworn) translation agencies in Austria or an EU/EEA country on the Austrian Association of Sworn and Court Certified Interpreters – ÖVGD website.
No, as this assessment is issued for use in Austria, it is only issued in German.
The applicable notarisation regulations for your original certificates must be observed: https://www.bmbwf.gv.at/Themen/schule/schulrecht/anauschubi/bvs.html
In this case, notarisation is not required, but your application must be accompanied by proof of your residence status (e.g. a copy of your Convention Pass, etc.).
The BMBWF reserves the right to have the authenticity of the documents checked by other institutions.
In most cases, you should be able to obtain a duplicate from the school that issued the original certificate.
If you cannot obtain a duplicate for any reason, a replacement certificate may be issued subject to certain conditions.
Please contact the official responsible for the school sector in question.
You can also contact staff at the AST contact points for initial advice and support with your application.
For most of the information and application steps, you will find an input help (blue circle with a white "!").
In case of technical problems please contact asbb.helpdesk@srt.solutions.
The document types doc, docx, jpe, jpeg, jpg, pdf, png, rtf, tif, tiff, xls, xlsx, zip are supported. Ideally, the upload is done in a pdf file. It should be noted that the total amount of data cannot exceed 20 MB.
Once you have completed your application, as the applicant, you no longer have access to your online application form. The completion letter will be sent either by email or by post, depending on what you select on the application form.
Submission of school reports or school attendance certificates:
-
- in person or
- by a representative (friends, relatives, messenger service) or
- by post*) as registered mail(!) or
- via the Education Directorate through the official channels*)
*) If the application is submitted by post or via the Education Directorate, a telephone number or email address must be attached to the application. Due to the postal and payment channels, a processing time of approx. 14 days is to be expected in these cases.
The account details for paying the fee will be sent by post/email.