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
<Competent official – see areas of responsibility in the BMB>
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@bmb.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@bmb.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@bmb.gv.at
Please note that the BMB 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 Minister of Economy, Energy and Tourism: anerkennung‑lehrabschluss@bmwet.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@bmb.gv.at
Yasmin Catal
Haidingergasse 1
1030 Vienna
T +43 1 53120 4408
yasmin.catal@bmb.gv.at
Business administration schools (colleges and schools of business administration)
Norbert Hanauer
Haidingergasse 1
1030 Vienna
T +43 1 53120 4427
norbert.hanauer@bmb.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@bmb.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@bmb.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@bmb.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
In Austria, the profession of sports trainer is not a regulated profession. In this respect, the requirement for nostrification may be waived.
If you wish to work as a sports trainer in an Austrian sports association/sports club, you must submit an assessment to www.asbb.at/ of the foreign qualification to the sports association/sports club. As the coaching system in Austria is part of the Federal Ministry of Education, it is necessary to submit the assessment application on the above-mentioned platform in the ‘Assessment of school certificates’ section - regardless of whether the foreign qualification is a school qualification or a tertiary sector qualification!
Continuation of training in the field of ‘sports coach training’ at a federal sports academy
If, on the basis of the foreign qualification in the ‘sports trainer area’, the continuation/further qualification is sought, this can take place in the non-tertiary area at a federal sports academy. In accordance with §5 (2) of the Federal Sports Academy Act (Federal Law Gazette I No. 56/2016 as amended), persons who can prove that they have achieved the educational objective required in the curriculum for the subject in question through other teaching can be exempted from the subject in question at their request by the school management. Applications for participation in a continuation/further qualification in the ‘sports trainer area’ must be submitted directly to a federal sports academy.
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
The duration of the nostrification procedure depends on the individual requirements. An estimate of the duration can be given by the responsible case officer after reviewing the documents.
Please do not send any documents by post without prior consultation (by telephone or e-mail) with the responsible administrator.
Nostrification is only considered complete once all supplementary examinations have been passed and the certificate (final certificate) has been issued.
In accordance with § 75 of the Austrian School Teaching Act, nostrified certificates grant the same entitlements as certificates with which they are equated.
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.
No, the assessment body is not authorized to do this as an authority.
Please enclose the required documents already translated with your application. You can find an overview of all sworn court interpreters on the website of the Austrian Association of Sworn and Court-Certified Interpreters - 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.
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 BMB 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.
Under certain conditions, you can apply to the Austrian Integration Fund for reimbursement of the costs incurred in connection with the procedure: ÖIF website
Further information on financial support can also be found at: berufsanerkennung.at > Berufsanerkennung > Finanzielle Unterstützung
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.