uni-assist application and VPD: step by step

This page explains the uni-assist application step by step for students with school or university certificates from outside Germany, including the VPD procedure that some universities use instead. uni-assist handles applications with international certificates for around 160 German universities. Each university decides which programmes and applicant groups go through uni-assist. Each step links to the official uni-assist, DAAD or KMK page where you can check the details. For costs, language requirements and the student visa in general, see our guide to studying in Germany.

Step by step

1. Find your programme and read the admissions page

Start with the programme, not with uni-assist. Some programmes, especially master's degrees, are taught in English (international programmes). For these you usually prove your English and may need little or no German. The DAAD International Programmes database lists them. You can search it on the DAAD website.

On the university’s admissions page, note the admission criteria, the language requirements, the deadline for your applicant group and how to apply. Not every programme at a uni-assist university is handled by uni-assist. Check on the university's website whether your programme and applicant group apply through uni-assist, directly, or with a VPD. uni-assist’s Get information section explains what to look for.

2. Check your entrance qualification

For a bachelor's degree you need a university entrance qualification recognised in Germany (Hochschulzugangsberechtigung). Depending on the country, a school-leaving certificate gives direct access, subject-restricted access, access only after one or two years of university study at home, access only via a Studienkolleg, or no access. The DAAD admission database and the anabin database (KMK) show how certificates are rated; the final decision on admission always rests with the university. You can look up your certificate in the DAAD admission database and in anabin. For a master’s, your degree must be equivalent to a German bachelor’s degree; the university and uni-assist check this.

3. Find out which procedure applies

The university decides which of these routes you use:

• Standard procedure. You apply in My assist, uni-assist evaluates your documents and, if your application is complete and meets the criteria, forwards it to the university.
• VPD procedure. A VPD (Vorprüfungsdokumentation, preliminary review documentation) is a document from uni-assist that lists which certificates you submitted, how uni-assist evaluates them and how your grade converts to the German grading system. Some universities require it, and you then apply directly to the university with the VPD.
• Direct application. The university does not use uni-assist for your programme or applicant group, and you apply on its own portal.

Some popular bachelor's programmes with local admission restrictions use the hochschulstart.de procedure (DoSV), which needs an extra registration at hochschulstart.de. It does not apply to master's programmes. Applications to the first semester of medicine, dentistry, veterinary medicine and pharmacy (Staatsexamen) go through hochschulstart.de, not uni-assist, if you are a German, EU or EEA citizen or hold a German Abitur. uni-assist explains the routes on its Plan your application page and publishes a checklist for the standard procedure.

4. Plan against the deadline

The uni-assist deadline is the university's deadline: the online form and all documents must be in your My assist account before it. Incomplete applications are not forwarded to the university. uni-assist usually sends the evaluation result 4 to 6 weeks after it receives the online application form. uni-assist recommends applying at least 8 weeks before the university's deadline, so there is time to add missing documents. The deadlines and processing time page explains how this works.

5. Create one My assist account

Register once on My assist. Your account and your applicant number are for all your applications, including those for later semesters. uni-assist asks you not to register more than once, because several accounts can cause problems with your application.

6. Enter your details and choose your programmes

Fill in your personal data and your educational history, then choose the university and programme. Answer every mandatory question the university adds: only then can you pay for and submit the application. uni-assist explains this in its Apply online section and FAQs.

7. Prepare your documents

uni-assist’s Assemble your documents section lists what it needs. In general:

• complete certificates: the diploma and the transcript with every page, and a Diploma Supplement if you have one;
• official documents, which means signed and stamped by the issuing institution, issued automatically with a note saying so, or carrying a verification code;
• translations where needed. Certificates not issued in German or English must be uploaded in the original language together with a translation into German or English made by a sworn or court-authorised translator, or by an authorised office of the issuing school or university. Translations from ordinary translation agencies without this authorisation are not accepted.
• for a master’s, the grading system of your degree as an official document or a link to your university’s website;
• language certificates, CV, motivation letter and anything else the university asks for.

uni-assist also publishes notes for each country with the exact documents expected from that education system. If your programme asks for a motivation letter, our motivation letter guide explains how to approach it.

8. Upload your documents

The uni-assist application is fully digital: you upload scans (PDF) of your official documents in My assist and do not send paper copies by post. Upload each document once in “My documents” and it can be used for all your applications. Check that every page is complete and legible (Uploading documents).

9. Pay the handling fee

The handling fee is €75 for the first programme you choose in a semester and €30 for each additional programme in the same semester. uni-assist charges the same handling fees for a standard application and for a VPD. The fee is not refunded if the evaluation result is negative. You pay in My assist, by credit card with 3D Secure or by bank transfer, and paying is how you submit the application. International bank transfers can take up to two weeks, so pay early (handling fees, payment FAQs).

10. Evaluation

uni-assist checks your documents and shows the status in My assist. If something is missing, the application is marked as incomplete and you can add documents until the deadline; uni-assist then needs time again to evaluate them. The status and evaluation page explains each status.

11. Forwarding, or applying with your VPD

In the standard procedure, a positive result means uni-assist forwards your application to the university electronically. The VPD procedure works differently. With a VPD, uni-assist does not forward your application. You must upload the VPD with your application to the university yourself, before the university's deadline. A VPD can be requested at any time and is valid for one year from its date of issue.

12. Admission, enrolment and visa

The university decides on admission and informs you. Being forwarded by uni-assist is not an admission. If you are admitted, enrol within the period stated in your admission letter, which can be short (DAAD, Enrolment).

Students from outside the EU generally need a national (long-stay) student visa, applied for at the German mission in their country before travelling. EU citizens do not need a visa. Our Germany guide summarises the visa requirements and links to the Federal Foreign Office.

Standard procedure or VPD: the difference

With a VPD, plan even earlier. In the standard procedure, uni-assist can keep processing a complete application after the deadline, but with a VPD you need the document in your hands before the deadline so that you can apply to the university yourself.

Common mistakes

These are the mistakes uni-assist itself warns about:

• Applying late. Missing documents can only be added before the deadline, and incomplete applications are not forwarded to the university.
• Incomplete certificates. Uploading the diploma without every page of the transcript, or without the Diploma Supplement.
• Translations from an ordinary agency. uni-assist accepts only translations by a sworn or court-authorised translator, or by an authorised office of your school or university.
• The wrong grading document. For a master’s, a link to anabin or Wikipedia is not enough as proof of your degree’s grading system.
• Treating the VPD as the application. With a VPD you still have to apply to the university yourself.
• Unanswered university questions. Payment is not possible until every mandatory question is answered, and card payments may need 3D Secure.
• Payment requests from third parties. uni-assist does not work with commercial agencies. Payment requests come only from uni-assist, through the My assist portal.

Deadlines

15 July (winter semester) and 15 January (summer semester) apply to many, but not all, programmes. Many universities set earlier deadlines, for example for master's programmes or the Studienkolleg. Always check the deadline of your programme on the university's website. Our application deadlines guide compares Germany with the UK, the Netherlands and Spain.

How Wisemore can help

uni-assist does not work with commercial agencies, and Wisemore is not a uni-assist partner. You create your own My assist account, upload your own documents, pay uni-assist directly and submit the application yourself.

What we can do is help you prepare. With our university application help, we study the requirements of the programmes you choose, help you gather and organise the information and documents the application asks for, go through the application with you and check it for errors and inconsistencies before you submit it. We confirm the exact price before you pay.

Prepared by the Wisemore editorial team · Last checked: 13 Oct 2026