The Statement of Comparability is an official document issued by the "Zentralstelle für ausländisches Bildungswesen" (Central Office for Foreign Education – ZAB) that describes the foreign higher education qualification, its professional and academic usage.

The ZAB Statement of Comparability can facilitate access to the German labour market for holders of foreign higher education qualifications. It is a comparative assessment but not a recognition certificate.

What information is included in the Statement of Comparability?

The Statement specifies the German qualification to which your foreign qualification is comparable and provides information on the options for continuing your studies, the legal basis of the use of academic degrees and the procedure of professional recognition. The Statement does not give rise to a legal claim.

The Statement is issued in a long and a short version. Both versions will be sent to you together. The short version is intended for use as an enclosure to your application documents and supplies information for the employer or employment agency on the comparability of your higher education qualification to a German degree. You can use the long version whenever more detailed information is required.

For which qualifications does the ZAB issue Statements of Comparability?

Statements of Comparability are issued for higher education degrees obtained world-wide. The ZAB does not provide Statements for incomplete higher education courses or courses not assigned to the field of higher education.

Statements of Comparability cannot be issued for school certificates.

Criteria

• A Statement of Comparability cannot be issued in cases of reasonable doubt regarding the authenticity.
• The qualification must have been awarded by an institution recognized as a higher education institution according to the principal criteria in the country of origin.
• For degrees from countries in which the accreditation of courses is mandatory, the completed course of study must be accredited.
• In case of a joint degree involving a German higher education institution, no statement of comparability is required as a German degree has already been awarded.