Assessment of foreign qualifications in Germany.

The Central Office for Foreign Education (ZAB) is a joint institution of the federal states of the Federal Republic of Germany within the Standing Conference of the Ministers of Education and Cultural Affairs (KMK). It evaluates foreign educational qualifications, monitors and documents global developments in education, and supports the federal government, the states, and institutions on issues of recognition and assessment.

Through its work, the ZAB makes an important contribution to securing and attracting qualified professionals and to ensuring permeability within Germany’s education system. More than 290 employees, who together speak over 50 languages, combine expertise, international experience, and linguistic competence.

The ZAB works on behalf of all 16 federal states and ensures that the evaluation of foreign educational qualifications is carried out according to transparent, uniform, and quality-assured criteria.

Its core tasks include:

• Supporting recognition authorities and universities through expert reports on the comparability of foreign qualifications
• Certificate evaluation for foreign higher education degrees as a nationwide valid document for classifying academic qualifications
• Digital Information on Professional Qualifications (DAB) as an official proof of professional qualifications within the Skilled Immigration Act
• Expert Office for Health Professions (GfG), which supports the recognition authorities of the federal states responsible for federally regulated academic health professions

Through these tasks, the ZAB provides the foundation for a nationally coordinated recognition practice that guarantees trust and legal certainty. 

The work of the ZAB is based on continuous monitoring of education systems worldwide. Every day, structures, qualifications, and current developments are analyzed and documented.

The results are incorporated into the information portal anabin, which provides verified and continuously updated information on education systems, institutions, and qualifications from around 180 countries.

The anabin portal supports authorities, universities, and interested individuals in independently classifying foreign educational qualifications. With more than 30,000 educational institutions and over 35,000 recorded qualifications, it is unique in Europe and a key instrument for recognition practices in Germany

The ZAB represents Germany in the European ENIC-NARIC network. This network of 56 national information centers promotes the mutual recognition of educational qualifications and supports the mobility of students and professionals.

As Germany’s ENIC and NARIC, the ZAB works closely with partner institutions across Europe and worldwide. It contributes its expertise to international committees and actively shapes policy processes in the field of recognition.

The ZAB plays a key role in securing and attracting qualified professionals from abroad. Its assessments and certificates create transparency regarding qualifications and facilitate access to the German labor market.

By expanding digital services – for example through the service portal www.zab.kmk.org – professionals can submit their applications entirely online. From application submission to the digital document, every step is secure, clear, and accessible.

In this way, the ZAB helps make recognition procedures faster, simpler, and more user-friendly – an important building block for a modern, open, and future-oriented education and labor landscape.