uni-assist checks international applicants’ documents on behalf of many German universities. A VPD (Vorprüfungsdokumentation, or preliminary review documentation) is the certificate it issues when a university uses the VPD procedure: uni-assist reviews your documents, and you then apply to the university yourself with that certificate. For Indian applicants, the practical questions are which route your university uses, which documents uni-assist expects from India, and how early to start.
Standard application or VPD?
The university decides which procedure applies, not you. uni-assist’s FAQ says you can check whether a university has asked for the VPD procedure in its universities database, where the note appears below the university’s address.
The two routes differ in what happens after uni-assist has checked your documents:
| Standard procedure | VPD procedure | |
|---|---|---|
| What uni-assist does | Evaluates your application and forwards it to the university | Reviews your documents and issues a VPD certificate |
| What you do next | Wait for the university’s decision | Apply to the university directly and submit the VPD there |
| Deadline to watch | uni-assist must receive your complete application before the university’s deadline | The VPD has to reach the university before its deadline, so it must arrive in time for you to submit it |
In both cases the university, not uni-assist, decides on admission. A VPD is a document check, not an offer of a place.
How to apply for a VPD
uni-assist’s FAQ describes the steps in My assist, its online portal:
- Select the university and complete the application form. If the university uses the VPD procedure, the application is automatically a VPD request.
- Pay the handling fees.
- Upload all required documents as scans.
Processing starts once uni-assist has received your paid online application. When the result is ready, uni-assist emails you and the VPD appears in your My assist account. Then complete the university’s own application and add the VPD, following that university’s instructions.
Documents uni-assist asks for from India
uni-assist’s country page for India lists these for applicants who studied at an Indian university:
- An official overview of subjects and grades. If information is printed on the back, upload both sides.
- The degree certificate once you have finished. A provisional degree certificate is accepted only if issued by a university or autonomous college, and only for 12 months after your studies end. After that, an official letter from the university stating the expected convocation date is needed.
- A document showing your university’s grading system, with the CGPA or percentage needed to pass the degree. The minimum to pass individual courses does not count. Many Indian universities set both, and uni-assist accepts only the degree minimum, so check which one your document shows. It must match your programme and batch or graduation year.
- Your APS certificate, uploaded as the digitally sealed original file without changes. Paper APS certificates issued before 23 April 2023 can be uploaded as a scan.
uni-assist notes that the grading information is often found in your university’s academic regulations, its graduation requirements or on the back of the transcript. It has to be the version for your batch. Each programme may ask for more, such as language certificates, so read the programme page as well.
If your degree is in engineering, commerce, accounting, finance, economics, business or management, the APS certificate may now require the dMAT first. See our dMAT news post.
What it costs
uni-assist charges a handling fee per semester: EUR 75 for the first course of study and EUR 30 for each additional one, at the same or another university. The fee is the same for the standard and VPD procedures, and it is due whatever the result of the check. Some universities cover the fee for their applicants; My assist shows a note when that applies.
uni-assist warns that its payment requests come only from uni-assist and only through the My assist portal, and that some agencies falsely claim to be affiliated with it.
How early to apply
uni-assist recommends applying at least eight weeks before the university’s deadline, so missing documents can be flagged in time. It usually sends the result within four to six weeks of receiving your online application, sometimes longer. For a winter semester deadline of 15 July, which uni-assist says is common, that means submitting by mid-May. Our winter semester 2027 timeline places this step among the others.
If documents are missing, you can submit them before the university’s deadline. uni-assist can keep processing after the deadline as long as it received your complete application in time.
Where it depends
Each university chooses its procedure, sets its deadlines and decides admission. Some courses also run through hochschulstart.de (DoSV), which needs separate applicant numbers in My assist. uni-assist’s pages do not say how long a VPD remains valid, so ask the university if you plan to reuse one. Translation and certification rules beyond the APS file are not stated on the India page; check the programme’s requirements.
What SGC does not decide
uni-assist checks documents, universities decide admission, and APS India issues the APS certificate. SGC can help you work out which procedure each shortlisted university uses and put your documents in order; see the Master’s Route page. The next step is to look up each of your universities in the uni-assist database and note whether it asks for a VPD.