What is Uni-Assist and why do German universities use it?
What Uni-Assist actually evaluates, why 80% of German universities outsource credential checks to it, what the VPD is, and why the 4–6 week wait exists.
Short answer: Uni-Assist is a nonprofit association that evaluates international applicants' credentials on behalf of about 80% of German universities. It checks whether your degree makes you eligible in principle, whether your documents are consistent, and how many ECTS credits your degree represents, then either forwards your application or issues a VPD certificate. Processing takes 4-6 weeks and costs €75 for the first application plus €30 for each additional one.
If you've started researching German university applications, you've almost certainly encountered Uni-Assist. About 80% of German universities route their international applications through it. Knowing why Uni-Assist exists and what it actually does makes the whole process less confusing.
The problem Uni-Assist solves
Germany has over 400 universities. Many of them receive thousands of international applications every year from students across 180+ countries. Each application comes with documents in dozens of different languages, from educational systems that follow completely different structures.
A university in Munich receiving applications from Pakistan, Nigeria, Brazil, China, and Indonesia simultaneously would need staff who understand each country's grading system, credit structure, degree equivalency, and document attestation conventions. This is expensive, inconsistent, and slow.
Uni-Assist centralizes this work. Instead of each university building its own international credential evaluation capacity, they outsource it to one specialized body that develops expertise across hundreds of educational systems.
What Uni-Assist actually evaluates
When you submit your documents, Uni-Assist checks three things:
Eligibility in principle: Does your educational background, in terms of years of study and recognized degree, meet the baseline requirements for graduate study in Germany? A 4-year Pakistani bachelor's from an HEC-recognized university: yes. A 2-year diploma from an unrecognized institution: no.
Document authenticity: Are your documents consistent, attested appropriately, and free of obvious discrepancies? This is a basic consistency check, not a fraud investigation. Grades that don't add up, attestation seals that don't match, or missing documents get flagged.
ECTS equivalency: How many ECTS credits does your degree represent? For a 4-year Pakistani bachelor's, this is 180 ECTS under the Anabin framework. Uni-Assist documents this finding in their evaluation record.
What Uni-Assist does not do: assess whether you are academically strong enough for the specific program, evaluate your motivation letter, or make the admission decision. That stays with the university.
The evaluation record and VPD
The output of Uni-Assist's evaluation is either:
A forwarded application package: For universities that use Uni-Assist as the full application channel, Uni-Assist sends the evaluation plus your documents directly to the university.
A VPD (Vorprüfungsdokumentation): For universities that want to handle their own application process but need Uni-Assist's credential verification first, Uni-Assist issues a VPD, a document certifying that your credentials have been reviewed and your degree is recognized as equivalent to X ECTS in the German system. You then attach this VPD to your direct application.
Why you pay a fee
Uni-Assist charges applicants because the service is not funded by German state education budgets. Universities pay a membership fee to use Uni-Assist, and applicants pay a per-application processing fee (€75 for the first, €30 for each additional).
This is not a profit center. Uni-Assist is a nonprofit association (eingetragener Verein). The fees cover the operational cost of document evaluation, which is labor-intensive.
Why Uni-Assist matters for your timeline
Uni-Assist processing takes 4-6 weeks on average. That is how long it takes to review documents across dozens of languages and educational systems carefully enough to produce a reliable evaluation.
This has real consequences for your application timeline. If a university's application deadline is March 15, and Uni-Assist takes 6 weeks, you need to submit to Uni-Assist by early February. If your documents aren't ready until late January, you've already created a risk of missing the deadline.
Build Uni-Assist's processing window into your timeline before you do anything else. Use UniTracker's timeline tool to work backwards from each university's deadline and calculate the latest date you can safely submit to Uni-Assist.
Uni-Assist and quality signals
Some students assume that getting through Uni-Assist is an endorsement, and that if Uni-Assist passes your documents, the university will be positively disposed toward your application. That isn't how it works.
Uni-Assist's evaluation is a baseline eligibility check. Passing it means you're in the pool of eligible applicants. Whether you receive an offer depends on the university's own review: your grades, your motivation letter, any interviews, and how your profile compares to other eligible applicants.
Think of Uni-Assist as the filter before the filter. Passing it opens the door. Getting through the door is the university's decision.
For the step-by-step submission process, see the complete Uni-Assist walkthrough.
Frequently asked questions
How long does Uni-Assist take to process an application?
Uni-Assist takes 4-6 weeks on average to evaluate an application. That means you should work backwards from each university's deadline: for a March 15 deadline, your documents need to reach Uni-Assist by early February at the latest. Submitting earlier is safer, because processing can slow down in peak periods before major deadlines.
How much does Uni-Assist cost?
The processing fee is €75 for your first application in a semester and €30 for each additional application in the same cycle. The fee exists because Uni-Assist is a nonprofit association funded by university membership fees and applicant fees rather than state education budgets, and document evaluation is labor-intensive work.
Do all German universities use Uni-Assist?
No, about 80% of German universities route international applications through Uni-Assist. The rest handle applications directly. Some universities use a middle path: you apply to the university directly but must first obtain a VPD from Uni-Assist certifying that your credentials have been verified. Always check each program's application instructions, because the channel varies even within one university.
What is a VPD and when do I need one?
A VPD (Vorprüfungsdokumentation) is a certificate from Uni-Assist confirming that your credentials have been reviewed and stating what your degree is equivalent to in the German system, including its ECTS value. You need one when a university runs its own application portal but requires Uni-Assist's credential verification first. You request the VPD from Uni-Assist, then attach it to your direct application to the university.