Important factors may include how many years you attended school, which subjects you studied, and the grades you received. If you wish to obtain one of the following certificates in Schleswig-Holstein, certain requirements must be met: 

• First General School Certificate (Erster allgemeinbildender Schulabschluss): Usually awarded after at least nine consecutive school years with predominantly general education subjects and at least satisfactory performance. 
• Intermediate School Certificate (Mittlerer Schulabschluss): Typically awarded after ten or eleven consecutive school years with general education subjects (two languages, mathematics, one science, and one social studies subject) and at least satisfactory performance. 
• University Entrance Qualification (Allgemeine Hochschulreife): Generally awarded after at least twelve consecutive school years, based on the evaluation guidelines of the Central Office for Foreign Education (ZAB). 

Experts at the Ministry of Education can advise you on whether your foreign school certificate is comparable and can be recognized in Germany. Please enter your school attendance details in the application form, which can be found at the bottom of the page. In the area of school-based vocational qualifications, an assessment by the Ministry for General and Vocational Education, Science, Research and Culture of Schleswig-Holstein, Department 37, under the Schleswig-Holstein Recognition Act is only possible if a vocational school qualification in the same profession can also be obtained in Schleswig-Holstein. This applies, for example, to school-based qualifications in remedial and social education and certain assistant professions.  The certificate evaluation team is available for personal consultation at the central phone number: 0431 988-2514 during the following hours: 

• Monday, Wednesday, Friday: 10:00 to 11:00 
• Tuesday, Thursday: 14:00 to 15:00 

 You can contact us anytime via email at: AAB@bildungsdienste.landsh.de

Appointments for visits can be arranged by phone or email. Processing may currently take up to 3 months. The fee for issuing equivalency certificates for the First General and Intermediate School Certificates is 60 euros.  Fee exemptions remain available upon request for recipients of Bürgergeld (citizen’s benefit) or benefits under the Asylum Seekers Benefits Act. Applications can be sent by post or submitted directly to the ministry. 

Postal address: 
Ministry for General and Vocational Education, Science, Research and Culture
Brunswiker Straße 16–22
24105 Kiel 

If your documents are incomplete or insufficient, we will contact you promptly. We kindly ask you to refrain from interim inquiries about the processing status.