Getting Israeli Diplomas and Bagrut Certificates Recognised in Germany
Get the documents from Israel first: the Ministry of Education issues a digitally signed Bagrut (matriculation) certificate and grade sheet online, free of charge, and your university's registrar issues copies of your diploma and transcript. Then have them assessed in Germany: a Bagrut goes to the certificate recognition office (Zeugnisanerkennungsstelle) of your federal state; a degree is checked in the anabin database and, if you need an official document, assessed by the ZAB in a Statement of Comparability (208 euros, up to three months). Regulated professions such as doctors and teachers apply to the competent authority instead. The Israeli portals involved opened from abroad in our check on 23 October 2026.
Step 1. Get your documents from Israel
Bagrut certificate. According to gov.il, the digital certificate is available to those who finished school from 2017 onwards, and the grade sheet from 2009 onwards, free of charge (gov.il). You produce them through the national digital identification on my.gov.il or on the Ministry of Education's student and graduate portal.
University degree. Israeli universities issue copies of diplomas, transcripts and eligibility certificates to graduates on request, often through an online form. The Technion, for example, offers English versions of its certificates and can send them by email. Check your university's registrar or graduate portal.
Today all of this opens directly from Germany: in the same check, my.gov.il, the national login, the Ministry of Education's student and graduate portal and the Technion, Tel Aviv University and Hebrew University sites all opened from abroad. More on the government portal is in gov.il from abroad.
Step 2. Apostille: when you may need it
gov.il offers an electronic apostille for public documents issued by government ministries, and its list includes the digital Bagrut certificate with an apostille (gov.il). For a university diploma the usual route is a notarised copy: a notary can issue it as an electronically signed certificate and have it verified with a digital apostille online, while an apostille on a paper notarised copy is issued through the courts. A digital apostille comes only as a signed electronic file, so check first that the German office accepts electronic documents. Whether a German office needs an apostille, a certified copy or a sworn translation at all depends on that office, so ask before you pay.
Step 3. Recognition in Germany
School certificate (Bagrut). Foreign school-leaving certificates are assessed by the certificate recognition office of your federal state. If the certificate is found equivalent, you get a certificate of equivalence. You can find your state's office in the anabin database, under recognition and advice offices. For university admission, check the requirements with the university itself.
University degree. First look up your university and degree in anabin: a degree counts as comparable only if the university is rated H+, or H+/- with the degree listed under it. For an official document, apply to the ZAB for a Statement of Comparability (Zeugnisbewertung). It costs 208 euros (a replacement certificate 104 euros) and takes at most three months once all documents are complete (Anerkennung in Deutschland). You apply online, which needs a BundID account (Germany4Ukraine).
Regulated professions. Doctors, teachers, engineers and other regulated professions must apply for recognition with the competent authority; a ZAB statement does not replace it. The Anerkennungs-Finder on anerkennung-in-deutschland.de shows which authority is responsible.
Rules and fees change, so confirm everything on the official sites before you apply.
