Short answer. anabin is Germany’s official database on foreign universities and degrees. It lists 1,309 Indian institutions: 1,058 are H+, recognised; 189 are H+/-, mostly with status unclear; and 62 are H-, not recognised. Check yours before paying for APS or uni-assist, because a good dMAT score or grades cannot fix an unrecognised institution.
anabin is run by the Central Office for Foreign Education, ZAB, at Germany’s Standing Conference of education ministers. German universities, APS India and German authorities use it to decide how to treat a foreign qualification. For an Indian student, it answers one question before any other: does Germany recognise the institution your degree comes from?
It is worth checking before you spend anything. APS India says it applies the criteria used for access to German higher education, including anabin, and may not issue a positive APS certificate if your institution or qualification is not recognised. The figures below are from our count of anabin’s India entries on 18 October 2026. For what comes after this check, see our guides to the APS certificate and uni-assist.
What H+, H+/- and H- mean
| Status | What anabin says | Indian institutions |
|---|---|---|
| H+ | A state or state recognised institution. Foreign degrees are normally recognised in Germany only if they come from one of these. | 1,058 |
| H+/- | Recognition depends on further criteria, or the status has not been settled. | 189 |
| H- | Not recognised. | 62 |
So about 81 percent of listed Indian institutions are H+. The H+/- group is the one to watch: 183 of the 189 are classed by anabin as status unclear, and the other 6 as institutions with partly recognised degrees. An H+/- listing is not a rejection, but it means your degree may need closer checking.
Which Indian institutions are H+
| Institution type in anabin | H+ entries |
|---|---|
| State universities | 473 |
| Private universities | 223 |
| Institutions of National Importance, such as IITs and NITs | 163 |
| Deemed to be universities | 137 |
| Central universities | 50 |
| Other recognised institutions | 12 |
Private and deemed universities are not automatically suspect: 360 of them are listed as H+. What matters is the specific entry for the institution that awards your degree. Many Indian colleges are affiliated colleges whose degrees are awarded by a university, so look up the university named on your degree certificate as well as your college.
How to check your university
- Open anabin at anabin.kmk.org and choose Institutionen. The site is in German; your browser’s translate option helps.
- Open the tab Suchen nach Institutionen and select Indien as the country.
- Type part of your university’s name and run the search.
- Open your institution’s entry and read its status: H+, H+/- or H-.
- For your degree itself, go to Hochschulabschlüsse, search Indien and look for your degree or degree type and its assessment.
anabin says itself that the database is not complete, so an institution or degree can be missing simply because it has not been assessed yet. Try older names and abbreviations too: many entries list a previous name, and some cities appear under both old and new names.
Faz's ruleCheck anabin before you pay the ₹18,000 APS fee, not after.
APS India’s fee is not refundable whatever the outcome, and its dMAT guidance says a good test score cannot compensate for a degree from an institution that is not recognised. If your university shows as H- or H+/-, or does not appear at all, find that out first. It may change which universities you can apply to, or whether Germany is the right plan for this degree. Distance and online degrees need extra care: APS India accepts them only if the university and the specific programme were recognised by the competent Indian authority for the period you studied.
If your degree is missing or unclear
ZAB issues a Statement of Comparability for individual foreign degrees. It names your degree and university, confirms whether both were recognised, and states the equivalent level in Germany, such as bachelor’s or master’s. It is mainly used for work, the Opportunity Card and public sector jobs. For study, each university sets its own admission requirements and may or may not ask for one, so check with the university before applying.
| Statement of Comparability | Detail |
|---|---|
| Fee | EUR 208, about ₹22,000 |
| Processing time | 3 months normally; 2 weeks when needed for an EU Blue Card |
| Validity | Does not expire; valid throughout Germany |
| Language | Issued only in German |
| How to apply | Online through ZAB’s website; processing starts once all documents and the fee are received |
The honest closing take
For most Indian students anabin is a two minute check that comes back H+, and then you can forget about it. The reason to do it anyway is the minority it does not: 251 Indian institutions are listed as H+/- or H-, and finding that out after paying for APS, uni-assist and a dMAT is an expensive way to learn.
Check the institution that awards your degree, note its status, and if it is anything other than H+, ask the universities on your list how they treat it before you apply. Then plan the rest of your Germany application, starting with our guide to studying in Germany as an Indian student.
FAQ
What is anabin H+ for Indian universities?
H+ means anabin lists the institution as state or state recognised, the normal basis for recognising its degrees in Germany. 1,058 of the 1,309 Indian institutions in anabin had H+ status on 18 October 2026.
What does H+/- mean in anabin?
Recognition depends on further criteria or has not been settled. For India, 183 of the 189 H+/- entries are classed as status unclear. Ask your target universities how they treat such degrees before applying.
Can I get APS if my university is H+/- or H-?
Possibly not. APS India applies anabin and the other criteria for access to German higher education, and says it may not be able to issue a positive certificate if the institution or qualification is not recognised.
My university is not in anabin. What now?
The database is not complete, so first search older names and abbreviations. If it is still missing, ask your target universities and APS India how they will assess it, and consider a ZAB Statement of Comparability, which costs EUR 208.
Is a private university degree recognised in Germany?
Often, yes. anabin lists 223 Indian private universities and 137 deemed to be universities as H+. Check the entry for your specific institution rather than assuming either way.
Where these figures come from
- anabin, institutions database, India entries counted on 18 October 2026
- anabin, search guide on recognition of foreign institutions
- ZAB, Statement of Comparability FAQs
- APS India, FAQs and dMAT page
- European Central Bank, euro reference exchange rates
Checked in October 2026. anabin updates institution entries continuously, so check your own university’s current status.
