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Apply for an external school examination
This allows you to obtain these qualifications retrospectively:
- Secondary school certificate
- Werkrealschulabschluss
- Realschule certificate
- University entrance qualification
Please note Do you have a Hauptschulabschluss without a grade in the foreign language? In this case, you can also take the foreign language examination in the foreign language only.
You must prepare yourself independently.
Tip: Many adult education centres offer preparatory courses for the foreign language exam.
The exam takes place the following year at the end of the school year - usually at the same time as the corresponding exam at state schools.
Responsible authority
- Hauptschulabschluss, Werkrealschulabschluss and Realschulabschluss: the state education authority responsible for your place of residence
- University entrance qualification: usually the regional council responsible for your place of residence
Details
Prerequisite
The general requirements for participation are
- You have neither successfully nor unsuccessfully taken the desired final examination twice before.
- You would not be able to take this examination earlier than you would if you had attended school normally.
Example: Do you already have a secondary general school leaving certificate? Then you are not allowed to take another secondary school leaving examination (for example, to get a better grade).
You must also fulfil other requirements, depending on the qualification you are aiming for:
- For the Hauptschulabschluss:
You do not attend a Werkrealschule, Hauptschule, Realschule, Gymnasium, Gemeinschaftsschule or a special education and counselling centre (SBBZ) with a corresponding course of education (anymore).
Exception:- You attend the 9th grade of a grammar school and your promotion to the 10th grade is at risk; if you do not pass, you would have to leave the grammar school,
- For the Werkrealschule certificate:
You do not attend a Werkrealschule, Hauptschule, Realschule, Gymnasium, Gemeinschaftsschule or SBBZ with a corresponding educational programme. - For the Realschulabschluss:
You do not attend a Werkrealschule, Hauptschule, Realschule, Gymnasium, Gemeinschaftsschule or SBBZ with a corresponding educational programme.
Exception:- You attend the 10th grade of a grammar school,
- Your promotion is at risk and
- you would have to leave your school if you fail.
- For the higher education entrance qualification (Fachhochschulreife or general higher education entrance qualification):
You do not attend a public or state-recognised private grammar school or a community school with a grammar school upper level, an evening grammar school or a college in the school year in which the examination is taken. You have your permanent residence in Baden-Württemberg or have been prepared for the Abitur examination for non-school pupils at a state-approved private grammar school or other educational institution in Baden-Württemberg.
Procedure
You must apply in writing for admission to the external school examination. You can obtain the necessary application forms from the relevant office.
If you are admitted, you will receive notification of the date and place where the examination will take place. If you are not admitted, you will receive a rejection with a written explanation.
Please note: You can repeat a failed examination once, at the earliest after one year.
Deadlines
To register for the exam:
- Secondary school leaving certificate: 1 March
- Secondary school leaving certificate: 1 March
- Secondary school certificate: 1 March
- University entrance qualification: 1 October
Required documents
- Curriculum vitae with details
- on the previous course of education
- if applicable, information on the professional activity carried out
- Birth certificate or other proof of identity issued by a public authority, such as an identity card or passport
- Leaving or graduation certificates from the schools attended (as certified copies or photocopies)
- Information on the type of preparation for the examination (possibly with supporting documents)
- additionally for the secondary school leaving certificate:
- Declaration as to whether and with what level of success you have already taken part in the Hauptschulabschluss examination
- Declaration of which examination subjects you have chosen
- Name and description of the topic of the presentation examination
- if you are in year 9 at a grammar school, your last half-year report and a certificate from the school management about the risk of promotion
- for the Werkrealschulabschluss additionally:
- Declaration as to whether and with what level of success you have already taken part in the Werkrealschulabschluss examination
- Declaration of which examination subjects you have chosen
- for the Realschulabschluss additionally:
- Declaration as to whether and with what level of success you have already taken the Realschulabschluss examination
- Declaration of which examination subjects you have chosen
- if you are in year 10 at a grammar school, the last half-year report and a certificate from the school management about the risk of promotion
- for the university entrance qualification:
- Passport photo
- Proof of a secondary school leaving certificate or an equivalent level of education
- Declaration as to whether and, if so, with what result you have already taken part in an examination for a general or subject-restricted higher education entrance qualification
- Declaration of which examination subjects you have chosen
Note: You will find more detailed information on the compulsory examination subjects and the naming of additional examination subjects in the corresponding application forms.
Costs
none
Detailed information
- You can find an overview of preparatory courses for the Schulfremdenprüfung in Baden-Württemberg in KURSNET. Select the qualification you are aiming for there.
- You can find more detailed information on the exact procedure of the examination, the individual subjects and the examination dates and locations on the following pages:
- km-bw:
- Regierungspräsidium Tübingen:
- Regierungspräsidium Stuttgart:
Release note
machine generated, based on the German release by: Kultusministerium Baden-Württemberg, 11.03.2026
