Already have your APS certificate? When you still need the dMAT for Germany

Do APS certificate holders need the dMAT?

No, not for the APS procedure you have already completed. The dMAT page on the APS India website says applicants "who have already completed the APS procedure and have received their APS certificate are not required to take the dMAT for that completed APS procedure." g.a.s.t., the organisation that runs the test, says the same in its own FAQ: certificates already issued stay valid, and holders do not take the dMAT retrospectively.

APS India attaches no issue date to that rule. A certificate from 2025 counts the same as one from last month. The words that matter are the last five: for that completed APS procedure. Most of the confusion sits there.

For context, the Digital Master Test (dMAT) is a standardised academic aptitude test administered by g.a.s.t. On 29 June 2026, APS India added it to the APS documentation for selected master's applicants whose previous degree falls in one of three field groups: engineering; commerce, accounting, finance and economics; and business and management. It applies to the summer semester 2027 intake and later. The full background is in our dMAT Germany guide.

Your APS status and the dMAT, case by case

APS India draws the line at 29 June 2026, the day it published the dMAT rule. What counts is when you registered or shipped, not when the certificate arrived. Every row below comes from the APS India dMAT page and its FAQ.

Mixed degrees are where people guess wrong. The APS India website names engineering management, business analytics, industrial engineering, data science and financial technology as degrees that can fall between field groups, and says the final classification follows its official list of affected study fields. Check yours against the dMAT affected fields list before you decide anything.

When an APS holder still has to take the dMAT

1. You need a new APS evaluation

The APS India FAQ says certificates are issued on the qualifications completed and documented when your application is processed. If you complete further qualifications later that change your admission category, a new evaluation may be requested. It costs a new fee and follows the criteria in force at the time of the new application. The dMAT page says the same thing: if a new APS application is submitted later, the rules applicable at that time apply.

APS India runs separate checklists by academic background: Class XII, JEE Main and Advanced, undergraduates with at least 2 completed semesters, and graduates and postgraduates. Only the graduates and postgraduates checklist mentions the dMAT. If your certificate came from one of the first three and you have since completed your bachelor's, ask APS India at [email protected] before you apply for a master's. A new evaluation under today's rules includes the dMAT if your degree is on the list and you are applying for summer 2027 or later.

If your APS was done under the graduates and postgraduates checklist for a master's application, the exemption covers that procedure.

2. Your programme uses the dMAT itself

You will not find this one on the APS website, because it has nothing to do with APS. The exemption covers the APS procedure and nothing else. On d-mat.de, g.a.s.t. lists two universities that currently use the dMAT as a selection criterion, each with its own subject module:

• RWTH Aachen, MSc Battery Science and Technology in Engineering (modules in chemistry, physics, computer science, electrical engineering and mechanical engineering)
• University of Goettingen, MSc Data Science

These are subject modules, not the General Academic Module used for APS. If either programme is on your list, read its admission page. Your APS certificate does not answer this one.

Should you take the dMAT voluntarily?

You can. g.a.s.t. says you may take the dMAT voluntarily and as many times as you wish, and that the certificate is generally valid indefinitely. The APS India website says German universities decide independently how they assess a dMAT result. If you submit one directly to a university, g.a.s.t. notes that the university may apply its own rules on how long a result is accepted.

Our view: if you already hold an APS certificate and none of your programmes asks for the dMAT, skip it. 150 euros and a trip to a test centre for a score nobody requested is a poor trade. Put that time into the documents your universities will actually read.

dMAT exam date, fee and score

This part only matters if the dMAT applies to you.

The stakes are lower than the word "test" suggests. The APS India website says the dMAT is not a stand-alone pass or fail test for the APS certificate, and a low score does not automatically lead to refusal. The result is reflected on your APS certificate, and German universities decide independently how to assess it. For the visa, g.a.s.t. says taking the dMAT is sufficient.

One trap, also from the APS India website: you may send your APS documents before your dMAT certificate is available, but all required academic documents must be in that first submission. Additional or updated academic documents cannot be sent later together with the dMAT certificate for the same APS procedure. If you missed the September sitting and are aiming for summer 2027, set the next sitting against your summer 2027 application deadlines now. The portal walkthrough is in our dMAT registration guide.

Before you rely on the exemption

• Keep the original APS certificate PDF. APS India says to submit it without renaming, merging, compressing, scanning or otherwise editing it.
• If your PDF reader shows a warning such as "There are problems with at least one signature", read the 9 July 2026 notice on the APS India news page. Some certificates issued after December 2025 and before the latest seal update can show it, and APS India says they remain valid as long as the PDF has not been modified after issuance.
• If your exemption rests on a shipping date, keep the courier receipt. APS India says you should be able to provide proof of shipment if requested.
• APS India advises checking your university's status in anabin. The dMAT does not replace anabin or formal recognition, and a good score cannot make up for a non-recognised institution. Our anabin check guide shows how.
• APS questions go to [email protected]. Registration, payment and results questions go to g.a.s.t. at [email protected].

For the rest of the APS process, see our APS certificate guide.

Sources

• APS India website: dMAT for selected Master's applicants in India (published 29 June 2026, last updated 13 July 2026)
• APS India website: FAQ
• APS India website: news, notices of 16 March 2026 and 9 July 2026
• APS India website: checklists for APS procedures
• APS India website: dMAT affected fields list (PDF)
• g.a.s.t., the dMAT provider named by APS India: FAQ for graduate students in India
• d-mat.de: subject modules and universities using the dMAT