Goethe certificate validity: how long Goethe, telc, ÖSD and ÖIF B1 certificates count for visa and university

Goethe, telc, ÖSD and TestDaF certificates carry no expiry date, and a passed certificate does not lapse with time. The age limit comes from whoever asks for the certificate: an embassy, an immigration office or a university. So the question of how long a B1 certificate is valid has one answer per institution. This article collects the rules of the exam providers and the limits set by universities in Vienna and Germany, visa sections and Austrian authorities.

What the exam providers themselves say

The telc exam rules are explicit: no period of validity is printed on the certificate. Whether an older certificate is good enough for a given purpose is up to the institution that asks for it.¹

The ÖSD exam rules say the same and name residence permits and university admission as examples.²

The Goethe-Institut exam rules contain no validity clause at all. They only state that a certificate can be checked at goethe.de/verify.³

TestDaF calls its certificate valid without limit in its FAQ. The same answer warns that some universities accept only a recent result and tells you to ask the university.⁴

Austria's integration fund ÖIF issues the integration exam certificates. Its exam rules set no expiry either and tie validity only to security features and an electronic signature.⁵

How old each institution lets a certificate be

The age is not counted the same way everywhere. Some institutions count from the exam date, others from the day you apply or hand in your papers. A few months either way decide whether the certificate is still accepted.

Vienna universities: Uni Wien, TU Wien and WU

The University of Vienna accepts C1 certificates that are no older than three years on the day of application. A2 certificates may be at most two years old.⁶

TU Wien accepts A2 and C1 certificates for two years from the exam date. So the two years must not have run out by the time you hand the certificate in.⁷

WU Vienna counts C1 certificates for three years from the exam date and wants A2 proof no older than two years.⁸

One route has no limit: the supplementary German exam (Ergänzungsprüfung Deutsch) passed in a university preparation programme (Vorstudienlehrgang) at an Austrian university. Uni Wien lists it as valid without time limit, and TU Wien and WU do the same. Which C1 exams count for admission is covered in the article on the Goethe-Zertifikat C1.^6–8

German universities: each sets its own rule

There is no central limit for German universities. uni-assist tells applicants to check with each university which German certificates and which level it accepts.⁹

The University of Hamburg accepts language certificates no older than three years. The reference date is 1 June for the winter semester and 1 December for the summer semester.¹⁰

In Göttingen, the application office for agricultural sciences wants proof no older than two years at the time of application. That is one programme's rule, and others may differ.¹¹

TU Munich accepts older recognised certificates too and ignores any expiry date printed on them. The ways to prove German for university are collected in the article on German language proof for university.¹²

Visas, residence permits and citizenship

The German spouse visa has one of the strictest limits, alongside Deutsch vor Zuzug. The embassy in Minsk, in its leaflet of December 2025, as a rule accepts only A1 certificates whose exam date is no more than a year back. Accepted there are Start Deutsch 1 from Goethe or telc and the ÖSD Zertifikat A1.¹³

The embassy in Athens says the same in its leaflet of March 2021: certificates taken less than a year ago. The leaflet of your own embassy is the one that counts.¹⁴

For Deutsch vor Zuzug, Austria requires an A1 certificate from ÖSD, Goethe, telc or ÖIF that is no older than one year when presented.¹⁵

When an Austrian residence permit is renewed, proof of Module 1 of the integration agreement must be no older than two years.¹⁶

For the Red-White-Red Card in shortage occupations, German certificates earn points only if they are no older than five years.¹⁷

For Austrian citizenship, Vienna accepts B1 through ÖIF Module 2, and an ÖSD Integrationsprüfung B1 only if it was taken between 29.05.2018 and 30.05.2021. The special-integration route needs B2 from ÖIF, ÖSD, Goethe or telc. The MA 35 page sets no maximum age for the certificate. More on that exam is on the ÖIF B1 page.¹⁸

Checking that a certificate is genuine

Goethe certificates are checked at goethe.de/verify.³

At ÖSD, only the certificate for a fully passed exam carries a QR code, checked with the ÖSD Cert-Checker app. A fail or a single module gets a result notice without a QR code.²

telc certificates with a QR code are checked by scanning it or on the verification portal with candidate number, date of birth and date of issue. Certificates without a QR code cannot be checked this way.¹⁹

TestDaF certificates are checked through a web form or the QR code, and since September 2020 they are digital and valid without a signature.²⁰

TU Wien treats printouts of electronic ÖSD or telc certificates as certified copies, provided their authenticity can be verified.⁷

Lost certificate and duplicates

telc keeps exam results in a digital archive for ten years, and during that time you can order a duplicate. Under the telc rules it costs 40 euros. For Goethe and ÖSD duplicates, ask the exam centre where you took the exam.¹

A certificate that is too old for an institution cannot be renewed, only replaced by a new exam. How Goethe, ÖSD and telc differ in format and retakes is compared in Goethe, ÖSD or telc. For B1 preparation there is the Goethe B1 page.

Источники

· 20 проверены 08.11.2026

1. 1telc Prüfungsregularien, telc gGmbH · от 15.04.2025
2. 2ÖSD-Prüfungsordnung, Österreichisches Sprachdiplom Deutsch · от 01.08.2026
3. 3Prüfungsordnung, Goethe-Institut · от 01.09.2025
4. 4TestDaF: FAQ Ergebnisse und Zertifikat, g.a.s.t.
5. 5Prüfungsordnung für Sprach- und Integrationsprüfungen A2 und B1, Österreichischer Integrationsfonds
6. 6Deutschkenntnisse, Universität Wien, Aufnahmeverfahren
7. 7Competence in German, TU Wien
8. 8Sprachnachweise, WU Wirtschaftsuniversität Wien
9. 9Sprach-Zertifikate, uni-assist
10. 10Deutschkenntnisse, Universität Hamburg
11. 11Nachweis der Deutschkenntnisse, Agrarwissenschaften, Universität Göttingen
12. 12Sprachnachweise, Technische Universität München
13. 13Merkblatt Nachweis einfacher Deutschkenntnisse, Deutsche Botschaft Minsk
14. 14Deutschkenntnisse im Visumverfahren, Deutsche Botschaft Athen
15. 15Nachweis von Deutschkenntnissen vor Zuzug, oesterreich.gv.at
16. 16Integrationsgesetz, geltende Fassung, RIS
17. 17Fachkräfte in Mangelberufen, migration.gv.at
18. 18Deutschkenntnisse für die Staatsbürgerschaft, Stadt Wien
19. 19telc Zertifikate digital, telc gGmbH
20. 20Verifikation von TestDaF-Zertifikaten, g.a.s.t.