Germany · University

Starter overviewCountry: GermanyRoute: TestDaF

TestDaF Levels (TDN 3/4/5) and How Scoring Works

Direct answer

Understand how TestDaF reports TDN results and how to verify whether a target programme accepts them.

Updated: 2026-07-13
Source review: Official verification pending
Written by: VisaLang Editorial team
Reviewed by role: Pending
Reading time: 5 min

Who decides this?

Official verification pending. The final decision authority and its official entry have not both been source-reviewed for this page.

VisaLang does not decide individual eligibility, exemptions, certificate acceptance, document sufficiency, or application outcomes.

On this page

Who this applies to

Use this guide if you are checking TestDaF before choosing an exam, paying a centre, or submitting a document. It does not decide eligibility, an exemption, or certificate acceptance for an individual case.

Key decisions

Identify the authority or institution receiving your proof.
Confirm the exact certificate, level, exam version, and document format it accepts.
Verify local booking, ID, fee, result, cancellation, and timing details with official sources.

Detailed explanation

Separate the score from the admissions decision

There are two different questions:

How did TestDaF report your performance?
Does a particular university programme currently accept that result for its language requirement?

TestDaF answers the first question. The target university and programme answer the second. Do not turn a TDN result, a provider statement, or another programme’s requirement into an admissions conclusion.

How TestDaF reports results

TestDaF uses the TestDaF levels TDN 3, TDN 4, and TDN 5. Its university information page states that the certificate reports the attained TestDaF level for each examination component.

For the digital TestDaF, the official scoring page says that reading, listening, writing, and speaking are assessed separately. On the current digital scale, each component is reported from 0 to 20 points: 0–4 is below TDN 3, 5–9 is TDN 3, 10–15 is TDN 4, and 16–20 is TDN 5. The page also shows a total of 0–80 points.

If you take the paper-based TestDaF, use its official paper-based scoring page. Do not reuse a raw-score cutoff from another test set: the official page explains that reading and listening thresholds can be adjusted for the difficulty of the test set.

How to use a result for an application

Open the current admissions page for the exact programme, then compare your certificate with the wording on that page. The programme may state an accepted proof, a result requirement, or component requirements. If it does not make the requirement clear, ask the programme or International Office for confirmation before submitting an application or making an exam plan.

uni-assist and DAAD are useful official starting points, but neither replaces the programme’s current decision.

Continue your TestDaF decision route

Keep the programme requirement and the score explanation separate:

Return to the programme-first admissions check if you have not saved the programme’s current requirement.
Compare accepted proofs against that requirement.
Use official TestDaF preparation material for the selected format.

What to verify officially

Official verification pending. This page does not yet have the reviewed authority metadata required to publish a source fact table. Confirm the current requirement and accepted proof with the receiving authority before acting.

Common mistakes

Booking before confirming the exact proof for the route.
Using an old price, date, or centre listing without checking the official page.
Assuming another applicant's outcome applies to your own case.

Next action

Compare only the options that the receiving organisation currently accepts, then verify the exact exam with its owner.

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Official sources

Last updated: 2026-07-13. Official verification pending.