TestDaF: What TDN 4 Means and the Score Universities Want

TestDaF (Test Deutsch als Fremdsprache) is one of the four exams the German rules name as proof of German for a German-taught degree. It has four parts, Reading, Listening, Writing and Speaking, and each part gets its own level, TDN 3, TDN 4 or TDN 5. There is no overall level. The standard rule for university admission is at least TDN 4 in all four parts, so one weak part can block an application even when the other three are TDN 5.

That rule has exceptions in both directions. A programme may accept TDN 3 in one part, ask for TDN 5, or add your four levels up and ask for 14, 15 or 16 points. Before you book, find the exact sentence your university uses. In Germany the digital test costs 210 euros and the paper test 215 euros, and results take about 3 or 6 weeks.

Key numbers

TestDaF in numbers

Four key numbers about TestDaF: 2 versions, 4 parts, 3 hours 15 minutes of pure exam time, about 550 test centres in 100 countries

• 2

  versions

  paper and digital

• 4

  parts

  same in both

• 3 h 15

  pure exam time

  both versions

• 550

  test centres

  in 100 countries

Who Decides What Counts

The rules behind TestDaF sit in a document with a long name, the Rahmenordnung über deutsche Sprachprüfungen für das deutschsprachige Studium an deutschen Hochschulen, or RO-DT. It comes from the KMK (the conference of state education ministers) and the HRK (the German Rectors' Conference). The current text was adopted by the HRK on 4 November 2025 and by the KMK on 27 November 2025, and the TestDaF-Institut hosts it as a PDF.

Two details in it matter more than they look. First, the RO-DT calls itself a recommendation to the universities. The duty to prove your German comes from the law of each German state, and each university then writes its own admission rules. Second, it names exactly four exams that prove the German needed for study. They are the DSH, TestDaF, the German part of the Feststellungsprüfung at a Studienkolleg, and the DSD II school diploma. A few other certificates, such as telc Deutsch C1 Hochschule, exempt you from those four.

The TestDaF-Institut says the certificate is recognised by all German universities. Recognition is not the same as admission, though. Your university recognises the certificate and then reads your four levels against its own line.

Four Parts, Two Versions

Every TestDaF has the same four parts in the same order. Reading comes first, then Listening, Writing and Speaking. The pure exam time is 3 hours and 15 minutes in both versions, and you can sit the test at about 550 test centres in 100 countries. All four parts are compulsory and taken on one day. You cannot book Speaking alone; only candidates who sit all four parts get a certificate.

The digital version runs on a computer at a test centre. The paper version uses test booklets and answer sheets, but even there you do Speaking at a computer, with headphones and a microphone, and your answers are recorded and rated later at the institute. Expect to speak in a room where other candidates are talking too.

Comparison

Digital and paper TestDaF

Side by side comparison of the digital and the paper TestDaF: items and minutes per part, going back, result time and fee in Germany

Row	Digital	Paper
Reading	34 items, about 55 min	30 items, 60 min
Listening	30 items, about 40 min	25 items, 40 min
Writing	2 tasks, about 60 min	1 task, 60 min
Speaking	7 tasks, about 35 min	7 tasks, 35 min
Going back	not possible	not stated
Results	about 3 weeks	about 6 weeks
Fee in Germany	210 euros	215 euros

Some differences between the versions don't show up in that table.

• No going back in the digital test. Inside a part you can move ahead faster, but you cannot return to an earlier task. Answer before you move on.
• Trial tasks are mixed in. The digital test includes extra tasks that are being tried out and are not scored. testdaf.de does not say how to recognise them, so treat every task as if it counts. They make the digital day about 30 minutes longer.
• The number of digital tasks can vary. Time and number of tasks can change slightly per part, but every candidate gets a test of the same length.
• On paper, only the answer sheet counts. Answers left in the test booklet or on scrap paper are not scored. Bring a black or blue pen.
• Breaks. There is a break after each part, and a longer one of 20 to 60 minutes between Listening and Writing.

How TestDaF Is Scored

The four parts are scored separately. Reading and Listening are mostly marked automatically; short written answers in Listening and everything in Writing and Speaking are rated by trained raters at the institute. Each part then gets one of three levels. TDN 5 is the highest. A result below TDN 3 is printed as "unter TDN 3".

What does a level mean in practice? The official descriptions for Reading are a good example. At TDN 3 you understand everyday study texts and only parts of academic texts. At TDN 4 you understand the overall meaning and the details of study texts and of academic texts whose structure stays close to everyday language. At TDN 5 you also understand linguistically complex academic texts, including what is only implied. Put simply, TDN 4 is the level of someone who can follow ordinary university life in German.

Which CEFR level is TDN 4? The TestDaF-Institut does not give a one to one answer. It says the three levels together are assigned to the CEFR levels B2 and C1, and the RO-DT adds that TDN 5 lies above the level needed for admission. If a university asks for "C1" and you hold TestDaF, look for the TestDaF line on its page instead of converting.

The Number on a Digital Certificate

This is the part almost nobody explains. On the digital TestDaF each part is also reported as scaled points from 0 to 20, and the scoring page lists a total of 0 to 80. The bands are the same in every part.

As of 28 October 2026, these are the digital point bands per part.

The exam regulations print that total on the digital certificate as a Gesamtwert. The institute's own FAQ, on the other hand, says no overall result is shown. Both are true in their own way. The same regulations define the exam result as the level reached in each part, so the total is printed on the certificate but it is not a result, and there is no overall TDN. The admission rule is also written in levels per part, and none of the three university pages I quote below mentions the 0 to 80 total.

I'd treat that total as a progress number for yourself, not as your result. That gap creates a trap. A total of 40 out of 80 can meet the TDN 4 rule (10 points in every part), while a total of 69 can still miss it (20, 20, 20 and 9). Try your own numbers.

Score calculator

Digital TestDaF: does your score meet TDN 4 everywhere?

Calculator for the digital TestDaF: enter the scaled points from 0 to 20 for each part to see the total out of 80 and whether every part reaches TDN 4

Worked example

Part	Points	Max
Readingat least 10	16	20
Listeningat least 10	16	20
Writingat least 10	16	20
Speakingat least 10	9	20

Raw points

57

times 1

57

Score, rounded

57 of 80

57of 80

Pass mark 40

Below TDN 4 in at least one part

Below the minimum in: Speaking

The paper version has no such scale. Each correct item in Reading and Listening is worth one point, and the number of points needed for TDN 4 is set again for every test version by statistical analysis. So there is no fixed "you need 20 of 30" answer for paper Reading, and any site that gives one is guessing.

What TDN 4 in All Four Parts Means

Section 4 of the RO-DT is the sentence universities copy. A TestDaF with at least TDN 4 in all parts proves the German needed for admission to all programmes and all degrees. The TestDaF-Institut puts it plainly on its page for universities, saying admission is generally possible with TDN 4 in all four parts. Stuttgart, below, shortens this to "TestDaF 4x4".

Pass rule

The standard admission rule

Decision flow for the standard TestDaF admission rule: TDN 4 or higher in all four parts, otherwise it depends on whether the programme accepts a lower part

1. 1

   TDN 4 or higher in all 4 parts?

   Yes

   Proof of German for admission

   No
2. 2

   Does your programme accept a lower part?

   Yes

   Admission possible

   No

   Not enough

The second question in that flow is where most real cases end up. The RO-DT lets universities set different language requirements by subject, and the TestDaF-Institut gives two examples in opposite directions. In computer science or engineering, TDN 3 in Writing may be enough. In translation studies, a programme could even ask for TDN 5. Universities also decide whether a TDN 3 in one part can be balanced by a TDN 5 in another, and some admit applicants by a points model of 14 to 16 points, which is the sum of the four TDN.

Two small rules in the RO-DT are worth knowing before you rely on a lowered requirement:

• A lower requirement should come with a condition. The RO-DT says applicants admitted with lower German should keep improving it during their studies and prove that they did.
• It doesn't travel. An admission based on a lowered requirement does not bind another programme at the same university, or another university, if their requirement is different.

How Three Universities Word It

Here is the same rule written three ways, taken from the universities' own pages on 28 October 2026.

As of 28 October 2026, these are the TestDaF lines of three universities.

Bochum's wording has a detail that is easy to miss. The 16 points must come from one exam. Stuttgart also wants the proof at the time you apply, not later. Each of these pages can change, and single programmes can add their own requirements, so read the page of your programme in the application round you are in.

Four Certificates, Checked

Here are four example results, written by Zielor to show how the rules interact. Levels are listed in the order Reading, Listening, Writing, Speaking.

Comparison

Four example certificates (written by Zielor)

Four example TestDaF results checked against the TDN 4 rule and against a points model that adds up the four levels

Row	Levels	Sum	TDN 4 rule	Points model
First	4, 4, 4, 4	16	met	met
Second	5, 5, 4, 3	17	not met	can be met
Third	5, 5, 3, 3	16	not met	16 point model
Fourth	4, 4, 3, 3	14	not met	14 point model only

The first, 4, 4, 4 and 4, is 16 points and TDN 4 everywhere. It meets the standard rule and every points model. At Stuttgart, Bochum and Dortmund it works.

The second, 5, 5, 4 and 3, adds up to 17, the highest sum of the four. It still fails the standard rule because of one TDN 3. Under a points model, or a rule that lets a TDN 5 balance a TDN 3, it can be enough. By the wording above, Bochum and Dortmund would count its 17 points; Stuttgart's 4x4 line would not.

The third, 5, 5, 3 and 3, is 16 points. It meets a 16 point model and fails the TDN 4 rule twice. The fourth, 4, 4, 3 and 3, is 14 points, and only a 14 point model accepts it.

If I held the second certificate, I would not book a new test straight away. I would first list which of my target programmes accept 17 points or a balanced TDN 3, because a retake costs another full fee and several weeks. So the same certificate can open one door and close another. The sum alone never tells you, and neither does the 0 to 80 total. Your programme's rule does.

Fees, Deadlines and Results

As of 28 October 2026, these are the official numbers from testdaf.de.

Outside Germany the fee depends on which of three country groups your country is in; the test centre or the online registration shows it. You register online with a valid ID card or passport and upload a photo, and you must bring the same ID on the day. The institute itself asks you to match the result date of a session with your application deadline, and it gives out no results before that date.

Results appear in the g.a.s.t. participant portal. If you think a part was scored wrongly, you can request a review within 4 weeks of the results. It costs 40 euros for one part, 15 euros for each further part, or 85 euros for all four, and you get the money back if the result is corrected.

Two more facts change how you plan a retake:

• You can repeat TestDaF as often as you like, but always as the full test with all four parts.
• Digital results can be combined since May 2026. For the digital test you can create a combined certificate in the portal that takes your best part results from several exams sat within at most six months, counting digital exams from November 2025. It costs 29 euros. Whether a university accepts the combined certificate is up to the university, so ask before you rely on it.

The certificate itself is valid without a time limit, though some universities only accept a recent one. Test centres can add local conditions too. The University of Stuttgart's centre, for example, asks for proof of a completed C1 course before you can sit TestDaF there.

TestDaF vs DSH vs telc C1 Hochschule vs Goethe C1

Which German exam is best? For university admission, the honest answer is the one your target university names, taken where you can sit it before the deadline. The four exams people usually compare have different standing in the RO-DT.

Comparison

TestDaF, DSH, telc C1 Hochschule and Goethe C1

Comparison of four German exams used for university admission: who sets them, their format, the usual admission line and their status in the RO-DT framework

Row	TestDaF	DSH	telc C1 Hochschule	Goethe C1
Set by	g.a.s.t., centrally	each university or Studienkolleg	telc	Goethe-Institut
Format	digital or paper, 4 parts in one sitting	written and oral exam	digital, hybrid or paper	4 modules, alone or together
Usual line	TDN 4 in all 4 parts	DSH-2, 67 percent written and oral	passed	60 of 100 per module
In the RO-DT	proof, section 4	proof, section 3	exempting exam, section 8	not listed, university decides

DSH is the university's own exam. Each university or Studienkolleg sets it, so you sit it at that institution. Unlike TestDaF it gives one overall result. DSH-1 needs at least 57 percent, DSH-2 at least 67 percent and DSH-3 at least 82 percent, each in both the written and the oral exam. DSH-2 is the usual line. The written parts are weighted 2:2:1:2 (Listening, Reading, academic language structures, text production), and a monolingual paper dictionary is allowed in the written exam. TestDaF allows no aids at all.

telc Deutsch C1 Hochschule is not one of the four proofs, but the RO-DT lists it among the exams that exempt you from DSH or TestDaF. telc runs it as a digital, hybrid or paper exam, with Speaking usually in pairs. If you already prepare with telc, the scoring logic in our telc B1 guide shows how telc counts written and oral parts at a lower level.

Goethe-Zertifikat C1 is the interesting case. The RO-DT names only the Goethe C2 as exempting, not the C1. That leaves the C1 to each university. Stuttgart accepts it, while Bochum's list does not include it. Its modules can be taken alone or together, and each is passed with 60 of 100 points, the same module logic you may know from the Goethe B2 exam. If you hold a Goethe C1 and your university doesn't list it, TestDaF or DSH is the safer route.

I wouldn't rank these exams. TestDaF has one clear advantage for applicants abroad, which is that it is centrally set, sat at many centres outside Germany, and named in the RO-DT. The DSH can make sense if you are already in Germany near the university that sets it. The rest depends on the list your university publishes.

A Mistake to Avoid

The common mistake is to practise the parts that feel measurable. Reading and Listening have right answers, so they are easy to drill and easy to feel good about. Writing and Speaking get left for the last week. With no overall level, that's backwards. Your weakest part decides under the standard rule, and a single TDN 3 in Speaking fails a 4x4 requirement just as surely as four of them would.

The second mistake is newer. Digital candidates see a total like 57 of 80 and assume it is "a good score". It may be. But if one part sits at 9 points, it is a TDN 3, and a 4x4 programme will read the certificate as not enough.

How I Would Plan It

If I were preparing for TestDaF with an application deadline in mind, I would work backwards from the rule, not forwards from the textbook.

1. Find the exact sentence first. Open your programme's language page and copy the TestDaF line word for word. 4x4, 16 points, or a lowered part are three different targets.
2. Pick the version by the calendar. With a deadline close, the digital test's roughly 4 weeks from last registration to results beats the paper test's roughly 10.
3. Aim for 12 to 13 scaled points per part, not 10. On the digital scale, 10 is the bottom of TDN 4. A margin of two or three points protects you from one bad task.
4. Train Speaking at a computer. You will talk into a microphone with other candidates nearby, with no examiner to react to. Record yourself on a timer and listen back.
5. Practise Writing from sources. Both versions ask you to use information from a text or a graph and take a position. That is a skill to rehearse, not improvise.

Before You Book

Checklist

Before you book

Checklist before booking TestDaF: certificate validity, photo ID, no dictionaries, breaks between parts, faster digital results

• Valid without time limit, but ask if a recent result is needed
• The same photo ID as at registration
• No dictionaries or learning materials
• A break after each part, a longer one before Writing
• Deadline close? Digital results come faster

If you are still working towards the level TestDaF expects, our guides to the Goethe B1 and Goethe B2 exams cover the steps before it. A German-language comparison of the B1 exams is in B1-Prüfung: Goethe, telc oder DTZ?.

Zielor is a German exam practice app in development, independent of the TestDaF-Institut and g.a.s.t. If you would like to try it when it opens, you can join the waitlist on this site.

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How this article was made: drafted with AI assistance from the official documents linked above and checked by Kevin Gabeci. The example certificates and the point calculations are Zielor's own and are not official TestDaF results.

Sources

• HRK and KMK: Rahmenordnung über deutsche Sprachprüfungen für das deutschsprachige Studium an deutschen Hochschulen (RO-DT), text of 4 and 27 November 2025, with the DSH model exam regulation and the TestDaF exam regulation
• TestDaF-Institut: FAQ, general
• TestDaF-Institut: FAQ, results and certificate
• TestDaF-Institut: FAQ, registration
• TestDaF-Institut: FAQ, exam day
• TestDaF-Institut: Structure of the digital TestDaF
• TestDaF-Institut: Structure of the paper TestDaF
• TestDaF-Institut: Scoring of the digital TestDaF
• TestDaF-Institut: Scoring of the paper TestDaF
• TestDaF-Institut: Proof of German for study (page for universities)
• TestDaF-Institut: TestDaF levels
• TestDaF-Institut: Dates and registration
• University of Stuttgart: Language requirements for German-taught programmes
• University of Stuttgart: TestDaF at the language centre
• Ruhr-Universität Bochum: Step 2, proving your German
• TU Dortmund: Guidance on German language skills for admission (June 2023)
• Goethe-Institut: Goethe-Zertifikat C1, Terms and Conditions for Exam Administration (1 September 2025)
• telc: telc Deutsch C1 Hochschule