Blog · The exam
dMAT exam dates, deadlines and requirements: everything for test day.
The first dMAT cycle for Indian applicants has been announced, and the registration window is short. This page collects the dates, the booking requirements, and exactly what test day looks like — what to carry, what is banned, and what "fully digital" actually means when you sit down at the screen.
The first cycle at a glance
As announced for the first Indian cycle of the digital Master Test:
- Registration deadline: 15 September 2026
- Test day: 26 September 2026
- Results: issued around 12 October 2026, after which the certificate becomes part of your APS documentation
Dates move. New cycles are added and windows shift — treat the dates above as the announced first cycle, and always confirm the current cycle on d-mat.de and aps-india.de before planning travel or applications around them.
Who has to sit this cycle?
The dMAT sits inside the APS process for Indian applicants to German master's programmes. As announced, it applies if your bachelor's degree is in fields such as engineering (including computer science and IT), commerce, accounting, finance, economics, business or management, you are applying for the Summer Semester 2027 intake or later, and your APS procedure starts on or after 29 June 2026. Exchange, double-degree and partnership-programme applicants are handled differently. The precise eligibility wording belongs to APS India — check your own case on aps-india.de rather than assuming.
How registration works
You register through the process APS India describes, and the test fee (announced at €150 for the first cycle) is paid to g.a.s.t., the organisation that runs the test. Test centres for the first cycle were announced across major Indian cities — among them Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Chennai, Kolkata, Pune, Ahmedabad, Chandigarh and Bhopal — and you pick a centre when you book. Centres fill; booking early costs nothing extra and buys you the venue you actually want.
Go Zero to dMAT
The deadline is fixed. How ready you are on 26 September is the part you control — start today and every day counts twice.
Start practising — 2,744 questions & 14 mock papers · ₹799Digital, not paper: what that means at the desk
The dMAT is fully digital — you take it on a computer at the test centre. There is no paper booklet and no OMR sheet. Questions appear on screen, you select answers by clicking, you can move between questions inside a section, and a visible timer runs down each section. When a section's time ends, it ends — the screen moves on and there is no going back to it.
The structure you will face:
- Three Core subtests — figure sequences, mathematical equations and Latin squares — each a separate 25-minute block;
- the General Academic Module, a longer reasoning section drawing on short academic passages;
- a full sitting runs on the order of 165 minutes including instructions and breaks between sections.
Because it is digital, screen habits matter: reading a figure matrix on a monitor, keeping your place in a Latin square without a pencil to point with, and watching the corner timer are all trainable skills. People who practise only on paper meet the format for the first time on exam day — an avoidable disadvantage.
What to bring — and what to leave at home
- Bring: the identity document you registered with (passport is the safe choice — the name must match your registration exactly) and your registration/booking confirmation, in whatever form your confirmation email specifies.
- Provided at the centre: the computer and, where scratch work is allowed, materials the centre hands out. You do not bring your own rough paper.
- Banned: calculators, notes, formula sheets, dictionaries, phones, smartwatches and your own paper. The mathematics is built for the head and the on-screen tools you are given — nothing you would need a calculator for.
The one rule that changes your score: there is no negative marking on the dMAT. A blank answer is a guaranteed zero; a guess has a real chance. Never leave a question unanswered — in the last minute of each section, sweep and fill everything.
Test-day rhythm
- Arrive early — check-in involves ID verification and seating, and late arrival can mean forfeiting the sitting.
- Listen to the invigilator's instructions; the digital interface is explained before the clock starts.
- Work section by section. Within a section, skip what stalls you and return — the timer belongs to the section, not to each question.
- Answer everything before each section closes.
After the test
Results for the first cycle were announced for around 12 October 2026. The score flows into your APS documentation — you do not send it to universities separately at this stage. From there, your APS certificate (with the dMAT behind it) accompanies your university applications. What happens next in the process is covered in our complete admissions path guide.
Go Zero to dMAT
Digital exam, digital practice: timed on-screen mocks that mirror the real sections, so 26 September feels like a repeat.
Start practising — 2,744 questions & 14 mock papers · ₹799Related reading
This guide is provided by NinjaMinds as general information for prospective students. It is independent — not affiliated with APS, g.a.s.t., uni-assist or any university — and dates, fees and rules change: always confirm current requirements on the official pages (aps-india.de, d-mat.de).