Virtualbadge.io Becomes the Platform for Digital Language Certificates of the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (BAMF)

Mannheim, September 2026. As of April 1, 2026, certificates and result sheets for the Deutsch-Test für den Beruf (DTB) are no longer issued on paper, but digitally via Virtualbadge.io. The changeover is regulated in Annex 1 to Circular Letter for Vocational Language Courses 04/2026 of the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (BAMF), which stipulates the introduction of digital certificates for the DTB examinations conducted by the examination service provider telc gGmbH. For DTB examination centers across Germany, this is another step toward paperless administration of vocational language courses.

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Centralized, Forgery-Proof, Instantly Verified

All examination results will in future be available centrally and in a searchable form on the platform, instead of being scattered across paper documents. Examination centers can review and confirm every result themselves before it is sent. In addition, every certificate is cryptographically encrypted and carries a unique ID and a digital signature; subsequent changes are detected immediately during online verification; corrections are only possible through a newly issued version.

• Central, searchable overview of all certificates and result sheets
• Release and confirmation by the examination center before dispatch
• Cryptographic encryption with unique ID and digital signature
• No more paper printouts, no more postal dispatch

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Process and Timeline

After the examination date, telc gGmbH receives and evaluates the DTB examinations, and certificates or result sheets are then securely stored on Virtualbadge.io. The examination center accesses them in real time and sends the certificate link to the participants by email with a single click, provided their email address is available. If it is missing in exceptional cases, the examination center may print the certificate.

On March 20 and 21, 2026, examination certificates will be issued on paper for the last time; from the examination dates on April 1, 2026, they will be issued exclusively in digital form.

Zwei Hinweise: Der Link zur Anlage 1 verweist auf ein deutsches PDF, eine englische Version davon habe ich nicht gefunden, daher bleibt er unverändert. Den Namen "Deutsch-Test für den Beruf" habe ich als offiziellen Eigennamen nicht übersetzt.