Withdrawing from Examinations – Medical Certificates

Please review the examination regulations outlined in section 13, paragraph 2 of the ADPO or section 10, paragraph 7 of the APSO.

 If you are unable to participate in an examination, you must immediately submit a written request for withdrawal to the chair of the examination board of your degree program. In the request for withdrawal, you must state the reasons why you cannot take the exam. Generally, a medical certificate must also be enclosed.

More information on the request for withdrawal and the relevant contact person is available on the website of your school:

In general, the medical certificate must be the result of a physical examination performed on the same day as the withdrawal from the examination is requested.

Please note that certificates of incapacity for work and statements that merely indicate an inability to take an exam (e.g., “unable to participate in the examination: yes/no”) are not sufficient.

• The medical certificate must include the date of issuance and, if different, the date of the patient’s initial visit.
• The medical certificate must clearly specify the symptoms or consequences of the illness (functional limitations) that, from a medical perspective, prevent you from taking the exam.
• Please note: The medical certificate does not need to include a medical diagnosis. However, if a diagnosis can provide a more plausible justification for your inability to take the exam than a description of the symptoms, you are of course free to have the diagnosis included in the certificate.
• The medical certificate must specify the start and expected end dates of the symptoms or consequences of the illness (functional limitations) that prevent you from taking the exam. The examination board can only accept the reasons for the inability to take the exam for the period for which they are substantiated and proven.
• It is the competent examination board that decides whether an inability to take the exam actually exists, based on the medical certificate.
• If you are receiving inpatient treatment at a hospital on the day of the exam, you must submit a certificate from the hospital.

Please refer to the mediacal certificate requirements and other information described in this document (PDF, 117 KB) (German); feel free to hand it to the practice treating you.

• If you are unable to take an examination due to illness, you must present a medical certificate. As a rule, you will need a certificate from the doctor treating you. The examination board of your degree program may also require you to submit a certificate from a TUM Partner Physician. In this case, you will be notified separately.
• A list of TUM’s participating physicians, including name and address, can be found here.
• The TUM School of Medicine (TUM University Hospital) is responsible for attesting special medical conditions, in particular neurological and psychiatric illnesses.