Licence E according to DIN 33430 for students
Reviewing application documents, recruitment tests and interviews or assessment centres - these are just some of the usual procedures used in personnel recruitment. The necessary expertise for the preparation, implementation and evaluation of high-quality personnel selection procedures was laid down by the German Institute for Standardisation in the DIN 33430 standard. This was in 2002 and a revised version was published in 2016. DIN 33430 specifies key quality standards for carrying out job-related aptitude assessments and is therefore the central standard when it comes to recruiting and assessing new employees.
Individuals who have the necessary expertise to meet the quality standards of DIN 33430 can prove this by taking an examination conducted by the German Psychologists Academy (DPA) and obtain a corresponding licence, the DIN 33430 Personal Licence E. This licence makes it easier for organisations and companies to identify experts in personnel selection procedures.
Since the winter semester 2024/25, there has been an agreement between the University of Wuppertal and the German Psychology Academy to conduct these DIN licence examinations at discounted rates. This cooperation, carried out by the Chair of Occupational and Environmental Psychology, enables students to acquire an attractive licence at a reduced examination fee of currently 160.65 euros (incl. VAT, as of May 2025) and saves travel costs and time to on-site examinations in Berlin.
With the DIN 33430 personal licence E, students receive recognised proof of their professional qualification to carry out aptitude assessments independently before starting their professional careers and can enclose the corresponding certificate with their applications.
Do you have any questions about the licence examination? Please feel free to contact us!
Dr Mira von der Linde
vonderlinde[at]uni-wuppertal.de
Further information on DIN 33430 can be found at https://www.din33430portal.de/din33430/din33430.
Contents of DIN 33430
DIN 33430 defines quality criteria and standards for job-related aptitude testing. The standard refers to all situations in which the suitability of individuals is to be assessed. In particular, it considers
- Planning of job-related aptitude assessments
- Selection and compilation of procedures
- Requirements for procedures
- Implementation, evaluation, interpretation and judgement
- Documentation of the procedure
- Evaluation / derivation of improvement measures
- Requirements for the qualifications of the persons involved in the suitability assessment
DIN 33430 thus reflects the complexity of aptitude assessment procedures. For example, even the best (most valid) performance test is worthless if it is applied incorrectly by inadequately trained persons or is used without matching the required job specifications. There is no test procedure that fulfils the DIN criteria on its own without taking into account the qualification of the persons and compliance with the procedures; DIN 33430 is a process standard - corresponding to the process of successful personnel recruitment.
Examination literature
The DIN 33430 website also contains sample questions for the test. For preparation we recommend
Diagnostik- und Testkuratorium (ed.) (2018) Personalauswahl kompetent gestalten: Grundlagen und Praxis der Eignungsdiagnostik nach DIN 33430. Berlin: Springer.
(available from the university network as full text via https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-3-662-53772-5)
The standard itself can be found at:
Deutsches Institut für Normung / Normenausschuss Dienstleistungen (2016). DIN 33430:2016-07: Anforderungen an berufsbezogene Eignungsdiagnostik. Berlin: Beuth. https://dx.doi.org/10.31030/2514220
Examination modalities
A prerequisite for admission to the examination is that students have already gained initial practical experience in carrying out aptitude assessments (usually in the context of internships, proof is provided by a corresponding job reference).
The examination itself takes place remotely from home and consists of six sub-modules (see examination regulations/examination literature) with a total of 80 multiple choice questions. Each module must be passed individually. If you fail, individual modules can be repeated up to two times (however, this is subject to additional examination fees).
The examination lasts two hours. No aids are permitted during the examination. In the event of attempted cheating, the invigilator will terminate the part of the examination in which the cheating was detected. This part of the examination will be graded as "failed". This assessment is also possible retrospectively if an attempt to cheat is discovered after the examination.
