German job application documents: what goes in the Bewerbungsmappe

First step: list what this employer asks for

The Agentur für Arbeit Offenburg's application guide puts it first: hand in the documents the employer asks for in the ad, whether that is a short profile, complete application documents, references or degree certificates, and in the way the company wants them, by email, through its portal or otherwise. The end of an ad often says what it wants; copy that sentence into your notes before you collect anything.

• Which documents: full set, or only a letter and CV (a Kurzbewerbung).
• Which channel: an email address, an online form, or post.
• Any file limit or file type the form states.
• Whether a cover letter is wanted at all; some online forms no longer ask for one.

What a Bewerbungsmappe contains, in order

Bewerbungsmappe means the application folder, and the word survives even when the folder is a PDF. The Bundesagentur für Arbeit (BA) lists its parts in this order and marks some as optional or only on request:

1. Anschreiben, the cover letter.
2. Deckblatt, a cover page with photo (optional).
3. Lebenslauf, the tabular CV.
4. Motivationsschreiben, the so-called third page (optional).
5. Anlagenverzeichnis, a list of enclosures (optional).
6. School certificates.
7. Further certificates and attestations, where you have them.

Cover page

The BA calls the Deckblatt not compulsory but sometimes useful: it shows what you apply for and carries the photo; without one, the photo goes on the CV. The BA Offenburg guide adds that you can leave it out when applying online, and that a cover page usually holds the word Bewerbung, the position, the company, your photo, your contact details and the list of enclosures.

Third page and enclosure list

The BA says a Motivationsschreiben is rarely part of an application from someone starting out; it is space for a larger project or background with a professional link. An enclosure list is only worth it when many documents follow, listed in the order they appear.

Which certificates to attach

• The last three Arbeitszeugnisse, the employer references a German employer writes when a job ends (BA Offenburg).
• The degree certificate and any vocational qualification certificate (BA Offenburg).
• The highest school-leaving certificate, which the BA Offenburg guide lists for young applicants; EURES adds that experienced people are often asked for school certificates too.
• Evidence for further training that matters for the job (BA Offenburg), and for every training period, placement and previous job mentioned in the application (EURES).

With many past jobs, the BA Offenburg guide suggests copies of the last three references, at least the last five years covered without gaps, and a line in the letter offering the rest on request. It also warns against leaving out a weak reference, because a gap makes the reader suspicious. What an Arbeitszeugnis says and how its wording is graded has its own page.

Copies, never originals

Send copies or scans; the originals stay with you, the BA says. The BA Offenburg guide adds that certified copies (beglaubigte Kopien) are generally only still asked for by some authorities, not by employers.

One PDF or separate files

Which size limit to trust

The two official sources disagree: EURES says 2 MB, the BA material says 5 MB as a rule. If the ad or portal names a limit, that one wins. If it does not, a file under 2 MB satisfies both. BA Offenburg also suggests sending the email to yourself first to check that the attachment opens.

The email itself

The BA email checklist asks for a short text that names the position and points to the attachment, a subject line naming the job, a polite close, your full contact details as a signature, and a serious private email address. The BA Offenburg guide adds: write to the person responsible rather than a general address, and do not request a read receipt or mark the email as high priority.

Checklist: Turkish documents and their German counterparts

This is the artefact of this page: the documents an applicant from Türkiye typically holds, the German document a reader will compare each with, and whether it needs translating. The German names are the terms readers use; whether your qualification is equivalent is decided in a recognition procedure, not by the name.

The ordered checklist

1. Anschreiben, one page, signed.
2. Deckblatt, only if you want one and are not using an online form.
3. Lebenslauf, tabular, signed and dated.
4. Arbeitszeugnisse or Turkish service certificates, newest first, each followed by its translation.
5. Degree certificate and transcript, then any vocational certificate, each followed by its translation.
6. School-leaving certificate, if the ad or your career stage calls for it.
7. Language certificates, then training certificates relevant to the job.

The BA Offenburg guide says certificates follow the order in which they appear in the CV; the list above applies that to a reverse-chronological Lebenslauf.

Translations, certified copies and the apostille

When an employer wants a translation

EURES says that in some cases, for example when applying to a small business, qualifications and work references should be translated into German. No rule says a private employer must receive a certified translation; the employer pages we read ask for copies, not certified translations.

Beglaubigte Übersetzung for authorities

Recognition and visa procedures are different. The Anerkennung in Deutschland portal explains that in Germany only translators authorised by a court may confirm that a translation is correct, under names such as öffentlich bestellt, ermächtigt, beeidigt or vereidigt. The Landesjustizverwaltungen list them in a public database, under the federal Gerichtsdolmetschergesetz in force since 1 January 2023. The portal warns that some authorities do not accept translations by a translator appointed abroad, so ask the authority before you pay a yeminli tercüman in Türkiye.

Apostille

Germany and Türkiye are both parties to the Hague Apostille Convention: according to the Hague Conference's status table, it entered into force for Germany on 13 February 1966 and for Türkiye on 29 September 1985. Between the two, an apostille replaces consular legalisation of public documents. The employer guidance we read does not mention apostilles; it is a question for authorities, which will say if they need one.

Sources and the date we read them

All pages below were read on 12 October 2026; links are under Sources.

Who this checklist is not for

• University applications. A master's application through uni-assist has its own document order, covered on the page about the tabular CV for a master's.
• A national visa file. The consulate checklist decides the documents, and the CV must match them; see the page on the CV for a German national visa.
• Degree recognition. Anabin entries and the ZAB statement belong to the Blue Card page.

Next steps

Write the Lebenslauf and the Anschreiben last, once you know which certificates you will attach, so the CV lists exactly what the enclosures prove. The format of the Lebenslauf and the letter each have their own page.

CitedCV can write the Lebenslauf in German with the German regional profile, which uses a tabular layout and MM/YYYY dates, and, once you buy any credit pack, the Anschreiben too, from facts you confirm. Its exports are PDF, DOCX and TXT. The certificates, their translations and the merged application PDF are yours to put together.

Questions people ask

Sources

1. Bundesagentur für Arbeit (meinBERUF), Bewerbungsunterlagen: Das gehört reinwww.arbeitsagentur.de/bildung/bewerbung/bewerbungsunterlagen
2. Agentur für Arbeit Offenburg, Bewerbungskompass: Arbeitsstellensuche (October 2024)www.arbeitsagentur.de/vor-ort/datei/bewerbungskompass-arbeitsstelle_ba272278.pdf
3. Bundesagentur für Arbeit, Checkliste E-Mail-Bewerbungwww.arbeitsagentur.de/bildung/datei/checkliste-email-bewerbung_ba021528.pdf
4. EURES, Living and working conditions: Germanyeures.europa.eu/living-and-working/living-and-working-conditions/living-and-working-conditions-germany_en
5. Anerkennung in Deutschland, Glossar: Übersetzerin oder Übersetzerwww.anerkennung-in-deutschland.de/html/de/service/glossar-u.php
6. Landesjustizverwaltungen, Dolmetscher- und Übersetzerdatenbankwww.justiz-dolmetscher.de/
7. HCCH, Status table of the Apostille Conventionwww.hcch.net/en/instruments/conventions/status-table/?cid=41
8. Türk Borçlar Kanunu No. 6098 (mevzuat.gov.tr)www.mevzuat.gov.tr/mevzuatmetin/1.5.6098.pdf