Zentralmatura: How Austria’s AHS and BHS School-Leaving Exam Works

In Austria, the school-leaving examination is commonly called the Zentralmatura. It is based on the same three components in general secondary schools and vocational upper secondary schools, although important details differ between AHS and BHS.

What is the Zentralmatura?

The Zentralmatura is a partly standardised, competence-based school-leaving examination (teilstandardisierte kompetenzorientierte Reifeprüfung). In vocational upper secondary schools, it is also the professional final examination and is therefore called the Reife- und Diplomprüfung.

It applies to two types of school:

• AHS: a general education upper secondary school, such as a Gymnasium
• BHS: a vocational upper secondary school, such as a HAK or HTL

The Zentralmatura has been compulsory everywhere in AHS schools since the 2014/2015 school year and in BHS schools since the 2015/2016 school year.

Why does the central examination matter?

The aim of the Zentralmatura is to improve fairness by giving students comparable examination conditions. Standardised tasks also make it easier for institutions providing further education to compare qualifications. For example, the results from a school in Vienna and a school in another part of Austria are more directly comparable.

The three components of the examination

The examination is modular. This means that a student may still take the oral examinations even if the first or second component was not passed.

• Final paper: a voluntary Abschließende Arbeit (ABA) in AHS, or a compulsory Diplomarbeit in BHS, including a presentation and discussion
• Written examination: 3, 4 or 5 examinations in AHS, and 3 or 4 in BHS
• Oral examination: 2, 3 or 4 examinations in AHS, and 2 or 3 in BHS

Final paper in AHS

In AHS, the topic must be agreed with the examining teacher by the end of March in the year before the final year. Until the 2028/29 school year, students may choose an additional written or oral examination instead of the final paper.

Diplomarbeit in BHS

In BHS, every student must complete a Diplomarbeit. It is a substantial project from the student’s specialist field or the world of business. Students preferably work in teams of 2-5 people.

1. The team and topic must be selected at the end of the penultimate year, and no later than the first three weeks of the final year.
2. The work is written during the final year.
3. The submission deadline is no later than four weeks before the written examinations begin.

In both types of school, an unsatisfactory final paper must be repeated with a new topic.

Which subjects are standardised?

Some written examination tasks are prepared centrally and are the same across schools. These subjects include:

• the language of instruction, including German and the recognised minority languages
• mathematics, or applied mathematics in BHS
• English, French, Italian and Spanish
• Greek and Latin in AHS

The school prepares the tasks for other written subjects, such as additional foreign languages, descriptive geometry and physics. Oral examination topics are always prepared by the school’s teachers, so the school’s specialist focus may be reflected in them.

When were the written examinations held in 2026?

The main dates for the central written examinations in the 2025/2026 school year were:

• German (AHS/BHS/BRP): 5 May 2026, Tuesday
• Latin (AHS): 6 May 2026, Wednesday
• English (AHS/BHS/BRP): 7 May 2026, Thursday
• French (AHS/BHS): 8 May 2026, Friday
• Mathematics or applied mathematics (AHS/BHS/BRP): 11 May 2026, Monday
• Spanish and recognised minority-language examinations (AHS/BHS): 12 May 2026, Tuesday
• Italian (AHS/BHS): 13 May 2026, Wednesday
• Greek (AHS): 15 May 2026, Friday

Check the current examination schedule separately for the next school year.

How is the Zentralmatura graded?

The student’s performance during the final year accounts for half of the final grade in the relevant subject, both for written and oral examinations.

• Written examination: this applies if the examination, including the compensatory examination, is passed, or if the student reaches the required threshold (Schwellenwert) after an unsuccessful written examination.
• Oral examination: the condition is participation in the examination.

If a written examination is failed, the student may take an oral compensatory examination (Kompensationsprüfung). For centrally examined subjects, these tasks are also issued centrally. If the result remains unsatisfactory after the compensatory examination, the written examination must be repeated.

If the compensatory examination is passed after a failed written examination, the overall result can be no better than Befriedigend (satisfactory).

Who is on the oral examination board?

The oral examination board is assembled separately for each subject. It consists of:

• the chairperson
• the class teacher or an appointed subject teacher
• the examining teacher who taught the subject, which may be two teachers, or the supervisor of the final paper
• where necessary, an expert assessor

Where can you find past examination papers?

The matura.gv.at website provides information about the examination structure, previous written examination papers and practice materials.

Practical steps for students and families

1. Confirm whether the school is an AHS or BHS and check which examination components apply.
2. Ask the school about the deadlines for choosing the AHS final paper or registering the BHS Diplomarbeit.
3. Check the subjects that use centrally prepared written tasks and the subjects prepared by the school.
4. Record the official examination dates and confirm the schedule with the school.
5. Use the practice materials on matura.gv.at to prepare for the written examinations.
6. If a written examination is unsuccessful, ask the school about the Kompensationsprüfung and the consequences for the final grade.