Application for exemption from the Semesterticket fee

Please note the following:

• For the Winter Semester 24/25, the conditions for exemption from the semester ticket obligation have changed. Despite lengthy negotiations, the VBB does not accept certain exemption reasons. You are welcome to schedule a consultation appointment with us. The link for booking can be found on the homepage.
• Please note that an exemption application without the appropriate evidence will be immediately rejected. If in doubt, please book an appointment with us.
• PhD students are eligible for the Germany-wide semester ticket in Winter Semester 24/25, but they can no longer be exempted due to their PhD studies.
• If you are granted a leave of absence, you will lose your entitlement to the Germany-wide semester ticket and the amount will be refunded.
• Job tickets or any other subscriptions must be canceled in a timely manner. Possession of a job ticket is not a reason for exemption from the payment obligation.
• part time study? also no reason for an exemption.
• Important: We strongly recommend that you pay the re-registration fees in full to avoid the risk of being deregistered.

IMORTANT:

The deadline for applying for full exemption has passed.
For the partial refund, the deadlines are as follows:
The deadline for exemption applications is always the 15th of the previous month, i.e., the 15th of September if the exemption is for October, and the 15th of November if the exemption is for December onward.

Important: Reactivating the ticket after the exemption is not possible. This means that if your application is approved, the exemption will remain valid until the end of the semester.

Please pay the entire re-registration fee so you dont have to pay a fine!

For your application, you will need one of the following forms, depending on which university you’re enrolled at.

You also may need the following document, if you want exemption because of study-related absence:

Termination of Enrollment

• If you terminate your enrollment, you will be compensated one sixth of the price for each full month you will not use the ticket. The Office of Student Affairs/Campus Center handles these cases. The amount refunded depends on when exactly you return your student ID or Semesterticket.
  

As a general rule, all students of TU Berlin are required to pay for the Semesterticket. However, in some cases, students are automatically exempt:

• Students who are not enrolled at TU Berlin or are not part of the primary student body (i.e. students who are enrolled at another university and study only a minor subject at TU Berlin – so-called ‘Nebenhörer’, and students not enrolled at any university— ‘Gasthörer’)
• Students enrolled at another university in germany and who pay their fees there (double enrollment).
• Students in semester of leave ( Urlaubsemester)

The Campus Center/IPA should automatically handle these cases; EXCEPT FOR DOUBLE ENROLLMENT you do not have to do anything.

• severely disabled students entitled to free transport with disability ID (Schwerbehindertenausweis)

The Campus Center/IPA does not handle these cases automatically! Please submit a color copy of your disability ID as proof to them.
For more Information follow this Link

There are certain justifications for an exemption for one or more semesters. Cases are decided according to the Semesterticket statutes. Fill out the application for exemption and submit it to the Semesterticket Office together with the necessary proof. Valid reasons include:

• Students who cannot use public transport for health reasons (medical certificate required!)
• Students temporarily living outside of germany for study-related reasons for at least three consecutive months during the semester in question (e.g.  exchange semester, internship, …)
• Leave of Absence (Urlaubssemester) – no application needed, automatically exempted.
  Note that you will not get a refund for any completed or started months if you apply after the semester has started!
• Late enrolment after the semester has already started
  Students who enroll more than a full month after courses have started are refunded one sixth of the Semesterticket fee for each respective month. You will need to apply for the refund in the Semesterticket Office.

Please note: If you are exempt from the fee, you will not have a Semesterticket until the next semester starts. TU: Your ticket will not be valid and can not be used for public transport. UdK: You will have to hand back your paper VBB-ticket to the IPA.
If you apply after the end of re-registration, you will have to pay the Semesterticket fee first and then you will receive a refund if your application is granted.

Information and announcements regarding the exemptions from the semester ticket from SoSe 2020 onward:

Due to the system change from the TU Berlin administration to SAP, there are some changes for exemption applicants.

This change only applies to students from TU Berlin. Everything else remains the same for UDK students.

1. The reimbursement of the semester ticket fee will not be automatic as it was previously. Upon receiving the notification, you must keep an eye on the TUB portal under SAP “Payment overview” for the payment to appear. You will then need to submit your IBAN details into SAP, after which you can request reimbursement in the TU portal. If you have already made a reduced payment, you must ensure that the exemption you have from the semester ticket office is submitted and stored in the TUB portal. Please double-check if necessary.
2. In the future, students with a severe disability ID will no longer have to submit a new application every semester. However, you should keep an eye on your payment overview in the TUB portal.
3. Since SoSe 2020, the semester ticket office only processes applications for the following reasons:

• Health
• study-related Absence

All other reasons for exemption are processed by the Campus Center! Please send applications to the Campus Center for the following reasons: 

• Holiday semester
• Enrollment

Applications received with these reasons will be forwarded to the Campus Center. Please refrain from asking questions about the status of your application and contact the Campus Center directly instead.

Further Information about extemption from semester ticket fee and about the application procedure are listed here:
https://www.tu.berlin/studieren/studienorganisation/themen-a-z/semesterticket/

If there are problems, please contact us!

If you have problems in a control because of an inactive ticket and have to pay EBE, file an objection with the public transport company and get in touch with campus center and file an appeal by bvg. you can also contact us for more consultation.

PFD documents on this page