Validating the card

The university ID card (UdS Card) for students differs from all other cards issued in the fact that it always remains valid for another semester if the semester fee and applicable contributions have been paid. To visibly extend the card’s validity, you need to re-validate it. During this validation process, a special thermal printing is applied on the lower part of the front of the card. This printable area of the card is covered with a special foil that is slightly duller than the rest of the surface.

The validation information includes:

• The semester for which the card has been re-validated (e.g. Sommersemester 2021, i.e. ‘Summer semester of 2021’).
• The semester dates (including start and end of the semester), which may vary for some degree programmes).
• The logo of the local public transport service operator ‘SaarVV’ as a visible sign that the fee for the semester travel ticket has been paid.

Two consecutive semesters are printed on the left and right halves of the card. This allows you to already re-validate your card for the next semester while the ‘old’ semester is still in progress; both validation prints – the one for the ‘old’ and the one for the next semester – will still be visible.

Students need to re-validate their card at specially installed validation terminals. During the thermal printing process, the printing is first deleted and then reprinted according to the enrolment data found in the student’s file. Therefore, only UdS cards that bear an enrolment number corresponding to an active data record in the student database can be re-validated.