Bundeswehr CAT-Test: Practice and Guide
The CAT (Computer-Assistiertes Testen) is the Bundeswehr’s computer test, sat at the new Musterung and at every Karrierecenter assessment. Practise its modules one at a time, each adaptive and against its own clock, then sit several back to back.
Free Test
Free to try with a free account. Matrizen is the category the Bundeswehr’s own Assessment Trainer shows first, and it needs no language at all.
Premium Tests
The other modules as drills, and a full sitting that runs Wortanalogien, Rechnen, Matrizen, Fahrtstrecken and the Pfeiltest back to back with a separate result for each. The Musterung description names exactly these areas: patterns, sums under time pressure, spatial ability and reaction.
Wortanalogien (Verbal Analogies)
A is to B as C is to which of four words? Name the relation between the first pair, then find the word that stands to C the same way. Adaptive over five levels, with the option that merely goes with C as the usual trap.
Rechnen (Arithmetic)
Short calculations and word problems on proportions, percentages, fractions, units, averages, areas and speed, with four options, pencil and paper and no calculator. Adaptive over five levels, written with German number conventions.
Fahrtstrecken (Route Turns)
A route with right-angled corners enters a frame and ends in an arrowhead: count how many turns go left, or right, from the traveller’s point of view. Routes grow longer and run down the page more as you get them right.
Pfeiltest (Arrow Reaction)
A blue and a red arrow appear in a cross of four fields. Give the blue arrow’s position, then the red arrow’s direction, both within three seconds, while the property you are not asked about pulls the other way.
Technisches Verständnis (Mechanical)
Drawn gears, belts, levers, pulleys, circuits, beams and vessels: which way it turns, how fast, what balances and what lights up. Adaptive over five levels, for applicants to technical assignments.
CAT-Test (Full Sitting)
Wortanalogien, Rechnen, Matrizen, Fahrtstrecken and the Pfeiltest back to back, each with its own clock and each adaptive module restarting at a middle level, as each block of the real CAT is its own test. Results show every module separately.
It is adaptive, so it feels hard to everyone
In the Bundeswehr’s own video about the CAT, a psychologist explains that the test adapts: answer wrongly and it tends to get a little easier, answer correctly and it tends to get a little harder. His conclusion is that every candidate will find it very demanding, and that you should not let that unsettle you.
An adaptive test settles where you get a fair share wrong, so the number of mistakes you notice says little about how you did. What matters is the level you sustain. Our modules work the same way: each starts in the middle of five levels and moves one level per answer, and your result is the level you settled at, not your percentage correct. The Bundeswehr does not publish its own algorithm; ours is the simplest rule that behaves as it describes.
What we simulate, and on what evidence
The CAT is modular: blocks of about 10 to 30 minutes, with the total depending on the career you want. These are the ability tasks with enough public evidence to simulate honestly, and each card says where that evidence comes from.
Matrizen
Matrices
The task: A 3 x 3 grid of figures with the last cell missing. Choose which of eight numbered figures completes it.
Evidence: Shown in the Bundeswehr’s own Assessment Trainer, with the eight options beside the grid.
Wortanalogien
Verbal analogies
The task: A is to B as C is to which word? Name the relation in the first pair and carry it across.
Evidence: Language is an official area, and earlier versions of the Assessment Trainer had this category.
Rechnen
Arithmetic
The task: Calculations and short word problems: proportions, percentages, fractions, units, averages and speed.
Evidence: The Musterung page describes “simple sums under time pressure”. No calculator.
Fahrtstrecken
Route turns
The task: A route of right-angled corners ends in an arrowhead. Count its left turns, or its right turns.
Evidence: A category in the Bundeswehr’s own Assessment Trainer (“How many left turns are there?”). Spatial ability is an official area; no source confirms this exact task in the real CAT.
Pfeiltest
Arrow reaction
The task: A blue and a red arrow in a cross of four fields. Give one arrow’s position and the other’s direction within three seconds.
Evidence: Reaction is an official area. The format comes from candidate reports, which agree on three seconds.
Technisches Verständnis
Mechanical understanding
The task: Gears, belts, levers, pulleys, circuits and vessels: which way it turns, what balances, what lights up.
Evidence: An official area for technical assignments. The format comes from candidate reports.
How the real test is sat
A supervised desktop
The Bundeswehr’s video shows a test room of numbered desks, each with a desktop monitor, keyboard, mouse and one blank sheet of paper, and a sign on every screen saying not to touch it. Supervisors from the Psychologischer Dienst sit at a desk at the front. There is no calculator and no phone.
German only
Every instruction and item in the real CAT is in German, and there is no English version. Our items are in English with the Bundeswehr’s German module names. The numbers, figures and routes carry over fully; for Wortanalogien, practise German vocabulary as well, because that is where the real module gets hard.
Practice items first
Candidates report that each task type opens with an explanation and two example items, and that a wrong example pauses the program until the supervisor explains again. Our instructions cover the same ground before each module starts, so every item you answer here counts.
Practising on a phone
The real CAT is sat with a mouse at a desktop, and its screens are not touch screens. Our modules are built for a mouse and keyboard and follow the Assessment Trainer’s pattern of choosing an answer and then confirming it with Weiter. They work on a phone, because revising on the move beats not revising, but a phone result is not comparable: the Pfeiltest in particular is a different task with a thumb than with a mouse. Every game’s instructions say so, and your feedback notes when a run was answered by touch, so sit your last runs at a computer.
What your result is used for
No pass mark
The CAT gives a profile, not a pass or fail. Together with your interview and other results it decides which careers and assignments are open to you: good technical results, for example, can lead to an offer in vehicle or aircraft maintenance. Officer applicants are also compared with the rest of their application round.
Read beside your school record
The head of selection at the Berlin Karrierecenter says a poor maths result on the day is not a disaster if your school reports show steady maths grades: nearly every result is reviewed by the assessment staff, who look for ways to compensate.
Valid for two years
You hear your result on the day. It stays valid for two years, and an applicant who was not successful can apply again after six months at the earliest. Some preparation sites say you must wait two years after failing; the Bundeswehr’s own brochure says otherwise.
The Bundeswehr publishes no score scale, no norms and no cut-off for any career, and no source we found gives one. So our feedback never tells you whether you would have passed. It tells you which level you sustained, how that compares with other CogniPrep candidates on the same module, and what to practise next.
Timing, and what is ours
What the Bundeswehr says
Modules of about 10 to 30 minutes each, with the total length depending on the career you want. It publishes no item counts. Candidates report whole sittings of roughly two to four hours, including the personality questionnaire.
What we use
Our clocks and item counts are our own, set inside that range: for example 18 Matrizen items in 15 minutes and 20 Wortanalogien in 10 minutes. The Pfeiltest runs 48 displays of 3 seconds each, the one figure candidates agree on.
A clock on screen
Nobody says whether the real modules show a countdown. The Bundeswehr’s Assessment Trainer shows the seconds ticking down, so ours do too. When a clock runs out, the item on screen and any you did not reach count as wrong, so keep moving and guess rather than stall.
Where you will meet the CAT
The new Musterung
Under the Neuer Wehrdienst the Musterung is shortened to two main parts, a medical examination and a test at the computer, followed by a placement talk. Candidates signing up for two years or more also have an interview with the assessment commission. It all happens in one day, and you hear the result before you leave.
Soldat auf Zeit: Mannschaften, Unteroffiziere, Feldwebel
A one to two day assessment at a regional Karrierecenter: a biographical questionnaire, the medical examination, the CAT, the Basis-Fitness-Test and an interview, then a placement decision.
Officers: the ACFüKrBw in Köln
The Assessmentcenter für Führungskräfte der Bundeswehr, formerly the OPZ, runs one to three days: interview, medical, sports test, computer-based tests, a group exercise (the Gruppensituationsverfahren) and study counselling. Officer applicants also meet a harder maths test and a short handwritten essay.
Civilian careers
The Bundeswehr’s civilian careers, such as administration, are tested on the CAT too, and its psychologist calls it an important basis for both military and civilian careers. Which modules you sit depends on the career.
What we do not simulate
The assessment is more than the CAT’s ability modules. These parts are real and worth preparing for, but they are questionnaires, conversations or physical tests, so they are described here rather than built as games.
Persönlichkeitstest
Almost every applicant answers a personality questionnaire, and it can be picked up again in the interview. Candidates describe statements rated from “does not apply at all” to “applies completely”. Its dimensions are not published, so we do not imitate it. Answer honestly and consistently: it is there to start a conversation, not to be passed.
Interview and questionnaires
The Biografischer Fragebogen asks about school, work and your application, and feeds an interview with the assessment staff. Officers are interviewed at the ACFüKrBw, which also runs a handwritten short essay and the Gruppensituationsverfahren, a group discussion and short talk observed by a panel.
Medical and Basis-Fitness-Test
Soldat auf Zeit applicants sit the Basis-Fitness-Test. The minimums published by the Karrierecenter in Erfurt: an 11 x 10 m sprint within 60 seconds, a 5 second Klimmhang (hanging from a bar with bent arms) and 3,000 m on an ergometer within 6:30.
Specialist tests
Pilot and air traffic control applicants add apparatus tests with a stick, rudder and throttle, and some careers add tests of their own. None of these can be reproduced in a browser.
The official Assessment Trainer
The Bundeswehr runs its own free practice test: 25 questions from five categories in 20 minutes, including matrices and route turns, with a non-binding evaluation at the end. Its advice is to answer quickly so you have more time for harder questions, and to guess if you are unsure. It says its presentation differs from the real CAT.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the CAT-Test?
CAT stands for Computer-Assistiertes Testen, the Bundeswehr’s computer testing system. It has been in use since 1980 and the current version is CAT5. It is not one test but a set of modules of about 10 to 30 minutes each, and which modules you sit depends on the career you want.
Is the CAT part of the new Musterung?
Yes. The Bundeswehr describes the shortened Musterung as two main components: the medical examination and a test at the computer. In law, the medical examination is compulsory and the aptitude test may be required.
Who has to go to the Musterung, and when?
Men born in 2008 or later. The Fragebogen has been sent since January 2026, and capacity for mustering everyone is being built, with full coverage planned from mid-2027. Until then it is mainly those who declare an interest who are invited. Women can volunteer for the same assessment.
What is in the test?
Language, arithmetic and logical reasoning, a personality questionnaire for almost everyone, and tests specific to careers such as flying or medicine. Official pages also name technical understanding, concentration, reaction and spatial ability, and the Musterung page mentions spotting patterns quickly and solving simple sums under time pressure.
Can I fail the CAT?
There is no published pass mark. Your CAT result, your interview and your school record together decide which careers and assignments are open to you, and a weak area can be compensated: the Berlin Karrierecenter’s head of selection gives the example of a poor maths result on the day being outweighed by steady maths grades at school. A result is valid for two years, and you can apply again after six months at the earliest.
Is the CAT adaptive?
Yes. In the Bundeswehr’s own video a psychologist explains that a wrong answer tends to make the test a little easier and a right answer a little harder, so every candidate finds it very demanding. Expect to get a fair share of items wrong, and do not let that unsettle you.
Can I use a calculator?
No. Candidates consistently report no calculator and no phone, with pencil and paper provided for working, and the Bundeswehr’s video of a test room shows a blank sheet beside every mouse.
Is there an official practice test?
Yes, the Assessment Trainer on bundeswehrkarriere.de: 25 questions drawn from five categories in 20 minutes, with the seconds counting down on screen. The Bundeswehr says its presentation and evaluation differ from the real CAT and that it places nobody anywhere, so use it alongside module practice rather than as a forecast.
Companies That Use Bundeswehr
The CAT-Test is written by the Bundeswehr’s own Psychologischer Dienst and sat only on its supervised test stations. Applicants for military service, for Soldat auf Zeit and officer careers, many civilian careers, and men called to the new Musterung all meet it.
Bundeswehr
Armed ForcesThe CAT-Test (Computer-Assistiertes Testen) at the Musterung and at every Karrierecenter assessment, and at the Assessmentcenter für Führungskräfte in Köln for officer applicants.
The Bundeswehr publishes no pass mark and no score scale for the CAT. Your results, interview and school record together decide which career tracks and assignments are offered.
Guides and Tips
Read up before you practise: what the tests reward, what catches candidates out, and why shortcuts do not work.
Can You Cheat the Bundeswehr CAT-Test?
A locked station in a supervised room and an adaptive pool with no fixed paper. Why neither leaves a gap, and what moves your result.
The Bundeswehr CAT-Test at the New Musterung: What the Official Sources Say
The CAT is a platform of modules, not one test, it is adaptive by design, and it has no pass mark. What the Bundeswehr actually says, and what preparation sites add without a source.
Practice by Test Type
Compare the same format across every provider that uses it, and see what each one is really measuring.
Numerical Reasoning Test Practice
Tables, charts, percentages and ratios against the clock. The most common screening test on graduate schemes and analyst roles.
Verbal Reasoning Test Practice
Short dense passages and true, false or cannot say answers. Judged on what the text supports, never on what you already know.
Logical Reasoning Test Practice
Shapes, sequences and flowcharts instead of words or numbers. Inductive, deductive, abstract, diagrammatic and spatial in one place.
About CogniPrep Bundeswehr Practice
CogniPrep provides practice simulations of the Bundeswehr’s CAT-Test modules. They are not affiliated with or endorsed by the Bundeswehr, the Bundesamt für das Personalmanagement der Bundeswehr or the CAT platform’s developers, and every format detail the Bundeswehr does not publish is labelled with where it comes from.
- 7 practice tests: Matrizen, Wortanalogien, Rechnen, Fahrtstrecken, the Pfeiltest, Technisches Verständnis and a full CAT sitting
- The CAT has run on the Bundeswehr’s own test stations since 1980; the current version is CAT5
- The real test is German only, adaptive, and sat under supervision at a desktop with a mouse, pencil and paper and no calculator
- No pass mark, score scale, norms or cut-offs are published; results are read with the interview and school record
- Our item counts and clocks are our own, and our adaptive rule is the simplest one that behaves as the Bundeswehr describes
Ready to Start Practising?
Start free with Matrizen, the first category in the Bundeswehr’s own Assessment Trainer, then unlock all 7 Bundeswehr tests for unlimited practice.