I cannot understand the question. Why don't you request the PHD title from the candidate, with an official translation?

You could also ask the candidate to provide written consent for the university to verify his degree. (If he refuses to allow verification of his CV, then he's probably not someone you want to hire, regardless of whether his doctoral degree is legitimate or not.)

@AnonymousMathematician: Post as an answer? What you describe is the standard procedure, in my experience.

@NateEldredge: Good point (I shouldn't have answered in the comments).

The policy isn't all that odd. German institutions in general have extremely strict rules about release of data concerning individual-institution relationships. In much the same way that you won't be able to ring up a university and ask what grade someone got in an exam. Just ask the candidate for the written permission (or for a copy of their graduation certificate).

Why don't you request the PHD title from the candidate — What's a "PhD title"? The only way I can prove to you that I have a PhD is by telling Berkeley to send you proof.

How can you know that the name in this list is the same person as the job seeker knocking at your door? It could just be a coincidence of names.

The Excel file you downloaded from their website includes, in all likelihood, only PhD dissertations. The German term 'Dissertation' only refers to PhD dissertations, not MA theses and the like.

@ssmart Having a doctoral is NOT public information then? Having a bachelor's or master's isn't, afaik. My university, which practically anyone can enter, posts a list of candidates of graduation every year. The graduation ceremonies are public and often aired live. Theoretically speaking, anyone could go to my university every year and record the people who have certain degrees. If this was privileged information, it seems to me that universities should not post candidates of graduation, have graduation ceremonies publicly or air graduation ceremonies live.

@QuoraFeans A driver's license, school ID, passport...?

@NateEldredge Having a doctoral is NOT public information then? Having a bachelor's or master's isn't, afaik. My university, which practically anyone can enter, posts a list of candidates of graduation every year. The graduation ceremonies are public and often aired live. Theoretically speaking, anyone could go to my university every year and record the people who have certain degrees. If this was privileged information, it seems to me that universities should not post candidates of graduation, have graduation ceremonies publicly or air graduation ceremonies live.

@BCLC: It's a matter of university policy and/or local law to determine what information can be released in what ways, and it's not always consistent. It's entirely possible that a university would have its graduation ceremonies open to the public, yet still require consent from the student before verifying degrees.

Oh another thing, is it correct to say that those kinds of universities are prohibited from having a page containing names of deceased alumni and faculty?

@NateEldredge Thanks. Glad someone thinks it may be inconsistent for a university to do such.

@BCLC: Not relevant to Germany, but the situation in the US may be illustrative. A federal law called FERPA generally forbids universities from releasing students' information without their consent. But there is an exception for "directory information", which includes names, dates of attendance, degrees awarded, etc. So universities are allowed to disclose such directory information without consent, which means graduation programs, etc, are legal...

@BCLC: . But nothing requires a university to release this information upon request to anyone who asks, and in practice, many universities will require consent (and maybe a fee) in order to release it.

@NateEldredge So those universities might not be releasing information to make money from collecting fees for verification of such information? Brilliant! XD

@BCLC: The question is not whether he lied about his name. The question is he's the same John Smith (or Klaus Schmidt, since it's Germany) that appears at the list linked above.

I hereby confer upon everyone who wants one a distinguished degree in the philosophical sciences from the School of Hard Knocks and Swift Kicks.