An apparatus for holding a plate-like material during a separation process. The apparatus includes a separating device that is movable, during the separation process, in a first axial direction that is transverse to a second axial direction that the plate-like material is conveyed in during the separation process. The apparatus also includes first and second transport tables. The first transport table has a first contact surface and the second transport table has a second contact surface. The first contact surface and the second contact surface are spaced apart by a gap along which the separating device is movable. The apparatus also includes at least one holding device that is operable hold the plate-like material relative to the first and second contact surfaces such that the plate-like material is movable along the first and second contact surfaces. The holding device is configured to support the plate-like material such that a first surface of the plate-like material, on which a cutting beam of the separating device impinges, faces toward the first and second contact surfaces during the separation process.