Apostille Education Certificates

Authenticate US degree certificates and academic diplomas for use abroad

Legalize US university degree certificates - apostille service

American academic certificates and diplomas are authenticated following certification by a notary with a State Apostille stamp. Certificates required for non-Apostille countries, such as the UAE, require additional authentication by the US Department of State and embassy.

In the United States, there are essentially 2 methods of obtaining an Apostille or legalization for an academic certificate, including degree certificates and transcripts.

1. Authenticate/Apostille the original certificate.

2. Authenticate/Apostille a notarized copy

The best method depends firstly on whether the authority receiving the apostilled certificate requires the Apostille on the original, and then on the ease of arranging notarization of the Registrar’s signature. It also depends on the State of issue and urgency (not all States offer expedited Apostilles).

Authenticating original certificates

To obtain a Hague Convention Apostille or authentication of an original US Diploma, degree certificate or transcripts, the first step is to check whether it needs to be notarized or whether it can be submitted to the Secretary of State directly. This depends on the State and type of institution. Please contact us to confirm.

In most States, if the original needs notarization before submitting to the Secretary of State, this means that the Registrar of the awarding university or school needs to sign the certificate in the presence of a commissioned notary public; the notary will witness the School Registrar's signature and confirm the authenticity of the diploma, attaching a notarial declaration that can then be authenticated by the Secretary of State.

Most US universities will issue notarized diplomas upon request if you contact the Registrar's Office. See for example:
Official Transcript Request University of Central FloridaExternal link (opens in new tab)
The UCLA Registrar’s Office notarizes only those documents it issues: diplomas, official transcripts, and proofs of enrollment.  UCLAExternal link (opens in new tab)
Attendance and degree certifications are official documents typically used to confirm attendance or degrees awarded for employers, insurance companies, or to qualify for student discounts. Massachusetts Institute of TechnologyExternal link (opens in new tab)
Transcripts, Certifications, and Diplomas Columbia UniversityExternal link (opens in new tab)
request a replacement copy, certified copy or an additional print of your Ohio State University diploma Ohio State UniversityExternal link (opens in new tab)

To obtain notarized high school diplomas and grade sheets, the procedure is the same, although High School Registrars may be less familiar with the process. If the Registrar cannot issue a notarized copy, please contact us and we may be able to arrange for a notary public to visit the school and certify your diploma.

Following notarization (where required), certificates can be submitted to the Secretary of State for an Apostille or Authentication. Procedures vary by State, see for example:
Right arrowCalifornia Apostilles
Right arrowFlorida Apostilles
Right arrowNew York Apostilles
Right arrowMassachusetts Apostilles
Right arrowOhio Apostilles

Show all states

Authenticating a certified copy

As an alternative to notarizing and authenticating the original, it is possible to obtain an apostille on a notarized copy. This can often be done from a scan, following verification of the awarded degree by a notary, and can usually be completed in 3-4 business days.

If this option is acceptable to the recipient authority, it is usually quicker, cheaper and easier than notarizing the original. However, it is important to check with the receiving authority that they will accept the Apostille affixed to a copy – where the apostilled notarial declaration certifies the copy to be a true copy of the genuine original, but does not directly certify the authenticity of the Registrar’s signature.

Certified copies of diplomas and transcripts can only be made in certain States (we usually notarize and apostille copies in Washington DC), so it may also not be an option if the recipient authority requires an Apostille from the Sate where the awarding institution is based when that State does not allow notarized copies of school certificates (for example Florida).

Please contact us for advice or further information about obtaining Apostilles on US degree certificates, authentications and embassy attestations.

We are a specialist provider of US Apostille and Authentication services. Isarey will manage the whole authentication process from start to finish:

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    We assist with arranging notarization of orgiinal certificates and/or certified copies
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    We work across the United States to submit Apostilles locally in different States
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    We submit certificates physically to obtain expedited services where avaialble (depending on State)
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    We offer US State Department legalization and attestation at consulates across the USA
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    We arrange certified translations of diplomas into Spanish, Italian, French, Portuguese and other languages
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    We offer US and international delivery by secure courier

Each process is individually managed from start to finish by a dedicated project manager who will work to ensure that all authentications are completed quickly and securely. To discuss your requirements or to get a quotation, please contact us:

Legalization for non-Apostille Countries

Degree certificates needed for countries that are not signatories to the Apostille convention require additional authentication by the US State Department after being authenticated at State level, and then at the embassy or consulate of the recipient country.
Due to processing delays by the US State Department, some embassies are waiving the requirement for State Department authentication and will accept documents authenticated at State level only. Please contact us for latest information.
Non-apostille countries include: AE United Arab EmiratesUnited Arab Emirates - QA QatarQatar - TH ThailandThailand - TW TaiwanTaiwan - VN VietnamVietnam

Authenticate US university degrees for the United Arab Emirates at the State Department and UAE embassy in Washington DCAuthenticate US university degrees for Qatar at the State Department and Qatari embassy in Washington DC Apostille US university degrees, diplomas and transcripts for use in Vietnam

Legalize US Degree Certificates for submission to UAE, Qatar and Vietnam

US degree certificates required for the United Arab Emirates (e.g. Dubai), for Qatar and Vietnam require additional authentication by the US State Department and embassy. We arrange legalization of academic documents for clients worldwide: notarized copies of US University diplomas and transcripts can be made from scans, so there is no need to send your original documents to the United States. These certified copies are then authenticated by the Washington DC Secretary of State, by the State Department and then by the UAE, Qatari and Vietnamese embassies in Washington DC for international delivery by secure courier.

Legalize and apostille US university diplomas for use in Saudi ArabiaApostille US university degrees, transcripts and high school diplomas for use in China

Apostille U.S. Degrees for Saudi Arabia and China

Saudi Arabia and China have now joined the Hague Convention Abolishing the Requirement of Legalisation for Foreign Public Documents Hague Apostille ConventionExternal link (opens in new tab). This means that U.S. documents, including academic diplomas and transcripts, no longer require double legalization and attestation by the State Department, Saudi Cultural Mission or embassy. A simple apostille stamp is sufficient - this can be obtained on a notarized copy from the Washington DC Secretary of State or on a notarized original in the State where the university is located.
Documents required for use in Taiwan (Republic of China) cannot be authenticated by apostille only and require legalization by the Taiwan Representative Office.

Legalize and authenticate diplomas and transcripts for use in Kuwait.

Attest US University Diplomas for use in Kuwait

University Diplomas requiring legalization for use in Kuwait must be authenticated by the US State Department before submission to the Kuwaiti embassy or consulate. Kuwait will accept the original diploma or copy certified by a notary public and duly authenticated. The official sealed transcript must also be provided. To legalize a school certificate, the original certificate must be submitted, certified by a notary public, by the State’s Department of State and the U.S. State Department in Washington, D.C.

Authenticate university diplomas for use in Taiwan at the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office

Authenticate U.S. diplomas for use in Taiwan

To authenticate a diploma for use in Taiwan, the original diploma must be provided along with sealed transcripts, authenticated by the Secretary of State of the State where it was issued, then submitted to the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Washington D.C., or branch in New York, Miami, Chicago etc. depending on the state.

Notarize, translate and apostille American high school certificates to use in SpainNotarize, translate and apostille American high school certificates to use in Italy

Apostille U.S. High School Diplomas for use in Spain and Italy

High school diplomas, mark sheets and transcripts required for submission to education authorities in Spain and Italy normally require an apostille stamp to be applied to the original certificate. In most US states, this means that a notary must personally witness and certify the signature of the school registrar or principle, before an apostille is obtained from the Secretary of State.

We can liaise with the school staff to arrange for a notary to visit the school and then obtain apostille stamps for submission to Italy and Spain. We also arrange certified translations to Spanish or Italian that will be accepted by the Education Authorities of each country - certified by the court in Rome or by a translator authorised by the Spanish Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Get a Quotation for your Documents

We price each certification process individually, depending on the type and quantity of documents to be attested, the country of issue, the country of use and intended purpose, urgency, whether certified translations are required as part of the process and courier costs.

To receive a quote, you can upload your documents using our online quotation form or send us your documents by email. After reviewing your documents and requirements, we will get back to you with a quotation:

If you don’t have the documents available, just describe the documents you need to certify, and we will get back to you with an estimation of cost and delivery times.

Using our quotation form, your documents will be uploaded over a secure connection and immediately encrypted on our server. For added protection, you can upload password-protected files (PDFExternal link (opens in new tab), Microsoft Office 365: Save a password protected document to prevent unauthorized people from opening it. Office DocumentsExternal link (opens in new tab), WinRAR Encryption Frequently asked question (FAQ) RAR foldersExternal link (opens in new tab)) and provide us with the passwords separately.

PERSONAL DATA: If your documents contain personal data belonging to people outside your household, please ensure that you are authorised to share this data before uploading your documents. If your documents contain sensitive personal data, such as biometric data, medical data or data on criminal convictions, please ensure that you indicate this when prompted, upon submitting your documents. For further information on our processing of personal data contained in uploaded documents, please see:
Privacy Policy (Customer Inquiries)

For further information on confidentiality in our handling of document content please see:
Confidentiality (Client Content)

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