Apostille Diploma & Apostille Degree (Apostille for Education Documents)

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Apostille Diploma & Apostille Degree (Apostille for Education Documents)

We provide Apostille Certification for a wide range of Educational Documents like Certificates, Degrees, Diplomas and Extracts of Academic records such as Transcripts. Our specialized Apostille diploma and Apostille degree services are available for all major 112 Hague Convention countries.

Please let us know if you have queries related to Apostille Stamp UK, India, United States of America, Australia, Ireland, South Africa and New Zealand. We look forward to help you and get you clear of any overseas certificate attestations.

There are many confusing statements associated with Apostille Stamp for Education Documents like Apostille diploma and Apostille degree. Thus the Permanent Bureau of the Hague Conference came up with a brief handbook that clarifies many major issues related to Educational documents.

Are Education Documents considered Public Documents?

Educational institutions issue a range of documents, including certificates (of attendance and achievement), diplomas, degrees and extracts of academic records (e.g., transcripts).

In some States, an educational document may be considered to be a public document for the purposes of the Apostille Convention by virtue of the status of the issuing educational institution as either an administrative authority or accredited institution. In other States, the educational document may be considered a private document, in which case it will need to be certified before an Apostille is issued.

We will do the needful to obtain Apostilles like Apostille diploma or Apostille degree and ensure that the document is valid for all purposes.

Original document or certified copy

As placing an Apostille on original diplomas or degrees is not usually desirable or practical, States employ a range of methods for producing copies of diplomas or degrees for the purpose of apostillisation, such as certified copies. The methods and legal significance of producing such copies may vary depending on the law of the State in which the copy is produced. In some States, certified copies are prepared and the certifications as opposed to the actual diplomas are apostillised.

In such situations even Apostille for certified copies are valid instead of an original Apostille diploma or Apostille degree.

Effect of an Apostille issued for an educational document such as an Apostille diploma or Apostille degree

As with any other public document, the effect of an Apostille issued for an educational document is limited to verifying the origin of the document and not its content. Thus, if an Apostille is issued for an educational document directly, the Apostille authenticates the signature of the official who signed the diploma and / or the seal of the academic institution that issued it.

Notarised diplomas and Diplomas from Diploma Mills

Competent Authorities are sometimes asked to apostillise notarial certificates attesting to the authenticity of an underlying educational document. Because the effect of an Apostille is limited to the origin of the document to which it relates, this is permissible if the notarial certificate is considered to be a public document under the law of the State of origin for the purposes of the Apostille Convention.

Many States have expressed concerns about fake academic credentials issued by diploma mills, which may benefit from the Apostille process through notarisation. If a notarial certificate issued for a fraudulent educational document is valid, then there is nothing in the Convention to prevent an Apostille from being issued for the notarial certificate, although domestic law may permit or require a Competent Authority to refuse to issue an Apostille where fraud is suspected.

The Special Commission of the Apostille Convention has expressed deep concerns about the practice of using Apostilles to attempt to lend legitimacy to fraudulent documents such as fraudulent Apostille diploma or Apostille degree.

While recalling that an Apostille does not verify the content of the underlying public documents and thus cannot lend legitimacy to fake credentials, the Special Commission has noted that Competent Authorities may take steps outside the issuance of Apostilles to deal with instances of fraud or other inappropriate uses of Apostilles (C&R No 84 of the 2009 SC).

These steps could include referring the matter to the relevant authorities in the State for further investigation and possible prosecution.