International Certification Services

Certifying University of Maryland Documents for Use Overseas

Foreign countries may require documents to be certified in order to be accepted in the foreign jurisdiction. An "Authentication" and "Apostille" certifies the signature and the position of the official who has executed, issued or certified a copy of a document. Please check with the the country in which you will be working or studying to find out if they will require an Apostille or Authentication.

The sole function of an apostille or authentication is to certify the authenticity of the signature on the document, the capacity in which the person signing the document acted, and the identity of any stamp or seal affixed to the document.

The educational documents usually requested for certification are the diploma, official transcript, and/or enrollment/graduation verification letter.

Certification should only be done if the organization receiving the document requires you to provide an Apostille or Authentication.

Apostille

The United States is part of the 1961 Hague Convention abolishing the Requirement of Legalization for Foreign Public Documents. The Convention provides for the simplified certification of public (including notarized) documents to be used in countries that have joined the convention. Under the Hague Convention, signatory countries have agreed to recognize public documents issued by other signatory countries if those public documents are authenticated by the attachment of an internationally recognized form of authentication known as an "apostille." The apostille ensures that public documents issued in one signatory country will be recognized as valid in another signatory country.

Authentication

Countries that are not signatories to the Hague Convention may require that the documents undergo an additional step for obtaining an "authentication". The authentication validates the document for use in the foreign country.

OBTAINING AN APOSTILLE OR AUTHENTICATION FOR UMD DOCUMENTS

The links below detail the process for obtaining an Apostille or authentication. Please note that the University of Maryland, Office of the Registrar can facilitate Step 1 only. Subsequent steps require action with other agencies, as indicated, and are provided solely as a guide to help you through this process. Since different countries require different forms of certification, it is ultimately your responsibility to determine what additional action, beyond Step 1, is required for the specific country you are dealing with.