Assessment of education and verification of documents

Certification is when a document is signed and stamped to confirm that it is an original or that it is a true copy of an original, which the person signing it has seen.  Note that this does not guarantee that the original certificate or the qualification is genuine.

For UK qualifications certification is usually done by a UK solicitor or notary and, if possible, we recommend that you ask one of these people to certify copies of your certificates when you are in the UK. 

Legalisation is the official confirmation that a signature, seal or stamp on a UK document is genuine. This can be done for most documents issued by UK public or official organisations. Legalisation can only be provided by the UK’s Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) in London, who check the signature, seal or stamp against their database and attach an apostille (the legal term for the legalisation certificate) to the document if these are genuine.

Note that having a document legalised does not guarantee that its contents are accurate, nor does it carry any sort of official approval by the Foreign & Commonwealth Office.

Educational documents which are not degrees, diplomas, certificates, qualifications or other awards may be legalised if they have been issued by an educational establishment in the UK. This includes school reports and letters concerning enrolling, attendance, fees and grades. 

Documents which are degrees, diplomas, certificates, qualifications or other awards can be legalised if they were issued by an educational establishment, if it is registered at one of the following websites:

• Register of Providers' or the 'Recognised Degrees' sections of the Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills (DIUS) website
• The Scottish Qualifications Authority website
• The National Database of Accredited Qualifications website
• The British Accreditation Council website
• The Open and Distance Learning Quality Council website
• The Association of British Language Schools website

Additionally, qualifications which are or were issued by OCR, Edexcel, Higher National Diploma, City and Guilds, National Open College Network, GNVQ or the American Study Abroad Programme in the UK can also be legalised. 

To have a document legalised you must first get it certified: you can then send it by post to the FCO. 

Verification that a qualification is genuine and has been awarded to a particular person can only be provided by the institution awarding that qualification, and can only be requested by the person it relates to (under data protection legislation).

This verification should normally be sent directly to the organisation (e.g. Ministry or potential employer) requiring that assurance.

The ENIC-NARIC centre is responsible for assessing the education, such as the educational qualification, the status of educational institution and educational programme, the field of education, the obtained title or degree, a short description of the educational system, a comparison with educational system in the Republic of Slovenia, etc.