Verify an apostille with the competent authority that issued it. Check the details of the certificate, link to the document and the official way of verification available. Appearance, a QR code or a missing entry in some unrelated service are not in themselves sufficient to establish authenticity or forgery.
If the online check does not provide a clear answer, find out the service’s coverage and contact the authority. Please find below the details to compare, a table of next steps and an inquiry template for discrepancies.
Once the details of the apostille have been confirmed, you can order a document translation for submission from Translate Service. If the register’s response is unclear, we can help you write an enquiry to the issuing authority.
Checking the apostille, the document and the diploma: different questions
First, determine what is in dispute: the certificate, the underlying document or the document’s suitability for your submission. This tells you who to ask and what answer to expect.
An apostille entry is not a university decision recognising an educational qualification . An authentic document may also not comply with the recipient’s requirements for language, document version or completeness.
For example, if a university asks you to confirm your level of education, finding the apostille number will not solve the whole issue. If the date of certification is different, check the details with the issuing authority first.
Checking the apostille, the document and the diploma: different questions
What you have to establish
Where to begin
Whether the certificate was issued
The competent authority indicated in the apostille
Which document it relates to
Underlying document, attachment method and certificate details
Whether the underlying document is genuine
Issuing body and applicable verification procedure
Whether the education is recognised
Requirements of the selected education-recognition procedure
Whether the set will be accepted
Receiving institution and its written requirements
Get the issuing authority without a forwarded link/QR code
Start with the country and authority name on the certificate, and find its official website. An intermediary link or QR code can be useful, but not the only source of trust.
Check with the official HCCH Apostille Section and the directory of the country concerned for the competent authority. Then check the name against the authority’s own website.
The HCCH provides information on the system but does not issue or authenticate individual apostilles. Send an inquiry about a specific certificate to the competent authority, not to an international "common register".
If the authority’s name is illegible, do not guess from the emblem. First, get a clearer picture or access to the underlying document set.
Separately compare apostille details to the underlying document number
The apostille and the underlying document may have different signers, numbers and dates. Determine which field you are reading before comparing its value.
The HCCH model certificate distinguishes between details concerning the signatory of the underlying document and details about the issuance of the apostille itself. So the name in one field does not need to be the same as the signature of the official who issued the certificate.
The details should be recorded in groups as follows:
Source: country and underlying document indicated.
Signature being certified. - Name and capacity of signatory and identification of seal or stamp.
Issuance of apostille: place, date, authority, number, signature and seal of the certificate.
Document connection: where the apostille is attached and which version it relates to.
This is a way of reading the fields, not of establishing authenticity by looks. Neat typography and a seal that looks similar is no substitute for confirmation from the issuing authority.
Review the entire set and never separate the apostille sheet
Verify the certificate and its relation to the document being submitted. A photo of the sheet on its own might not show which version was certified.
Under Articles 4 and 7 of the Hague Convention, the apostille is affixed to the document or to an attachment to the document called an allonge. The issuing authority maintains a record and, upon request of an interested person, compares the particulars of the certificate with the record.
If it’s a single scan, ask for images of the relevant pages and their relationship. Do not take the sheet off to scan or to put on another version.
Describe any doubts about the connection to the document separately to the authority: which pages are available, what is shown in the attachment and what information is missing. A matching number does not show the complete set.
If the register covers your case, an online check only helps
Before you search for the number, find out what authorities, issue dates and types of certificate the service covers. A missing entry does not explain cause without that check.
Go to the service via a link on the official website of the issuing authority. Read the search instructions: what information is needed, how to input the date and if there are any period restrictions.
For example, the GOV.UK verification service specifically refers to paper and electronic apostilles issued in the UK. Interface language is not a sufficient condition to make a service fit for Polish-issued or other foreign certificate.
Not online, so must be forged is not a universal conclusion. You could be looking at the wrong field, the wrong authority or case not covered by the service. Have to determine the applicable reason.
If the outcome is not clear, retain the message from the service and contact the issuing authority. State which field was checked and the specific discrepancy identified.
If the register covers your case, an online check only helps
Result
Next steps
Details match
Record which details were verified; check the document connection and recipient’s requirements separately.
Not found
Check the input and coverage of the service, then contact the issuing authority.
Service unavailable or not found
Find the authority’s official contact and ask how to verify the certificate.
Date or number does not match
Check whether you used the underlying document’s details by mistake. State the exact difference.
Only a scan is available
Find out the original form of the certificate and obtain the information about the set.
Electronic apostille, register entry and scan are all different things
Just because a paper document is in an electronic register does not make it an electronic original. Just because a scan is a PDF does not make it an e-Apostille. Find out what the authority actually issued and in what form.
An e-Apostille is a certificate issued electronically by a competent authority. An e-Register is an electronic means of verification of information in a certificate. An image of a paper set shows what they look like but does not in itself establish the original form of issuance.
Check the available arrangements in the HCCH e-APP implementation chart and then review the current information of the selected authority. One function does not necessarily mean the other function is accessible.
If you receive an electronic original, retain the original file and its related information. A screenshot or printout does not retain all properties of an electronic signature. Contact the issuer for verification instructions.
If the number or date is different, ask the authority a specific question
Check the exact mismatch and ask confirmation from the issuing authority. Describe the facts without making an allegation of forgery.
First check you are comparing the same fields. Then write down the date of the check, official channel and result. If the service gives an explanation or error, save its exact text.
Please verify the certificate issued by [authority], dated [date], No. [number]. This is a [document type]. A check on [official channel] found [exact discrepancy / no entry]. Does this channel cover this kind of certificate and this period of issue? How do you verify the information of the certificate and how it is related to the document?
This is a template for the content of an inquiry. Write it in proper language and use an independently located official contact. You may send full documents and personal information only through official channel and only to the extent necessary to answer.
Matching entry does not imply acceptance of the whole set
A positive check is one that is within the limits of the particulars checked; the requirements of the recipient are another matter. Verify whether a translation is required, which version is accepted and whether all relevant pages are included.
The NAWA FAQ has a section of its own on the limits of certification. This should not be taken as confirmation of all aspects of a qualification or a decision under another process.
If the apostille was added after the translation was done, determine whether the translation should be supplemented with the new endorsements. This scenario we discuss in the article on the order of apostille and translation.
Keep track of what was checked and what is unknown
One useful result is the record of what was confirmed and who has to answer the remaining question. Simply marking “checked” is not sufficient if it is not clear what the scope of the check is.
The country and authority that issued the apostille.
Number and date of certificate, separately from the details of the underlying document.
Title of the document and information on the available version.
Formal channel and declared scope.
Result: which particulars matched, were not found or differed.
Any remaining doubts as to the link to the document.
Next action, recipient of inquiry and reply from receiving institution on requirements.
This record can be used when you are speaking to an agency or institution. This way you avoid to start again the discussion or to have a partial result as final confirmation of the whole submission.
Once verification is done, we can help you agree on document preparation
The verification process starts with who issued it and exact details and ends with an obvious next step. If the info is different, an official answer is required. If the uncertainty relates to translation or the document set, explain the requirements that apply.
If you need to work out preparation of the set and translation, contact Translate Service. Type of document, country of destination and result of your check. We can help figure out questions for more clarity. The competent authority shall be requested to confirm the issue of the certificate.
About the author
Karolina Bałabon
Sworn translator of Russian
Working in translation since 2000, she has been a sworn translator of Russian since 2006. She graduated in applied linguistics from the University of Warsaw.
She specialises in legal, court and notarial translation. She works with Russian, Ukrainian, Polish and English, and deals with apostilles, legalisation and the preparation of foreign documents for use in Poland.
