Official Notarisation

Official certifications are available in Germany from authorities that are authorized to use an official seal, e.g. the residents' registration offices of municipal and city administrations and notary's offices.

Not sufficient are, for example, certifications from lawyers, student institutions, savings banks, health insurance companies and churches.

Abroad, copies of certificates can also be officially certified at the offices listed above or at German embassies or consulates.

The official certification must contain at least:

  1. A note certifying that the copy/transcript matches the original (certification note).
  2. Signature of the certifier
  3. The imprint of the official seal. An official seal usually contains an emblem. A simple hand stamp is not sufficient.

If the copy/transcript consists of several individual sheets, it must be proven that each page originates from the same document. It is sufficient if only one page bears the certification mark and signature, provided that all sheets are overstamped (e.g., in a scale-like manner) so that part of the official seal impression appears on each page.

Of course, each page can also be certified separately. In this case, however, make sure that your name appears on each page of the original. If it does not appear everywhere, it must be included in the certification endorsements, along with an indication of the type of document.

If there is a copy on both the front and back of a sheet and the contents of both pages are important, the certification endorsement must refer to both the front and back (e.g., "This certifies that the front/back copy is the same as the original"). If this is not the case, the front and back must be certified separately.

Please note that officially certified copies can only be made from an original. Copies made and certified from officially certified copies cannot be considered.

Important: If the certification does not meet the above requirements, the Office of Student Affairs will not recognize the document. Unfortunately, even simple copies cannot be recognized.

After the formal check, your documents will be scanned into our system and then destroyed!