Apostille on a diploma: who affixes it, what it costs, how long it takes
Higher or vocational education diploma. Once apostilled, the document is valid indefinitely and does not need a second apostille.
- Who affixes it
- The regional executive authority responsible for confirming educational documents (under Government Decree No. 479 of 30 May 2016)
- State fee
- USD 30state fee for affixing an apostille, charged per document, Tax Code art. 333.33(1)(48); where the diploma and its supplement are submitted together, one payment for one document is usually enough, but check locally: some regions affix two separate stamps
- Time
- 5–45 working days5 working days as standard; up to 45 working days if the authority has to send an enquiry to the university or an archive to confirm that the diploma is genuine
- Where to apply
- In any regionYou may apply to the authorised body of any region, regardless of where the university or college that issued the diploma is located or which level it belongs to.
- On the original
- Yes
- On a notarised copy
- Yes
Drop off documents in person
Drop-off points for notarised translation, apostille, legalisation and document retrieval orders:
- Москва 9 pointsБелорусская metroМаяковская metroЧеховская, Пушкинская, Тверская metroКузнецкий Мост metroКурская metroПавелецкая metroАвтозаводская metroПарк культуры (выход 1) metroВыставочная metro
- Химки, ул. Молодёжная, 70
- Краснодар, ул. Кузнечная, 6, офис 4; Краснодар, ул. Зиповская, 5/1
- Горячий Ключ, ул. Ленина, 37
Where are you taking the a diploma?
Choose the region of issue and the destination country: the chain of steps appears at once.
What to do before applying
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01
Check that you have the diploma supplement
Check that you have the diploma supplement: it has to be apostilled alongside the diploma itself
-
02
Make sure the diploma is a Russian state-issued document
Make sure the diploma is a Russian state-issued document: a diploma from a foreign university cannot be apostilled in Russia
An apostille can also be affixed to a notarised copy of the diploma if you need the original for something else.
Where a diploma is apostilled
You may apply in any region. Below are the authorities whose addresses we have verified.
Орган управления образованием субъекта «Чукотский автономный округ» (апостиль)
Министерство образования и науки Республики Дагестан (апостиль)
Управление контроля и надзора в сфере образования Департамент образования Ивановской области (апостиль)
Министерство образования и науки Калужской области (апостиль)
Министерство образования Камчатского края (апостиль)
Министерство образования, науки и молодёжной политики Краснодарского края, апостиль на документы об образовании
- The service is provided by the ministry's directorate for supervision and oversight in education, not by the ministry as a whole
Департамент образования и науки Курганской области (апостиль)
Министерство образования Липецкой области (апостиль)
Министерство образования и науки Республики Марий Эл (апостиль)
Министерство образования РМ — Республика Мордовия (апостиль)
Министерство образования Московской области (апостиль на документы об образовании)
- The ministry has no separate apostille window, so it is better to check the procedure by calling the reception desk
МФЦ «Мои документы» района Соколиная Гора (апостиль на документы об образовании)
- Since February 2024 the apostille on educational documents has been transferred from the Moscow Department of Education and Science to MFC public services centres
- The former intake address (2-й Балтийский переулок, 3, м. Сокол) is no longer in use
- At the MFC public services centre you have to present the original document so that the prepared apostille can be affixed to it
Управление по контролю и надзору в сфере образования министерства образования, науки и молодёжной политики Нижегородской области (апостиль)
- The apostille is affixed only to originals of educational documents
Министерство образования Новосибирской области (апостиль на документы об образовании)
- It occupies the same building as Управление по делам ЗАГС области
- The application can be sent by post to the same address or submitted through the state services portal
Министерство образования Пензенской области (апостиль)
Министерство общего и профессионального образования Ростовской области (апостиль на документы об образовании)
- The state fee for an apostille on an educational document (RUB 2,500) is paid in advance by bank transfer
- If the set of documents is incomplete, the application is returned without consideration within 10 days
Комитет по науке и высшей школе Санкт-Петербурга (апостиль на документы об образовании)
- In Saint Petersburg the apostille on educational documents is handled not by Комитет по образованию but by Комитет по науке и высшей школе (КНВШ) — a frequent confusion
- The service takes 5 working days, but it can extend to 45 days if an enquiry to the university is needed
Министерство образования Саратовской области (апостиль)
Министерство образования Свердловской области (апостиль на документы об образовании)
- Public reception by the management of the ministry is held only once a month
Министерство образования — Тамбовская область (апостиль)
Департамент надзора и контроля в сфере образования Министерства образования и науки Республики Татарстан (апостиль)
- The apostille is affixed only to originals of documents relating to education and qualifications, academic degrees and titles
Министерство образования — Тульская область (апостиль)
Департамент образования Ямало-Ненецкого автономного округа (апостиль)
Other regions: the city pages and the ‘Where to apply’ directory.
Diploma by destination country
Ready-made routes for the most common destinations.
All 196 countries as a list
What an apostille on a diploma looks like
The form is the same for every country and authority: a square stamp with ten numbered fields and a French heading. It is placed on the document itself or on a separate sheet attached to it (Article 4 of the Hague Convention). Hover over a field to see what goes in it.
The form of the stamp is set out in the annex to the 1961 Hague Convention and is the same in every contracting state. The heading in French is compulsory; the other captions may be repeated in the language of the country. The square measures at least 9 centimetres on each side.
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1CountryPays
The state where the document itself was issued, not the one it is going to.
Example Russian Federation
People sometimes look here for the destination country and conclude that the stamp is the wrong one.
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2This public document has been signed bya été signé par
The surname and initials of whoever signed the document.
Example A. P. Ivanova
The name here belongs to the official or the notary, not to the holder of the document.
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3acting in the capacity ofagissant en qualité de
The office held by the signatory: head of a civil registry department, notary, vice-rector.
Example head of the civil registry department
A mismatch between the office stated in the document and in the apostille gives the receiving institution grounds to refuse.
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4bears the seal / stamp ofrevêtu du sceau / timbre de
The body whose seal appears on the document.
Example the Civil Registry Department of the City of Krasnodar
The seal of the issuing body and the authority that affixed the apostille are two different things and need not match.
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5atà
The place where the apostille was affixed.
Example Krasnodar
The city of the apostille need not be the city where the document was issued.
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6thele
The date the apostille was affixed.
Example 13.09.2026
How long a document stays valid is counted from the date the document was issued, not from this date.
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7bypar
The authority that affixed the apostille: a regional civil registry authority, the Ministry of Justice, an education authority, the Ministry of Internal Affairs.
Example the Civil Registry Office of Krasnodar Krai
Applying to the wrong authority is the commonest reason documents are turned away.
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8Nosous No
The number of the apostille in the authority's register. It is what authenticity is checked against.
Example 23-14-000123
Without a number the stamp is invalid: there is nothing to check it against.
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9Seal / stampSceau / timbre
The seal of the authority that affixed the apostille.
Example the official seal of the office
The seal must belong to the authority in field 7, not to the body in field 4.
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10SignatureSignature
The signature of the official of the authority that affixed the apostille.
Example a signature with the name spelled out
A facsimile in place of a wet signature is a sign of a forgery.
Questions
Do I need an apostille on a diploma?
Can an apostille be placed on a diploma?
What does an apostille on a diploma look like?
We can obtain the apostille on your a diploma
A courier collects the document, we submit it to the authority and return it with the apostille. The state fee is already in the price and you pay once a manager has confirmed the scope.
No notarised power of attorney needed: for most documents a passport scan is enough