Education & professional qualifications

Apostille for a professional licence or recognition decision

Doctors, dentists, pharmacists, nurses and engineers who move between countries need their licence documents apostilled for the licensing body at the destination. We handle licences from ministries, chambers and councils alike.

130+ issuing countries Apostille on the public document

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1
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We pre-check it and confirm the route
2
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ID + selfie, ~3 minutes, then your quote
3
We obtain the apostille
Competent authority + sworn translation
4
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Professional documents come from several issuers: the licence itself from a health ministry or medical council, specialist certificates from chambers or boards, certificates of good standing from the current regulator, recognition decisions from the destination country’s authority. Each is apostilled by the designated authority of the country that issued it.

Licensing bodies – the GMC in the UK, state medical boards in the US, DHA, DOH and MOHAP in the UAE, AHPRA in Australia, the German Approbation authorities, the Turkish Ministry of Health – ask for apostilled originals or apostilled certified copies, usually with sworn translations. Certificates of good standing are often required to be less than three months old.

We map the exact document set the licensing body lists, order missing certificates where possible, obtain the apostilles and translations in the issuing countries, and ship one complete dossier. For hospitals and recruitment agencies we process several candidates in parallel.

Also known as: Approbationsurkunde / Berufsurkunde / Anerkennungsbescheid (DE) · diplôme d’État / autorisation d’exercer (FR) · título profesional / colegiación (ES) · abilitazione professionale (IT) · registro profissional (PT) · diploma tescili / uzmanlık belgesi (TR) · prawo wykonywania zawodu (PL) · BIG-registratie (NL)

Who issues it, who apostilles it – by country

An apostille is always issued in the country that issued the document. The most frequent issuing countries for a professional licence & recognition:

Issued in	Issued by	Apostille by
Germany	University, Hochschule or school	State administrative apostille office, usually after pre-certification by the university or ministry (Vorbeglaubigung)
United States	University registrar (notarised copy or registrar’s signature)	Secretary of State of the state where the notary or registrar is commissionedMost states require a notarised copy of the diploma or a notarised registrar statement first.
United Kingdom	University / awarding body	FCDO after certification of the document or a copy by a UK solicitor or notaryFCDO does not apostille degree certificates directly – a solicitor certifies first.
France	Université / rectorat / ministry	Chambers of notaries (competent authority since 2025)Some recipients require a certified true copy (copie certifiée conforme) first.
Spain	University / Ministry of Education (títulos oficiales)	Ministerio de Justicia after recognition of the signature (reconocimiento de firma) by the Ministry of Education or the university
Italy	University / school	Prefettura, after the university confirms the signature where required
Netherlands	University / DUO	Rechtbank after legalisation of the signature by DUO (Dienst Uitvoering Onderwijs)
Türkiye	University / Ministry of National Education (MEB) for school diplomas	Valilik/Kaymakamlık; e-Apostil for e-Devlet diplomasYÖK recognition of foreign diplomas is the mirror procedure for documents coming into Türkiye.
India	University / board; state HRD department attestation	Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) after state HRD authenticationNot accepted in Germany (objection); German universities verify via the German mission.
Philippines	University; CHED authentication (CAV)	DFA after CHED/DepEd certificationNot accepted in Germany (objection).
Pakistan	University; HEC attestation	MOFA after HEC attestation
Ukraine	University / Ministry of Education	Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine (apostille on education documents)
Poland	University (NAWA confirmation for higher-education documents)	MSZ after NAWA (Narodowa Agencja Wymiany Akademickiej) authentication
Canada	University registrar (notarised copy)	Provincial authority or Global Affairs Canada
Australia	University (original or certified copy)	DFAT; some universities register signatures directly with DFAT
Brazil	University (diploma registered by the MEC)	Any authorised cartório
Mexico	University / SEP	Secretaría de Gobernación or state government; federal universities via SEP
Colombia	University; Ministry of Education verifies signatures online	Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores (e-apostille)
China	University; CHESICC/CSSD verification report	MFA / provincial FAO on the notarial certificateDegrees are notarised first (notarial certificate), then apostilled.
Russia	University	Regional Ministry/Department of Education (apostille on education documents)

Show all 20 countries

Other countries: see the issuing-country guides for all 130+ Contracting States.

Who needs it

Doctors & dentists

Licence, specialist certificate and good standing for GMC, ECFMG, German Approbation, UAE and Gulf licensing.

Nurses & therapists

Registration and training certificates for Germany, the UK, Ireland, Switzerland, the Gulf and Canada.

Pharmacists & engineers

Licence and chamber documents for registration abroad.

Recognition decisions

Recognition decisions presented to employers or authorities in third countries.

What we need from you

Original licence documents or certified copies
The document checklist of the foreign licensing body (upload it – we follow it)
Destination country and translation language

Who issues, who apostilles

Issued by: Health or professional ministries, medical/dental/pharmacist chambers and councils, recognition offices.
Apostille by: The Article 6 authority of each issuing country; chamber documents may require a ministry pre-certification.
Translation: Almost always required; medical boards often insist on sworn translations with the translator’s signature apostilled as well – we do both.

Where this document usually goes

The route depends on the country pair. Popular destinations for a professional licence & recognition – change the issuing country in the checker below:

Check your country pair for a professional licence & recognition

Apostille, EU exemption or embassy legalisation – the answer per destination.

Issued inUsed inDocument

Choose the destination to see the exact route for a professional licence & recognition issued in Germany.

Frequently asked: professional licence & recognition apostille

Most licensing bodies accept an apostilled certified copy, which keeps your original safe. Where the board demands the apostilled original (some US boards do), we return it by insured express courier.

Usually within three months of submission. We order it from the regulator last so that it is still fresh when the dossier arrives.

Yes. We work with employers and agencies that relocate healthcare staff and process document sets for several candidates in parallel, with one contact person and one invoice.

No. Germany has objected to both accessions; German recognition authorities verify Philippine and Indian documents through the German mission. For the UK, Ireland, the Gulf or Australia the apostille from DFA or MEA works.

Your quote at a glance

Notaryzer service fee

Quoted before you pay

Review, submission, tracking and return shipping. You see the exact amount in a written quote – nothing is charged before you accept.

Express available. 2× faster. Priority handling at every step and same-day dispatch as soon as the result is ready. The surcharge is shown in your quote.

Notary and authority fees

Statutory fee of the issuing country’s competent authority

Fixed by that authority’s tariff; passed through 1:1 and shown as a separate line in your quote.

Turnaround: Depends on the number of issuers involved; a typical physician dossier (3–5 documents with translations) is complete in two to four weeks.
Competent authority: Designated authority of the issuing country (Art. 6) – see the country table
Route: Apostille on the public document

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If your document cannot be processed for reasons not attributable to you, our service fee is refunded.