Diploma and Diploma Supplement Translation - Notarized, Apostilled and Formatted for the Body That Will Read It

What a diploma and a diploma supplement are, and why both are asked for

The diploma (degree certificate) is the short document that states the institution, the graduate, the degree awarded and the date, signed and sealed; the diploma supplement is the longer document, introduced under the Bologna process and issued by Georgian universities in Georgian and English, that describes the qualification - the level, the program, the courses with credits and grades, the grading scale, the access it gives to further study and the status of the institution. A foreign university or recognition body reads the diploma to see what was awarded and the supplement to understand what it means, and most now require both; older Georgian diplomas from before the supplement was introduced are accompanied by the transcript (the "prilozhenie" of the Soviet and post-Soviet format) instead, which lists courses, hours and grades. Foreign diplomas presented in Georgia come with their own equivalents - the German Zeugnis and Diploma Supplement, the Italian pergamena and certificato con esami, the American diploma and transcript, the Indian degree certificate and mark sheets, the Chinese graduation and degree certificates, the Turkish diploma and not dökümü - and we translate whichever pair the file contains.

Georgian diplomas abroad: universities, recognition bodies and employers

A Georgian graduate applying to a master's program abroad uploads the diploma and supplement with a certified translation and presents apostilled originals with notarized translations at enrollment; a graduate seeking recognition for employment or a regulated profession submits them to the country's recognition body - the ENIC-NARIC center, Germany's ZAB, Italy's CIMEA, the Netherlands' Nuffic, Sweden's UHR, Norway's HK-dir, Kazakhstan's ENIC, WES or ECE in North America - which requires apostilled documents with translations that meet its own rule (sworn translators in Germany, Italy, Spain, Poland and Brazil; authorized translators in Finland and Norway; certified translations in most English-speaking countries); and a skilled worker's visa file uses the recognition body's decision or, for some categories, the translated diploma directly. The apostille on a Georgian diploma goes through the education verification route and takes up to five business days, and the apostilled diploma is reusable for every later purpose. We translate the diploma and supplement into the target language in one business day, notarize the translation, apostille it where the destination requires, and arrange sworn or authorized re-certification abroad through partners using our text where the country insists on its own translators.

Foreign diplomas in Georgia: recognition, work permits and admission

A foreign diploma used in Georgia - for a work permit as a specialist, for a teaching, medical, engineering or coaching position, for admission to a Georgian master's or doctoral program, for transfer with credit recognition, or for formal recognition at the National Center for Educational Quality Enhancement - must be apostilled (or legalized, for non-Hague countries) in the issuing country and translated into Georgian by a translation notarized here. The Center checks the institution's accreditation, the program's level and duration and, for professional recognition, its content; employers and the Public Service Development Agency usually accept the notarized translation of the apostilled diploma without formal recognition, except for regulated professions. Diplomas from countries with separate graduation and degree certificates (China, Kazakhstan, the post-Soviet states with the older "specialist" diploma), from countries whose diplomas are in a non-Latin script (Iran, Arabic countries, India's regional languages, Thailand), and from countries whose diplomas are issued electronically (Albania, Estonia, Kazakhstan) are handled with the appropriate verification and a translator's note where the format is unfamiliar.

Degree titles, grading scales and what we do not do

Degree titles do not translate one-to-one, and a translator who renders a Georgian "bakalavri" as "Bachelor" and stops has done half the job. We translate the title as written, add the original in brackets, and add a translator's note describing the qualification - its level in the Bologna framework, its duration and credits, and its pre-Bologna equivalent where the diploma is older (the Georgian five-year diploma of specialist, the Soviet "diplom o vysshem obrazovanii", the German Diplom and Magister, the Italian laurea vecchio ordinamento, the Polish magister inżynier, the Russian and Kazakh "specialist"). Grading scales are translated as printed with a note explaining the scale (Georgia's 51-100 with its letter bands, Germany's 1-5, Italy's 110, the Netherlands' 10, the American GPA, the Indian percentage and division system, the post-Soviet 5-point scale); we do not convert grades, because recognition bodies do their own conversion and object to translators pre-empting it, and because a converted grade that differs from the body's own conversion casts doubt on the whole translation.

Consistency across the file

A diploma is rarely submitted alone, and the reader compares it against the transcript, the school certificate, the passport and, later, the employment documents. We fix the transliteration of the graduate's name from the passport and use it on every academic document; we translate the university's name consistently with its own official English name where it has one; we render course titles identically in the supplement and the transcript; and we keep a glossary for each client so that a document translated two years later matches the first. Where a diploma was issued in a maiden name, we translate the marriage certificate with it; where the university has been renamed or merged, we note the current name and the name at the time of issue, since recognition bodies verify with the current institution.

Pricing, timing and how to order

Diplomas are priced at a fixed rate per document and supplements per page at the standard tariff, with a modest supplement for rare languages, plus the notary's fee; the apostille on a Georgian diploma at the state fee plus handling, and sworn or authorized re-certification abroad at the partner's rate. A diploma with its supplement is translated in one business day; the apostille adds up to five business days.

To order, send photos or PDFs of the diploma and every page of the supplement on WhatsApp or Telegram, and tell us the university, recognition body or employer and the country; the quote arrives within 15 minutes with the level and sequence we recommend. Bring the originals to Agmashenebeli 117, near Marjanishvili Metro, when the translation is ready, or courier them from any city; graduates abroad have a relative bring them and we handle the apostille and ship by DHL. A digital certified translation is delivered first so that applications proceed while the paper chain runs.

Frequently asked questions

Other educational documents