Degree Certificate Attestation in Singapore for NUS, NTU, SMU and Other Graduates

The destination country sets the number of steps. For a Hague Convention country, one SAL apostille on your degree is normally the finished product; for a non-Hague country such as the UAE, Qatar or Kuwait, the apostilled degree also goes to that country's embassy in Singapore.

So our first question is "which country, and which office there?" The full apostille-versus-embassy decision is on our SAL apostille page, and the embassy chain on our embassy attestation page; for degrees it usually looks like this.

Two points save graduates money. First, SAL lists local institutions whose original, verifiable certificates it legalises directly: NTU, NUS, SMU, SIT, SUSS, SUTD, the polytechnics, ITE and NIEC. For these, no notary is needed, and SAL's S$10.70 per-document fee applies at the time of writing (SIM University certificates need SUSS's endorsement first). Second, if you would rather keep your scroll at home and the receiver accepts a copy, a notarised certified true copy can go to SAL instead, at SAL's S$87.20 fee for notarised documents.

An OpenCerts file can be used, but a plain printout is not automatically accepted. Most graduates also hold a paper scroll, and presenting that original to SAL is usually the simplest route; where only the digital version is available, we plan the route case by case.

OpenCerts is Singapore's blockchain-based certificate format. NTU has issued OpenCerts to graduates from 2014, sent as a .opencert file; NUS issues e-scrolls to most graduates admitted from 2004–2005 onwards and added a Verifiable PDF format from the class of 2025. Anyone can check the file at opencerts.io.

The protection lives in the file, not on paper. NUS warns that printing an e-certificate discards its cryptographic protection, and SAL says digitally issued certificates must meet its verification requirements. A quick office printout of your .opencert file is therefore not a safe submission.

Three workable paths

1. Use the paper scroll. NUS confirms that graduates still receive a hardcopy scroll, and NTU issues its hardcopy once. If you have it, SAL can legalise it directly.
2. Ask whether the receiver will verify online. Many accept OpenCerts directly, with no attestation at all.
3. Notarised copy route. Where the receiver insists on an apostille and you only have the digital file, our notary can review the verified document and advise whether a notarial certificate is possible for your case, before any fee is charged. Acceptance of this route varies by receiver, so we confirm it in writing first.

Licensing and equivalency offices often want your transcript as well as your degree, because the scroll does not show modules, credits or duration. Ask in writing whether they need both, and whether the transcript must stay sealed.

Transcripts from the listed institutions follow the same rules as scrolls: an original can go to SAL directly, and a digital one raises the same printout issue as OpenCerts. If the receiver wants a sealed envelope, stamping an opened transcript defeats the purpose, so order two from your registrar — one to legalise, one to send sealed.

Gulf healthcare and teaching licensing bodies ask for transcripts most often. Where a combined file is needed (one client needed NRIC, transcript and degree certified together), our certified true copy service covers the copies.

What to have ready

• Original degree scroll (not laminated) or your OpenCerts file and login access
• Original transcript, or the number of transcripts the receiver wants
• Passport and NRIC or FIN
• The receiver's written instructions, including country and office
• If your name has changed since graduation: the document linking both names

Look at the name printed at the top of your scroll. If a UK, Australian or other overseas university awarded the degree, the legalisation chain starts in that country, even though you studied in Singapore. SAL legalises Singapore documents; it cannot apostille another country's degree.

This is the issuing-country rule, and it catches many graduates of Singapore's private institutions. A UK-awarded degree is normally apostilled by the UK's FCDO; an Australian one goes through Australia's process. We will tell you honestly when your degree is outside our scope rather than sell you a Singapore stamp the receiver will reject.

A private college's own diploma is a private document, so a notary must certify it before SAL will act; whether a Gulf ministry recognises it is the receiver's decision. The fastest check is a WhatsApp photo of your certificate's front.

For postgraduate admission, first ask whether attestation is needed at all. Many universities verify OpenCerts or accept e-transcripts sent directly by your registrar; an apostille is only worth paying for when the admissions office asks for one in writing.

When they do ask, the destination is usually a Hague member such as Spain, the UK, Germany or Australia, so SAL's apostille is the whole job. Some European admissions offices also want a sworn translation into their language, often made in their own country; ask before ordering one here. Where a Singapore translation is accepted, our translation attestation service handles it.

How the process runs

What it costs

The prices shown above are starting prices. Your final price depends on the document type, number of pages and destination country, and will be confirmed in a written quotation before any work begins.

For a non-Hague country, an original scroll costs our embassy service fee plus SAL's S$10.70 plus the embassy fee at cost; a notarised copy costs the notary price (SAL included) plus the embassy service fee and embassy fee.

Common mistakes that cost graduates time

• Laminating the scroll. SAL cannot apostille a laminated document; ask your university about a replacement or certification.
• Adding any other stamp to the original. Stamps from anyone other than the issuer count as an alteration.
• Legalising the degree when the receiver wanted the transcript, or vice versa.
• Paying for an embassy stamp for a Hague country that only asked for an apostille.