Government Documents
Apostille & attestation
Legalisation of South African public documents for use abroad, and the school, medical and university checks DIRCO requires first.
Apostille, authentication and attestation
A South African public document used in another country must be legalised. If that country is a party to the Hague Apostille Convention, DIRCO affixes an apostille. If not, DIRCO issues a certificate of authentication and the foreign embassy in South Africa then attests the document. The usual sequence is:
- Obtain the original from the issuing office (Home Affairs, SAPS, a court, CIPC, a university).
- Prior verification where required: SAQA, Umalusi, HPCSA or QCTO, or notarisation for private documents.
- DIRCO Legalisation Section in Pretoria — apostille or certificate of authentication.
- Embassy or consulate attestation for non-Hague destinations (for example the UAE and Qatar).
Birth, marriage and death certificates and police clearances can often go straight to DIRCO; degrees, matric certificates and medical registrations cannot. Abridged certificates and ordinary commissioner-of-oaths copies are generally refused. We confirm the destination country’s current requirements before lodging.
Umalusi authentication
Umalusi verifies the National Senior Certificate, the Senior Certificate, and certain N3 and further-education qualifications. DIRCO requires that verification before it will apostille a South African school certificate.
- National Senior Certificate and Senior Certificate from 1992 onward
- Selected further-education and N3 qualifications within Umalusi’s mandate
- A stamped copy and an original covering letter for the DIRCO file
Older school records may sit with the Department of Basic Education or with SAQA. We check the year of issue before lodging so that the file is not returned.
HPCSA authentication
The Health Professions Council of South Africa must verify medical and related professional documents before DIRCO will legalise them.
- Proof of registration or good standing for a practitioner taking up a post abroad
- Medical reports that a foreign mission will accept only once the HPCSA has stamped them
- Onward lodging at DIRCO for apostille or authentication
We correspond with the HPCSA, check the name and registration number against the public register, and do not send an unverified medical document to DIRCO.
USAf matriculation exemption
A matriculation exemption is required for first-degree study at a South African public university. The Matriculation Board of Universities South Africa (USAf) issues the certificate to holders of international school qualifications and to those whose pre-2008 Senior Certificate needs an exemption.
- The online assessment and application on the Matriculation Board portal
- Proof of payment of the prescribed fee
- Identity document or passport and school-leaving certificates, certified in a form the Matriculation Board accepts (police-station and commissioner-of-oaths certification is not accepted)
- A sworn translation where the original is not in English
A provisional letter can be issued on scanned copies so that the university application can proceed; the final certificate follows once correctly certified documents are received. The certificate does not oblige a faculty to admit the applicant.
Speak to us about your matter
Monday to Friday 08:00–16:30. Email is best for a first enquiry — include the facts and any deadline.