A degree, a matric certificate, and a medical registration do not go straight to DIRCO. The verifying body stamps first; then Pretoria legalises.
Apostille, Attestation and Authentication
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 it is not, DIRCO issues a Certificate of Authentication and the foreign embassy in South Africa then attests the document.
The usual sequence:
- Obtain the original from the issuing office (Home Affairs, SAPS, a court, CIPC, a university)
- Prior verification where required: SAQA, Umalusi, HPCSA, QCTO, or a notary and High Court 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 often go straight to DIRCO. Degrees, matric certificates, and medical registrations do not. Abridged certificates and ordinary commissioner-of-oaths copies are generally refused. We confirm the destination country’s current list 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 (NSC) and Senior Certificate from 1992 onward
- Selected further-education and N3 qualifications under Umalusi’s quality-assurance mandate
- A stamped copy plus 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 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. This includes registration certificates and, where relevant, documents that fall under the Colleges of Medicine of South Africa.
- Proof of registration or good standing for a practitioner taking a post abroad
- Medical reports that a foreign mission will only accept once HPCSA has stamped them
- Onward lodge at DIRCO for Apostille or authentication
We correspond with HPCSA, check the name and registration number against the public register, and do not send an unverified medical document to DIRCO.
Universities SA Matriculation Board Exemption
A matriculation exemption is a legal requirement 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.
- Online assessment and the M30 application on the Matriculation Board portal
- Proof of the prescribed fee (R1 070 for 2026, non-refundable)
- Identity document or passport, and school-leaving certificates, certified by a notary, an admitted attorney or advocate, a university registrar, or a South African embassy — not by a police station or commissioner of oaths
- Sworn translation where the original is not in English
A provisional letter can be issued on scanned copies so the university application can proceed. The final certificate follows once correctly certified originals have been posted or couriered to Hadefields Office Park, Hatfield. The certificate does not bind a faculty to admit the applicant.