The Apostille is much like an international notary, with rules and regulations agreed upon in the Hague Convention of 1961. The Apostille process serves as a way for documents to be recognized across international borders. If you are overseas and your home country requires a certified copy of your diploma or some other element of your academic record, our office can help you through this very complicated procedure.
It should be noted that in many cases when your home country requests a certified copy of your diploma, what they are really requesting is a document that certifies that you have attended the Illinois Institute of Technology and that you were awarded the degree that you claim to have been awarded. We offer several options for satisfying this request.
A copy of your Academic Transcript: Your transcript lists all the subjects you completed, the credit units for each subject, and the grades you received. It also includes your GPA as well as any degrees you have received from IIT. The transcript may satisfy the requirements of your home country, but it may also be more information than necessary.
A Degree Certification: Degree Certifications are used by students and outside agencies to verify the current or past status of a student at IIT. Illinois Institute of Technology has authorized the National Student Clearinghouse to provide enrollment and degree verifications. Please be advised that Illinois Institute of Technology has entered into a formal agency agreement with the National Student Clearinghouse to perform written verifications of degrees and past attendance as well as confirmation of current enrollment status for inquiries on our Institution. The National Student Clearinghouse shall respond to all inquiries for verification of degrees awarded, verification of past attendance and confirmation of current enrollment status on behalf of Illinois Institute of Technology. The National Student Clearinghouse has been granted the authority to respond to all such requests from interested Third Parties on our behalf. Illinois Institute of Technology warrants that the results of the inquiries delivered by the National Student Clearinghouse, acting as our agent, are based on our records. The National Student Clearinghouse should be considered as a primary source provider for verification of degrees and confirmation of attendance of graduates as well as past or present attendees of Illinois Institute of Technology, just as if the information had been provided directly by our office. Please visit the National Student Clearinghouse web site, http://studentclearinghouse.org/, to fulfill this request for information. You may call the National Student Clearinghouse at 1-703-742-4200.
A copy of your diploma: If you require a notarized diploma, you will need to present us with your diploma to photocopy. IIT does not keep copies of diplomas on file. You may bring it in person to the Registrar's Office or mail it to us. If you mail it to us, we will send the diploma back to you free of charge once we have made the notarized copies.
If you do not have your diploma, you may order a replacement.
Keep in mind when choosing one of these options that as part of the notary process, we must make a photocopy of the original document, notarize that photocopy, and then return all documents to you..
Once you have chosen which document you would like to use, you should review the Apostille instructions listed on the Illinois Secretary of State's web site and complete the form.
You will notice on their web site a statement which reads: "Photocopied signatures which appear on a document cannot be certified." This means that the notary signature must be original. We have a member of the notary public available here to handle that part of the process. There is no charge to students for the notary service regarding Academic Records.
Here is a step-by-step guide for having the document(s) you choose certified and sent.
1. Choose which of our documents you would like to have certified. You may choose more than one.
2. Follow the instructions for ordering each document you need. Instructions are found by following the links in the sidebar.
3. Include instructions with your request for us to have the documents notarized and prepared for the Apostille.
4. You will need to mail or bring in your request to us. After we produce and notarize the document(s), you will then need to have them forwarded to the Illinois Secretary of State, according to their instructions.
Questions? We may be reached by phone at (312) 567-3100 or by email at registrar@iit.edu.