Notarial translation of a school certificate in Almaty — grades and subjects exactly as the admissions committee expects them

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Notarised translation of a school certificate in Almaty: supplement, copy, certification

A school graduate in Almaty is applying to a foreign university, or a parent is putting together an admissions pack — and runs into the requirement that the school certificate must be translated and notarised. Sometimes the certificate is needed for work abroad or for nostrification, and less often the family has returned from abroad with a foreign certificate and needs to present it in Kazakhstan. In each of these situations the set of steps is different, and mistakes surface at the admissions office.

The main confusion is between certifying a copy, a notarised translation and an apostille. Readers often order only a translation of the main form, forget the supplement with grades, or do not check whether an apostille is needed for a particular country. As a result the documents are sent back, and the submission deadlines are tight. Below — what exactly to translate, how certification works, and what to look at in the translation of subjects and grades.

Notarised translation of a school certificate: when it is needed

A notarised translation of a school certificate is needed where the foreign party does not read Russian and requires official confirmation of the translation. Most often this is admission to a university abroad: the admissions office needs to understand which subjects you studied and with what grades you finished school. The second common case is nostrification, that is, recognition of a Kazakhstan school certificate in another country.

A school certificate is also translated for work abroad, when an employer asks for confirmation of the level of education, and also when a child is transferring to a school or college outside Kazakhstan, where the education document is submitted to the admissions office. Less common is the reverse situation: a family has returned from abroad with a foreign school certificate, and it needs to be presented in Kazakhstan — then the foreign document is translated into Russian or Kazakh. The translation does not replace recognition of the education document: that is a separate procedure with the authorised body in the field of education, and it is not required in every case. The translation does not replace recognition of the education document: that is a separate procedure with the authorised body in the field of education, and it is not required in every case. The translation does not replace recognition of the education document: that is a separate procedure with the authorised body in the field of education, and it is not required in every case.

In all these cases, what is required is a notarised translation of the school certificate. The notary certifies the authenticity of the translator's signature, while the translator is responsible for the accuracy of the text itself, so it is important that subjects and grades are rendered correctly. A paper document is essential: the translation is stitched to a notarised copy of the certificate — the certificate form itself is not stitched, it remains with the graduate. A scan can only be used to start the work, but certification will require the original or a paper copy.

• Admission to a foreign university
• Recognition (nostrification) of a school certificate abroad
• Employment abroad
• Transferring a child to a school outside Kazakhstan
• A foreign school certificate for submission in Kazakhstan

Notarised translation of a school certificate into English

For admissions committees at universities in the UK, the USA and Asian countries, the school certificate is usually submitted in English translation. Such a notarised translation of the school certificate into English is needed so that the admissions officer has no doubts about the content of the document and that the translation corresponds to the original. The original remains with you: the translation is stitched to a notarised copy, and the notary certifies the authenticity of the translator's signature, not the authenticity of the certificate itself.

The most common mistake is to write the surname and first name as they appear in the school certificate or identity card. In the translation they must be given strictly as in the citizen's passport of Kazakhstan, so that the data matches the application form on the university's portal. If in the application form you gave the Latin spelling according to the citizen's passport of Kazakhstan, and in the translation it differs by at least one letter or the order of words, the documents may not be accepted and you may be asked to redo the translation.

The second block of information that foreign universities look at is the supplement with subjects and grades. That is why the supplement is translated together with the school certificate, and the name of the school and the period of study are rendered so that they read unambiguously. What is paid attention to when translating into English:

• the graduate's first name and surname — as in the citizen's passport of Kazakhstan, to match the university's application form;
• the name of the school and the year of completion — in a form readable for a foreigner;
• the supplement with the list of subjects and grades — in full, without omissions;
• signatures, seals and stamps — with an explanation of what exactly they certify.

Notarised copy of the school certificate and the translation attached to it

When a university abroad asks to confirm a school certificate, it needs not the document itself but a notarised copy of the certificate: the admissions committee works with a certified copy, while the original remains with the graduate. Parents who have sent their only certificate to another city or country then wait months for its return — that is precisely why the copy is certified separately from the original.

A notarised copy of the school certificate solves two tasks at once: it confirms that the copy corresponds word for word to the original that the notary has seen, and it allows the translation to be stitched to the copy. Stitching is not a formality: the notary sews together the pages of the translation and the certified copy, numbers them and secures them with a signature and seal, so that no page can be replaced or a grade substituted. The stitched set is accepted by universities, HR departments and nostrification authorities alike.

You can have a copy of the school certificate certified by a notary without a translation as well — this is convenient when the translation is ordered later or made in another country. If, however, the document is being prepared for admission, the copy and the translation are made together: that way they are immediately stitched into one set, and the university will not return the documents for revision. To avoid having to redo anything, check before your visit:

• the applicant's passport or identity card
• the original school certificate and the supplement with all grades
• the ready translation, if the notary does not make it himself
• the university's details: to whom and where the document is addressed

Having a school certificate certified by a notary: certification of a school certificate without translation

Sometimes no translation is required at all: you simply need to have the school certificate certified by a notary — that is, to certify that the copy is true. Such a notarised school certificate is accepted when the original is presented separately and the copy remains on file: the university, employer or HR department checks the data and files the paper.

Notarial certification of a school certificate is not the same as translation. The specialist compares the copy with the original, checks that the document shows no signs of forgery, and places a certification inscription in Kazakh or Russian. The point is simple: the content is confirmed, but the text remains in the original language — Kazakh or Russian.

If the document is needed by a foreign party, one copy is not enough. In that case, a notarised translation of the certificate is prepared: the translator drafts the text, and the notary certifies the authenticity of their signature — the notary certifies the accuracy of the translation itself only if they are fluent in both languages. The mistake is to order only certification of the certificate when both steps are required, and then have the documents rejected.

It is worth having a certificate notarised when you need to confirm that a copy is true without translating the text. A notarised translation is needed when the document is going abroad. Before ordering, check with the receiving party what exactly they expect from you: a certified copy or a translation with certification.

• for a personal file or a university archive within the country
• for the HR department when applying for a job
• when the receiving party explicitly asks for a certified copy
• if the original is presented separately and returned to its owner

Notarised translation of educational documents together with the certificate

If a college diploma, olympiad certificates or a school report are submitted alongside the certificate, it is worth translating them as one package. That way, first names, surnames, names of educational institutions and subjects are written identically across all documents. A discrepancy of even one letter or in word order may be treated by the admissions committee as a mismatch and they may ask for the translation to be redone.

Consistent spelling also matters because the translator is responsible for the accuracy of the translation of educational documents, while the notary only certifies the authenticity of their signature and does not check the text against the original. If a subject is named one way in the college diploma and another way in the certificate, the reviewer sees two different documents about the same thing. This is particularly noticeable in the transliteration of Kazakh names and in the names of schools and colleges in two languages.

The certificate is translated together with the transcript of grades: subject names, grades, final exams, notes on special achievements. A foreign certificate brought by a family from abroad is translated into Russian, preserving the structure of the form and the grading system of the issuing country. What is most often included in such a package:

A college diploma with a supplement stating the speciality and grades.

Certificates from olympiads, competitions and language exams.

A school report on studies and current grades.

A foreign certificate with a transcript of grades.

How subjects and grades are translated in a notarised translation of a certificate

Subjects in a Kazakhstan certificate do not always have direct equivalents abroad: "Kazakh language", "History of Kazakhstan", "Self-knowledge" will mean nothing to an admissions committee if transferred literally. Translators render such names by meaning and, if necessary, add a brief explanation of what the subject is about. That way the certificate can be read without further questions.

Grades are carried over into the translation line by line, checking every figure against the original: a missed line or a shift in the table is the most common reason for a document being returned. The five-point scale is not understood everywhere abroad, so at the university's request an explanation is added to the translation: what "5", "4" and "3" mean and how they relate to the local grading system. This is not a conversion of grades, but an explanation of them.

There is a limit the translator does not go beyond: they translate the document as it is and do not correct errors in the original — neither in a surname nor in a grade. If there is a typo in the certificate, it is corrected by the authority that issued the document, and only then is a new translation made. An attempt to "fix" an error in the translation will result in a discrepancy with the original, and the document will not be accepted.

• Line-by-line checking: subject, grade, total — everything as in the original
• An explanation of the grading scale is added at the university's request
• Errors in the original are corrected only by the issuing authority
• No "improvements" to grades or subject names in the translation

An explanation of the scale is added at the university's request; the translator does not correct errors in the original.

Apostille and notarised translation of a school certificate for universities in different countries

If the certificate is going to a country of the Hague Convention, the apostille is usually placed on the original before translation, and then the apostille stamp itself is translated — it becomes part of the notarised translation. For countries of the 1993 Minsk Convention and the 2002 Chisinau Convention that replaced it, an apostille is generally not required: documents are accepted without additional certification. So first find out from the university whether an apostille is needed, and only then order the translation.

Some countries accept only a translation done by their own sworn translator; Kazakhstan has no institution of sworn translators, so such a translation is ordered in the destination country — this is confirmed with the recipient before work begins, otherwise the finished translation will have to be redone. For recognition of school education in a number of European countries, nostrification is required, and the translation of the certificate for it is done into the official language of the country. Check the requirements in advance: each country and university has its own rules, and they may differ even within one region.

The procedure is as follows:

• check with the university or authority whether an apostille and a sworn translator's translation are required
• if necessary, have an apostille placed on the original certificate and its supplement — for education documents it is placed by the authorised body in the field of education, not by the justice authorities — for education documents it is placed by the authorised body in the field of education, not by the justice authorities — for education documents it is placed by the authorised body in the field of education, not by the justice authorities
• order a notarised translation together with the apostille stamp; if the receiving party requires it, an apostille is also placed on the finished notarised translation
• for nostrification — a translation into the official language of the country

Always confirm the exact list of requirements with the university or receiving authority itself.

The price of a notarial translation and certification of a school certificate: what it consists of

When people ask how much it costs to have a school certificate certified by a notary, the question about the price usually concerns the whole package: translation, certification of the translator's signature and copies. The cost is not made up of a single rate, but of the volume of work and the number of documents that reach the notary.

The main factor is the supplement with grades: the more subjects and lines, the more text to translate and certify. The target language also matters: English for admission is more common, but German, Korean or Turkish require a different specialist and more time for proofreading. Urgency also changes the order of work: if the documents are needed by the submission date, the translation and certification are done out of turn.

Copies are calculated separately. For several recipients, one translation and notarial copies of the translation are made — this is noticeably cheaper than ordering a new translation for each university, so it is worth saying straight away where and how many copies are needed. What affects the final payment:

• the volume of the supplement and the number of pages of the certificate
• the language into which the translation is made
• the number of notarial copies of the translation
• the urgency of production

A school certificate without the supplement with grades is almost always an incomplete document for a foreign university: both forms need to be translated and certified, and the apostille requirement depends on the country where you are applying.