Apostilles & Certifications

Students and alumni who wish to study or work outside of the United States may be required to have their educational credentials validated through the Apostille or certification process. We offer several options for satisfying this requirement. If you are unsure which document(s) are needed, you should check with the requestor.

Countries who require documentation that are not members of the Hague Apostille Convention, may require further validation. For details, please refer to the U.S. Department of State site.

It is the responsibility of the requestor to determine what level of validation is needed and how to obtain it.

• Certificate of Graduation

  Degree Certificates are printed on official letterhead, signed by the Registrar, and certify the degree and date awarded. If necessary, we can add information to the certificate, such as a statement that classes were conducted in English. These documents are free of charge and can be produced quickly.

• Academic Transcript

  Your transcript lists all the subjects you have completed and the grades received. It also includes your GPA and degree received. 

• Copy of Diploma

  Williams does not keep copies of diplomas on file.

  In order to issue a notarized diploma, please mail us your diploma to photocopy and notarize. We will send the diploma back to you free of charge.

• Diploma Translation

  We can provide a translation of the diploma from Latin to English printed on official letterhead with the Williams College seal.

Once you have chosen which document(s) you need, you should review the Commonwealth of Massachusetts’ information on Apostilles and Certifications of Documents.

Request Documentation

• Step-by-Step Guide

  1. Choose which of our documents you would like to have certified—you may choose more than one.

  2. Send us a written request specifying which documents you need and that they are to be notarized and prepared for the Apostille. We will notarize the documents free of charge.

  3. After we produce the documents, you will need to have them forwarded to the Secretary of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, according to their instructions.

  4. To follow the instructions of the Commonwealth, you will need to include the following in the request you send to us:

  • A letter addressed to the Commonwealth requesting the Apostille and instructions on how they are to return the documents to you; be sure to note the country of destination.
  • A prepaid envelope for them to return the documents to you.
  • A check to cover the fee for the Apostille; the cost is $6.00 per document being certified.

  5. You can mail all of the above to:

  Registrar’s Office
  Williams College
  PO Box 696
  Williamstown, MA 01267

  6. We will forward the notarized documents, letter for the Commonwealth, prepaid envelope, and payment according to instructions you provide in your request.

Questions?

Email Angela Copeland or call 413-597-4286.