HARVARD COLLEGE · FACULTY OF ARTS AND SCIENCES
Harvard College and FAS Diploma and Transcript Apostilles
Apostilles for Harvard College and Faculty of Arts and Sciences diplomas and transcripts. The FAS Registrar notarizes documents and helps with apostilles, but it can take weeks. When your deadline is close, we're the expedited alternative.
ACADEMIC APOSTILLE
1–2 business days
A personalized quote for every request
- Expedited alternative to a weeks-long process
- Pickup with your letter of authorization
- Certified translation if required
- Worldwide shipping with tracking
Harvard College and FAS's process, explained
Records at FAS
Harvard College and FAS graduate program records are held by the FAS Registrar, not the professional schools.
Notarization available
The FAS Registrar notarizes documents for apostilles.
Apostille assistance
The Registrar helps with the apostille step, but the full process can take weeks.
Our expedited option
We pick up, hand-file and ship, or use the certified-copy route when it's accepted.
FROM INSIDE HARVARD
Founded by a former Harvard leader
Our founder spent nearly two decades on Harvard’s administrative leadership team as Director of Administration and Operations and Assistant Director of Finance, overseeing academic units and international centers. That work meant supporting international students, visiting scholars and faculty working abroad, and managing the documentation, compliance and deadlines their programs depended on. She knows how each of Harvard’s decentralized offices handles its records, so your Harvard College documents are requested, notarized and authenticated correctly the first time.
How Harvard College and FAS documents work
Harvard College and FAS graduate programs keep their records with the FAS Registrar's Office, separate from Harvard's professional schools. The Registrar notarizes documents and assists with apostilles, which is a real help, but the process can take weeks from request to finished apostille.
For many graduates, weeks is too long. When you're facing a visa appointment, a job start date or an enrollment deadline, we offer a faster route: we collect your notarized documents and file them in person in Boston, or, where the recipient accepts it, notarize a certified copy and get the apostille in 1–2 business days.
Why Harvard is different
Harvard isn't one registrar. It's a decentralized university where each school keeps its own records, runs its own registrar's office and sets its own rules for transcripts, diplomas and notarization. What works at one Harvard school can be the wrong request at another, and that's where most delays come from.
Our founder spent nearly two decades on Harvard's administrative leadership team, overseeing academic units and international centers. We know how its schools' offices work, which office holds which record, and how to ask for the right document the first time. At Harvard College, that means knowing when the FAS Registrar's route will meet your deadline, and when you need the faster one.
Out of state or abroad? You don't need to be here. When your recipient requires the school to certify your record, it's the school official who signs before the notary, not you, and we process the record with the school directly. So you don't need to come to Boston or appear before a notary. We coordinate everything with the registrar, using your signed letter of authorization when the school requires one, and ship the finished documents to you anywhere in the world. See our sample letter of authorization.
What we handle
Diplomas, official transcripts, enrollment and degree verification letters, and certified translations for countries that require them.
Turnaround and pricing
1–2 business days for the Massachusetts apostille once your document is ready. Every request is a little different, so we provide a personalized quote for each one. Get Your Quote
How we make it faster
A faster alternative to Harvard's process
For time-sensitive requests, tell us your deadline and we'll tell you honestly which route gets you there.
When the timeline is too long
The FAS Registrar notarizes documents and helps with apostilles, but it can take weeks. When your visa appointment, job start or enrollment deadline is close, we're the expedited option.
We pick up and hand-file
With your signed letter of authorization, we collect your notarized documents from the school and file them in person with the Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth. No mailing back and forth.
The certified-copy route
Where the recipient accepts it, we can notarize a certified copy of your academic record and get the Massachusetts apostille in 1–2 business days. Please confirm with the recipient first.
Everything else in the same order
Certified translation, embassy legalization for non-Hague countries and tracked worldwide delivery.
Harvard College and FAS graduates we help most
Fulbright, Rhodes and Marshall scholars
Records for scholarships, fellowships and graduate study abroad.
Graduate study and research
Transcripts and diplomas for universities overseas.
Work visas and international careers
Degrees for employers and immigration offices abroad. See Moving Abroad for Work.
Teaching abroad
Degrees for teaching programs overseas, often with an FBI background check. See Teach Abroad Packets.
How your Harvard College record gets notarized
Massachusetts will apostille an academic record notarized with any of its four notarial acts: acknowledgment, jurat (affidavit), signature witnessing or copy certification. Which one you need is usually set by whoever receives your documents, so we confirm their requirements before we start.
School official acknowledgment
A Harvard College official signs your diploma, transcript or verification letter before the notary, and the notarial certificate names the official, their title and the school. Ministries of education and universities abroad often require this.
School official affidavit
The Harvard College Registrar signs a separate sworn statement confirming your graduation and that the attached records match the school's files, and the notary notarizes it. Spain's Ministry of Education, for example, accepts only this or an acknowledgment. See our Spain guide.
Certified copy, only if your recipient accepts it
As the owner of your diploma, you present the original and we notarize a certified copy, then get the apostille in 1–2 business days. Many recipients won't accept a copy certification, so please confirm with yours first.
Prepared right the first time
We coordinate with the Harvard College Registrar, prepare the notarial certificate with the details your recipient requires, and file with the Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth. For the school-certified routes, you don't need to come to Boston.
Which documents will you need?
The receiving office decides. If its instructions aren't clear, send them to us and we'll tell you which documents to order.
Diploma only
Many employers and some visa offices ask only for the degree.
Transcript only
Licensing bodies and graduate programs often want the full academic record.
Diploma and transcript
Common in Europe and for professional registration. Each document gets its own apostille.
Verification letter
Some recipients accept a Registrar's letter confirming your degree, which can be apostilled once it's signed and notarized.
Mistakes Harvard College and FAS graduates avoid
- Starting too late. The school's process can take weeks. Tell us your deadline first.
- Ordering from the wrong Harvard office. College and FAS records come from the FAS Registrar, not a professional school.
- Forgetting the letter of authorization. We need it to collect documents on your behalf.
- Skipping the translation question. Some countries want the documents and the apostille translated.
Other Harvard schools, other processes
Same university, different offices. Here's how the schools we handle most often compare.
Harvard Medical School
No onsite notary. We meet with the Registrar to notarize a certified copy of your diploma. See Harvard Medical School.
Harvard Law School
Has a notary, and requires a letter of authorization before we can pick up your documents. See Harvard Law School.
Harvard Extension School
Notarizes transcripts and verification letters, but not diplomas. See Harvard Extension School.
What to have ready
- Your degree, graduation year and your name as it appears on the record
- Which documents you need: diploma, transcript, verification letter or all three
- The destination country and the office, school or employer that will receive them
- Their written instructions, if they gave you any
- Whether you need a certified translation
- Your deadline and where the finished documents should go
Official sources
- Harvard FAS Registrar's Office
- Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth: apostille and certification information
- Hague Conference: list of Apostille Convention countries
Each registrar sets its own forms, timelines and fees, and can change them at any time. We link to official pages so you can check the current process yourself.
Near Harvard College and FAS
Frequently asked questions
Does Harvard College notarize documents for apostilles?
Yes. The FAS Registrar notarizes documents and assists with apostilles, but it can take weeks. We're the expedited option when you can't wait.
How are you faster?
We collect your notarized documents with your letter of authorization and file them in person in Boston instead of by mail. Where the recipient accepts a certified copy, we can notarize it and get the apostille in 1–2 business days.
Can I get my Harvard College diploma apostilled?
Yes. A diploma has to be notarized before the Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth will apostille it. Massachusetts accepts any of its four notarial acts, but many recipients require the school to certify the record, so we confirm what yours needs first. We confirm the version your destination accepts and handle the apostille and return shipping.
Should I mail my original diploma?
Usually not. Many graduates order a replacement diploma or an official copy for the apostille so the original stays safe. Ask us before ordering.
Do I need a certified translation too?
Some countries require one. We can include a certified translation in the same order.
I live outside Massachusetts. Can you still help?
Yes. Massachusetts school records are apostilled in Massachusetts, and we handle it by mail and ship the finished documents anywhere in the world.
Can my digital or electronic diploma be apostilled?
Usually not as it is. A certified electronic diploma is a secure file that the recipient verifies online, and some recipients accept it directly, so ask them first. For an apostille, Massachusetts needs a notarized paper document: usually a notarized copy of your diploma, a notarized transcript or a notarized degree verification letter. Tell us what your recipient asked for and we’ll confirm the right route.
Need your Harvard College and FAS documents apostilled?
Tell us where they're going, and we'll confirm every step.