Frequently, students and alumni need internationally certified copies of a diploma, transcript, academic certification, or other official document.
To certify these documents for official use internationally, Brooklyn College and other institutions rely on the New York State Department of State. The Department of State issues a Certificate of Authentication in the name of the State of New York for any public document submitted to it. This is also known as the Apostille process and several steps are involved.
There is no cost for this service at Brooklyn College; however, there may be additional costs at the local and state level for verifying documents.
- Your Brooklyn College document(s) must first be certified as genuine by an official in the Office of the Registrar (306 West Quad Center), and the signature of that official must be notarized by a notary on campus. There is no fee for this service.
- To request that your transcript and/or diploma be notarized, please send an email to registrar@brooklyn.cuny.edu along with a copy of your photo ID. In this email, you must specify the documents that need to be notarized (e.g., transcript, diploma, or both) and how you would like the documents returned to you (mailed or picked up). A representative from the Office of the Registrar will prepare your documents to be notarized. We will inform you when you can expect your documents to be notarized and will coordinate a date for you to pick up your documents or have them mailed to the requested address.
- Next, bring your document(s) to the Kings County Clerk’s Office at 360 Adams Street in Brooklyn, where the notarial signature must be authenticated. The Clerk’s office charges a small fee for this service. (Fees may be paid in cash, certified check, or bank/postal money order (payable to: Kings County Clerk)). For more information, please see: https://ww2.nycourts.gov/courts/2jd/kingsclerk/notary.shtml
- Then, arrange for the Department of State to complete the process. Make sure that steps one and two above are complete, or the Department of State will reject your document(s). The Department of State charges a small fee for this service. The Apostille/Certificate of Authentication Request Form, mailing address(es), and instructions for submitting your documents can be found here: For more information, please see: https://dos.ny.gov/apostille-or-certificate-authentication
- You may mail your documents to have them Apostilled via mail to the following addresses. Please note: If you utilize express services or next day ground services such as UPS, Federal Express, DHL, etc. you should use the physical address of the building.
- Apostille and Certification of Authentication documents may be dropped off for processing. Customers may provide prepaid envelopes for priority returns. Priority appointments based on travel plans within two weeks may be scheduled at our Albany or New York City customer service office. Walk-in service may be available by appointment only.