Legalization of Documents Issued by Accredited Schools in the U.S.A

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LEGALIZATION OF DOCUMENTS ISSUED BY ACCREDITED SCHOOLS IN THE U.S.A.

For Education credentials and Degrees awarded in the US to be recognized in Italy and Europe, a STATEMENT OF VALUE ( “DICHIARAZIONE DI VALORE”) is needed. Statements of Value are issued by Consular Offices.

GENERAL INFORMATION

Processing time is approximately four to six weeks, if the documentation is complete.

All documents will be returned by regular mail. A prepaid, pre-addressed envelope must be enclosed in your application. Checks and overseas C.O.D. shipments ARE NOT ACCEPTED.

The documents will be returned only to the original Applicant.

The Applicant is in charge of contacting the Secretary of State to have his/her documents apostillated.

Statements of Value used for work or recognition of professional credentials in Italy are subject to a fee. Fees are adjusted every quarter due to the Euro/US Dollar exchange rate fluctuations.

Only authentic school/ academic documents issued by the school/academic institution and legalized with the Apostille of the Secretary of State are accepted and must be accompanied by a word-for-word accurate translation into Italian.

No certified translation is needed. The applicant can execute the translation him/herself.

A Consular clerk will run the accuracy check prior to legalization.

IMPORTANT

The Italian education system does not accept school/academic documents mailed directly from the issuing American school/university in sealed envelopes as proof of authenticity.

The Italian Government and its agencies comply with the Hague Convention of October 5, 1961 (approved by the United States of America on October 15, 1981) that requires documents originating in a participating country be accompanied by the Apostille of the Secretary of State to satisfy the requirement of authenticity. The Apostille certifies that the signatures of officials appearing on the original document are true and legitimate.

Original school/academic documents (i.e.: Final Report Card, High School Graduation Diploma, High School Transcript, Bachelor of Art Degree, Bachelor of Science Degree, Master’s Degree, Ph.D., Academic Transcripts) MUST bear the signature of the Registrar or any other School/University authority in charge of student records and the acknowledgment of such signature by a Notary Public. SELF NOTARIZED PHOTOCOPIES WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED.

ONLY AFTER the Notary Public has acknowledged the signature of the school official on the original document, the Apostille seal can be obtained from the Secretary of State.

ISSUANCE OF STATEMENT OF VALUE

To obtain a Statement of Value for Education credentials and Degrees, please follow the instructions below:

1.PRIMARY SCHOOL (K-8)

The student’s legal guardian/parent must send to this Office a cover letter with their request, together with the following:

-the original school report card, signed by the principal or keeper of records. The “Apostille” seal of the Secretary of State legalizing the signature of the above-mentioned school officialMUST be attached to the report card (in order to obtain an Apostille on a document, the school official’s signature must be acknowledged by a notary public).

-Word-for-word Italian translation of the report card. The translation must be complete and accurate. Handwritten translations will not be accepted.

Translations of transcripts must show the grades exactly as they are on the originals (A, B, C, etc.).Translations by the applicants can be accepted. Legalization of translations will be executed after accuracy check by the Consular Office.

-A copy of the applicant’s passport (and his/her legal guardian’s if the applicant is a minor)

-A prepaid, pre- addressed envelope must be enclosed in your application bundle.

-Please note that checks and overseas C.O.D. shipments are NOT accepted.

2.HIGH SCHOOL (GRADES 9 TO 12) (only for US residents, NOT for Italian exchange students)

Application form for Statement of Value, duly filled out together with the following:

-Authentic “official transcript”, signed by the principal, counselor or keeper of records.

The “Apostille” of the Secretary of State legalizing the signature of the above-mentioned school officialMUST be attached to it(in order to obtain an Apostille on a document, the school official’s signature must be acknowledged by a notary public).

-Original “diploma” degree duly signed by the principal, counselor or keeper of records.

the “Apostille” seal of the Secretary of State MUST be attached to it(as above);

-Word-for-word Italian translation of all of the documents. The translation must be complete and accurate. Handwritten translations will NOT be accepted. Translations of transcripts must show the grades exactly as they are on the originals (A, B, C, etc.).

-A copy of the applicant’s passport (and his/her legal guardian’s if the applicant is a minor)

-A prepaid, pre- addressed envelope must be enclosed in your application bundle. Please note that checks and overseas C.O.D. shipments are NOT accepted.

3. HIGH SCHOOL(Italian Exchange Student)

PLEASE REMEMBER: YOUR DOCUMENTATION MUST BE LEGALIZED AND FINALIZED BEFORE YOU LEAVE THE JURISDICTION OF SAN FRANCISCO

Documents needed:

Application form for Statement of Value, duly filled out together with the following:

-Authentic “official transcript”, signed by the principal, counselor or keeper of records.

The “Apostille” of the Secretary of State legalizing the signature of the above-mentioned school official MUST be attached to it (in order to obtain an Apostille on a document, the school official’s signature must be acknowledged by a notary public). The official transcript must bear the date of start and end of the program as well as the grading system adopted by the school.

-a letter from the exchange program Association, acknowledging the applicant’s participation to the exchange program,

-Word-for-word Italian translation of all of the documents above. The translation must be complete,accurate and formatted as the original transcript. Handwritten translations will NOT be accepted.Translations of transcripts must show the grades exactly as they are on the originals (A, B, C, etc.).

-A copy of the applicant’s passport (and his/her legal guardian’s if the applicant is a minor)

-A prepaid, pre-addressed envelope must be enclosed in your application bundle. Please note that checks and overseas C.O.D. shipments are NOT accepted.

-International vouchers in lieu of stamps are NOT accepted.

-The Education Office of the Consulate of Italy is not responsible for shipping the school documents to Italy.

4.COLLEGE – UNIVERSITY (ASSOCIATE – BACHELOR – MASTER – Ph.D)

Documents needed:

NOTE: PHOTOCOPIES ARE NOT ACCEPTED.

Application form for a Statement of Value, duly filled outtogether with the following:

-original “official Transcript”, signed by the university/collegeauthorities or keeper of records and duly acknowledged by a notary public. The “Apostille” of the Secretary of State MUST be attached to the transcript.

-original Diploma, signed by the university keeper of records and duly acknowledged by the notary public. The “Apostille” of the Secretary of State MUST be attached to the original Diploma.

-Word-for-word Italian translation of the above-mentioned documents. The translation must be complete and accurate. Handwritten translations are NOT accepted. The terms “Associate Degree” “Bachelor”, “Master” and “PhD’s “ MUST remain in their originalform.

-For DOCTORAL DEGREES (Ph.D., EDs ) the Applicant must also submit the University admission criteria to the school’s Ph.D. program, minimum and maximum duration of the program, graduation requirements (Dissertation requirements, publication of research work, etc.);

a)ASSOCIATE DEGREE or a BACHELOR, you have to provide us with: original Transcript and original High School Diploma (see instructions on the above page under the section High School). If the Diploma has been achieved outside the San Francisco consular jurisdiction, a declaration of value must be obtained through the competent Consulate;

b)MASTER, you have to provide us with: original Transcript with the Apostille, original BA/BS Diploma with the Apostille (in both cases, in order to obtain an Apostille on a document, the school official’s signature must be authenticated by a notary public) and Italian translation of all the documents. If the Diploma has been achieved outside the San Francisco consular jurisdiction, a declaration of value must be obtained through the competent Consulate.

-A prepaid, pre- addressed envelope must be enclosed in your application bundle.

-Please note that checks and overseas C.O.D. shipments are NOT accepted.

* In order to obtain an “Apostille” on a document, the school’s Authority signature must first be acknowledgedand legalized by a notary public.

NOTARIZED PHOTOCOPIES SIGNED BY THE APPLICANT HIM/HERSELF, HIS/HER PROXY, A LEGAL GUARDIAN OR ANYONE OTHER THAN THE SCHOOL’S REGISTRAR OR KEEPER OF RECORDS ARE NOT ACCEPTED.

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