Authentication of U.S. Education Documents

Individuals regularly appear at Embassy Abu Dhabi and ask Post to authenticate educational documents from diploma mills and unaccredited institutions in the United States.  Third country nationals often submit these documents as UAE law requires them to provide evidence of their expertise and education in a particular field.   The authentication process only certifies “the genuineness of the signature and seal or the position of a foreign official” and does not verify the validity of the document.  However, the UAE government and local companies often presume that the Embassy seal is a verification of the document’s content and the subject’s qualifications. 

CA/OCS/PRI has confirmed that the Embassy is under no obligation to authenticate these documents bearing the seal of the Department of State.  UAE authorities often request that the U.S. Embassy authenticate the Department’s Seal and U.S. regulations allow us to do so at our discretion.   Per 7 FAM 873, “…diplomatic and consular officers at a U.S. diplomatic mission may certify the seal of the Department of State (but not the signature of the Secretary of State) if this is requested or required in particular cases by the national authorities of a foreign country.”

We therefore may refuse to authenticate a document on the grounds that such a document could be used to misrepresent an individual’s qualifications, particularly if it comes from a diploma mill or institution with suspect academic standards.  For this reason, the Embassy will no longer authenticate educational documents from U.S. institutions that are not accredited with one of the two main accreditation recognition bodies in the United States – The U.S. Department of Education and the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA).  In cases where we have doubts, Post should use either of the following databases to verify the accreditation of questionable schools in the United States:

• The U.S. Department of Education: http://www.ope.ed.gov/accreditation/Search.aspx
• Council for Higher Education Accreditation: http://www.chea.org/search/search.asp

US Document Authentication

We recommend that U.S. citizens authenticate their documents (especially educational certificates and marriage certificates) in the U.S. before coming to the U.A.E. Embassy personnel are unable to authenticate educational documents and civil registry documents that have not been first authenticated by the Department of State.

Documents issued in one country which need to be used in a foreign country, such as powers of attorney, affidavits, birth, death and marriages records, must be "authenticated" or "legalized" before they can be recognized as valid in the foreign country.  This is a process in which various seals are placed on the document. Such documents range from powers of attorney, affidavits, birth, death and marriages records, incorporation papers, deeds, patent applications, home studies and other legal papers.

If the document is for use in the United Arab Emirates, you must complete the "chain authentication process" in which a series of authorities will affix a succession of seals beginning with your document and ending with the seal of the U.S. Embassy in Abu Dhabi, UAE or the foreign Embassy/Consulate in the United States.  In general, UAE government agencies require a final seal from the U.S. Embassy.

HOW TO AUTHENTICATE A DOCUMENT

STEP ONE:  Obtain the document and complete the first authentication

Documents issued by educational institutions (college degrees, vocational/educational certificates, transcripts):

Documents issued by schools and colleges should be originals and be obtained from the educational institutions themselves. Most schools have notaries public to provide certified copies of the degrees or transcripts. Contact the school to determine how best to have your document authenticated by the state’s Secretary of State. In some cases, you may be required to bring the document to a county office for authentication, and then authenticated by the state’s Secretary of State. Please note that the U.S. Embassy in Abu Dhabi will not authenticate documents from educational institutions that are not recognized by the U.S. Department of Education or the Council for Higher Education Accreditation.

Note:  The UAE now has a process in the country for verification of college degrees for employment purposes.  However, in some professions (e.g. medical, educational) you are additionally required to present documents thru the “authentication chain”.  Check with your prospective UAE employer for the requirement.

Documents issued by a U.S. State:

State documents are those originating with a state court or agency (birth, death, marriage, etc.).  They must be authenticated by that state’s Secretary of State.  Contact them or send your original document or its certified copy for initial authentication of the town/county/state issuing officer.

Information on the offices of Secretaries of State for the U.S. states:

http://travel.state.gov/law/legal/treaty

www.statelocal.net

Notarized documents:

The procedure for authenticating documents executed before a notary public, such as affidavits or acknowledgments, varies from state to state. It is advisable to contact the state authentication authority to learn what steps are necessary between the notary seal and the state level authentication.

Documents issued by federal agencies:

If your document was issued under the seal of a federal agency, it does not require a state level authentication. You may skip directly to Step Two.

Documents issued by federal courts:

Documents issued under the seal of a federal court should be sent to

Justice Management Division, Security Program Staff

Physical Security Office, Room 6531

9th and Pennsylvania Avenue

Washington, D.C.  20530

Telephone: (202) 514-2314 or 514-4667

STEP TWO: Get your document authenticated by the U.S. Department of State Authentications Office

Once you have completed the state level authentication, you must get your document authenticated by the U.S. Department of State Authentications Office. There is a fee of $6.00 for each authentication. You may pay by a check drawn on a U.S. bank or a money order made payable to the Department of State.

Department of State Documents Authentication Office
518 23rd ST. N.W., SA-1, Columbia Plaza
Washington, D.C. 20520
Telephone: (202) 647-5002 or 1-800-688-9889, FAX: (202) 663-3636,

E-mail: aoprgsmauth@state.gov

http://www.state.gov. 

For additional information, call the Federal Information Center at 1-800-688-9889. Processing time for authentication requests sent by mail is five working days or less.

STEP THREE:  The final authentication

In the U.A.E. -- At the U.S. Embassy:  

If you are in the U.A.E., you may bring the chain of authenticated documents to the Embassy for the final authentication. The authentication costs US $30 (AED 111) per document and can be done during American Citizen Services hours. The Embassy can only authenticate the seal of the Secretary of State of the U.S. Department of State. As stated above, however, the Embassy will not authenticate documents from educational institutions that are not recognized by the U.S. Department of Education or the Council for Higher Education Accreditation.

In the U.S. – At the UAE Embassy: 

You may submit the chain of authentications to the UAE Embassy for their final authentication.  However, this step may be unnecessary.  In practice, UAE government agencies generally require a final seal from the U.S. Embassy on the chain.  They may accept the authentication from their Embassy, however, in certain circumstances.  You may contact them at:

The Embassy of the U.A.E.

3522 International Court, N.W.

Washington, D.C. 20037

Telephone: (202) 243-2400

http://uae-embassy.org/

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