Diploma legalization

The legalization of your EPFL diploma by the authorities may be necessary e.g. for professional recognition procedures abroad. In most other cases, a copy certified by EPFL is sufficient.

To obtain legalization, when required, you must first submit your original EPFL diploma to the Student Services Desk, so that EPFL can place a stamp and the signature of an authorised person on your diploma (the préfecture de Lausanne and the Federal Chancellery accept to authentify diplomas on the basis of a simple certificate, but in such cases it may happen that the legalization will not be recognized by the administration requiring it).

Then, you must submit the diploma to the préfecture de Lausanne or to the Federal Chancellery (in Bern), who will authentify the stamp and signature from EPFL and either place an apostil on your diploma (The Hague Convention) and/or legalize the diploma, depending on what is required. For countries who have not signed the The Hague Convention, only the Federal Chancellery will be able to perform the final check to definitely validate the legalization.

Should you want EPFL to send your diploma directly to the préfecture de Lausanne, please enclose a letter to the préfecture when you submit your diploma to our desk. The letter must specify the country for which the legalization is required, as well as you full contact details (including postal address), so that the préfecture can return the diploma to you and send you their invoice. Without this letter, EPFL cannot send your diploma directly to the préfecture and will return it to you instead.