Certification Service

The British Council in Singapore provides just the certification service, which confirms that the photocopy is a true copy of the original document. Do note that the British Council does not accept any responsibility for confirming the authenticity of the original document, as is required for legal processes, which includes verification, legalisation, work permit and visa application.

At the moment we do not provide verification and legalisation service.

When applying to a UK institution, these institutions would usually request for original versions of the academic documents. Applicants, who are concerned in sending the original academic documents via international mail, may wish to use our service to provide institutions with certified true photocopies instead.

Our service could also be used by those who are using their UK academic documents to apply to a non-UK institution. However, before making an appointment with us, do check that the institution you are applying to is agreeable to have British Council certify your document. As we do not check the authenticity of the original document presented to us, our service may not meet the institution’s requirement.

This service is only available by appointment made with the signatory.

To have your documents certified, please follow these steps.

Step 1: Email us at contact@britishcouncil.org.sg to schedule an appointment, at least three working days in advance.
Please wait for an email to confirm or propose a substitute date.

Step 2: Print and complete the Certification Request Form.

Step 3: Bring the following to the Napier Road Centre at the scheduled time:

Your original documents*^
Completed Certification Request Form
Copies of the documents to be certified, printed on a single side of the paper
Payment of S$4 (inclusive of GST) per single-sided copy

Step 4: Payment to be made immediately to the cashier, after the certification process is completed. Acceptable mode of payment: cheque, cash, nets and credit cards.
While receipt will not be automatically issued, you can ask for one from the service staff.

*If the original document is not in English, please provide the original notarial translation in English.

^Please take note of the list of documents that cannot be certified.

What are the documents that cannot be certified?

British Council Singapore cannot certify documents that are not in English. In addition, the following are not eligible for this service too:

International English Language Testing System (IELTS) Test Report
Occupational English Test (OET) certificate
Passports or Identity documents
Marriage certificates
Photocopies or Certified Photocopies of documents
Scanned images of documents
Non-academic documents
Documents for submission to The Royal College of Surgeons of England
For those applying for the MRCS qualification, the attestation will be done by the Examinations Department at the British Council. Please email sgexamteam@britishcouncil.org.sg to schedule your appointment.
Documents that requires to be verified for authenticity
Documents for legalisation process
Legalisation of British documents can only be provided by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office's Legalisation team in the UK. The British High Commission in Singapore has also provided guidance on their website.

The British Council also reserves the right to reject certification of any document if the programme or institution is not recognised by the UK education board, if the document is found to be too old, altered or defaced in any way or if there is any question regarding the originality of the document.

If you have further queries, please contact us.

What is the difference between certification, verification and legalisation?

Please see below for an explanation for the difference between the three terms.

Certification: Certification is confirmation that a photocopy is a true copy of an original document. The British Council will not be responsible for confirming the authenticity of the original certificate.

As such, other then, application for further studies, our certification services may not be suitable for documents to be submitted for verification / legalisation / work permit / visa processes.

If you require documents for these processes, do visit this website for assistance.

Verification: Verification is the process of ensuring that original documents are genuine. The verifying authority is confirming the validity of the document to the person/organisation relying on the verified document (e.g. an employer, an educational institution, etc.).

If you need this, it is best to write directly to the awarding institution so they can provide a letter to confirm the qualification or student record.

Legalisation: Legalisation is the official confirmation that a signature, seal or stamp on a public document is genuine.

Legalisation of British documents can only be done by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office’s Legalisation team in the UK.

Legalisation is usually required by foreign authorities before they will allow a UK document to be used for official purposes in their country, but it does not certify the authenticity of a document or give Foreign and Commonwealth Office approval of its content.

If you require this service, do visit this website for the list of notary available in Singapore.

If you have further queries, please contact us.

Please read our Fair Collection Notice.

The British Council will require your original documents to provide this service. We will hold these securely until the service is complete and the documents can be returned to you. We will retain a copy for our records. We will also record your name, type of document, the date of transaction and any other relevant details for our records. This will be kept securely and will not be provided to any other parties unless we are legally required to do so.

British Council Singapore Singapore