How to Get an Apostille on a Polish University Diploma and Transcript

If you graduated from a Polish university and plan to work or continue your studies abroad, foreign employers and academic institutions will not accept your degree at face value. To make your Polish higher education credentials legally valid overseas, you must secure an Apostille from the Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MSZ).

However, legalizing academic documents in Poland requires a mandatory preliminary step that applicants frequently miss, resulting in application rejections.

What is the NAWA Prerequisite?

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MSZ) does not verify university degrees directly. Before the MSZ will affix an Apostille to your diploma, the document must first be authenticated by NAWA (The Polish National Agency for Academic Exchange).

If you submit a university document directly to the MSZ without a NAWA certification seal, it will be immediately rejected.

Original Diplomas vs. Notarized Copies

A common misconception is that you can get an Apostille on a notarized photocopy to avoid sending your original diploma in the mail. This is false.

Document Type	Eligible for NAWA & MSZ Apostille?	Reason
Original Physical Diploma	Yes	Verifies the signature of the university official (Dean/Rector).
Official University Duplicate (Odpis)	Yes	Issued directly by the university with wet ink signatures.
Notarized Photocopy	No	A notary only confirms the copy matches the original, not the degree’s validity.

The Step-by-Step Legalization Process

Step 1: NAWA Authentication:Takes 2 to 3 weeks via the SYRENA system.

Submit your original diploma and transcript to the National Agency for Academic Exchange (NAWA) in Warsaw. NAWA verifies the authenticity of the university seals and signatures.

Step 2: MSZ Apostille:60 PLN state fee per document.

Once NAWA attaches their certification, the document is submitted to the MSZ Legalization Department in Warsaw. Standard processing takes 2 to 4 working days.

Step 3: Sworn Translation:Translate only after the Apostille is attached.

Foreign authorities require the Apostille sticker itself to be translated. Hire a Polish Sworn Translator to translate the entire finalized document into the target language.

Need this processed remotely? Sworn Translator Warsaw manages the entire NAWA and MSZ pipeline on your behalf, so you do not need to travel to Warsaw.