Apostille / Legalization

It should be remembered that higher education diplomas and maturity certificates obtained outside the Polish, excluding:

IB (International Baccalaureate) diplomas issued by the International Baccalaureate Organization in Geneva,
EB (European Baccalaureate) diplomas issued by the European Schools in accordance with the Convention Defining the Stature of the European Schools, done in Luxembourg

must be accompanied by a document:

apostille - if the issuing country is covered by the Convention abolishing the requirement of legalisation of foreign public documents drawn up in The Hague on 5 October 1961 (Journal of Laws of 2005 No. 112, item 938), legalization - in other cases.

Apostille

is a certification under the Hague Convention of 1961 certifying documents for use in foreign countries
it is a certificate of authenticity of the document
it is a certificate of conformity attached to another document so that it can be used abroad
certify the authenticity of the signature, the capacity in which the signatory acts and, if necessary, the identity of the stamp or stamp affixed to the document.

In most European countries the authority formally issuing the apostille is:

Ministries of Foreign Affairs of the country concerned, which delegate the broadcasting of apostille to local offices in order to facilitate accessibility.

Legalization

certification of foreign public documents intended for legal circulation in Poland in the event that the country in which the document was issued is not a party to the Hague Convention (Convention abolishing the requirement of legalisation of foreign public documents, signed in The Hague on 5 October 1961)
the legalization should be done by a consul of the Republic of Poland appointed for the state on whose territory or in whose educational system the certificate was issued
the consular officer shall legalise the document by establishing the legality of the document of the place of issue.

If you are a holder of a document issued in one of the following countries, you should:
contact one of the institutions authorized to issue an Apostille:	legalize them in the Polish Consulate:
Albania Andorra Antigua and Barbuda Argentina Armenia Australia Austria Azerbaijan Bahamas Bahrain Barbados Belarus Belgium Belize Bolivia Bosnia and Herzegovina Botswana Brazil Brunei Bulgaria Burundi Canada Cape Verde China Chile Colombia Cook Islands Costa Rica Croatia Cyprus Czech Republic Denmark Dominica Dominican Republic Ecuador El Salvador Eswatini Estonia Fiji Finland France Georgia Germany Greece Grenada Guatemala Guyana Honduras Hungary Iceland India Indonesia Irleand Israel Italy Jamaica Japan Kazakhstan Kosovo Kyrgyzstan Latvia Lesotho Liberia Liechtenstein Lithuania Luxembourg Malawi Malta Marshall Islands Mauritius Mexico Monaco Mongolia Montenegro Morocco Namibia Netherlands New Zealand Nicaragua Niue Norway North Macedonia Oman Pakistan Palau Panama Paraguay Peru Philippines Portugal Republic of Korea Republic of Moldova Romania Russian Federation Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Samoa San Marino Sao Tome and Principe Saudi Arabia Senegal Serbia Seychelles Singapore Slovakia Slovenia South Africa Spain Suriname Sweden Switzerland Tajikistan Tonga Trinidad and Tobago Tunisia Turkey Ukraine United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland United States of America Uruguay Uzbekistan Vanuatu Venezuela	Afghanistan Algeria Angola Bangladesh Benin Bhutan Cambodia Cameroon Central African Republic Chad Congo Cuba Egypt Ethiopia Gambia Ghana Haiti Iraq Iran Ivory Coast Jordan Kenya Kuwait Laos Lebanon Libya Madagascar Malaysia Mauritania Mozambique Nepal Niger Nigeria Palestine Papua New Guinea, Qatar Rwanda Somalia Sri Lanka Sudan Syria Taiwan Thailand Tanzania Togo Turkmenistan Uganda Viet Nam Zambia Zimbabwe U.A.E. Yemen
The list of countries – parties to the convention and addresses of institutions issuing the apostille can be found - here.	The list of Polish diplomatic missions abroad is available on the website of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.