How To Legalise Your TEFL Certificate [2024]

Legalisation is the way of proving to institutes and foreign governments that your qualifications are the real deal. It might sound like an overwhelming experience, but the process itself is fairly straightforward although potentially time-consuming.

Legalising your TEFL certificate shows your future employers that your certificate is a legitimate TEFL qualification.

There are a number of steps involved in legalising your TEFL certificate. These steps are crucial when it comes to applying for TEFL jobs, no matter where those jobs might be.

Let’s look at exactly how you can legalise your TEFL certificate.

1. Check where to legalise your certification

The first step is to check where you can legalise your TEFL certification. 

Governments and local embassies

In most instances, documents need to be legalised in the country they were initially issued in. 

For example, The TEFL Academy is based and registered in the UK so if you do a TEFL course through us (and why wouldn’t you?) you need to legalise your TEFL certificate through the UK Government. 

If you would like this entire process to be handled by someone else (lets be honest it will certainly be easier), then we recommend you use an apostille service. We have negotiated discounted rates with service providers, so please follow this link to find out more about the services available: https://apostille.org.uk/tefl-academy-legalisation

Some local embassies around the world may offer a legalisation service. However, this is becoming increasingly rare.

If your TEFL course was done through another company in another country, you need to have your certificate legalised in that country.

2. Getting your documents certified

The next step is to apply to get your documents certified.

Notary public or solicitor approval

Getting your documents certified means having  a solicitor or notary public certify it is genuine. A quick Google search for ‘notary public + your local town’ should yield all the nearby options for you. You’ll then be advised on what documents are required to certify your course qualification.

3. Application to legalise your TEFL certification

Once your TEFL qualification has been certified, you’re ready to move forward on to the process of getting it legalised. 

Documents needed for an application

Before getting started, you may need the following: 

• Credit/Debit card details
• Access to a printer
• Return address

You can then visit www.gov.uk/get-document-legalised and follow the simple steps on your screen. Once those have been completed, you will need to send your confirmed order page and proof of payment (currently £30 excluding postage or courier fees) and certified TEFL certificate to your Legislation Office. 

You can also follow this link to find out more about the discounted services available: https://apostille.org.uk/tefl-academy-legalisation

4. Receiving your apostille certificate

It can take anywhere between 2 – 10 business days for the Legislation Office to process your documents. In other words, you might need to wait a couple of weeks to see your TEFL certificate again. 

Once it is returned to you, it should come with a stamped official certificate called an apostille. This is proof that your certified TEFL certification has gone through the full legal process. 

What is an apostille TEFL certificate?

An apostille is a stamped official certificate which is  accepted as a valid form of legal identification in any country or nation state that has signed up to Convention 12 of the Hague Conference.

If the country you are looking to teach English abroad in isn’t included in that, you will need to pass all of your legalised documents on to the local embassy or consulate. You may be required to do it in-person, but check to see if posting it is also an option.

With a legalised TEFL certificate, you are free to apply for whichever TEFL job tickles your fancy.

Note: You might need to legalise or certify your university degree and criminal background check, but this is not always necessary. This needs to be done in the country they were issued.

To certify your documents means copies of the original are signed and stamped as copies of a genuine document. In some countries, you can only have your documents notarised by a Notary Public. In other countries, a lawyer, bank, doctor, accountant or police officer can do this for you.

If this all sounds like a lot and you would like this entire process to be handled by someone else (and let’s be honest, it will certainly be easier), then we recommend you use an apostille service. We have negotiated discounted rates with service providers, so please follow this link to find out more about the services available: https://apostille.org.uk/tefl-academy-legalisation

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