You are required to authenticate any copies of original documents submitted to the Council for the purpose of registration. Documents in English may be authenticated by having them *certified. Documents in any language other than English must be translated into English and **notarised. See below for requirements for certification and notarising documents.

Documents that are authenticated incorrectly will not be accepted, and this may cause a delay in your application to register. Follow the below instructions for information on how to correctly certify and notarise your documents.

*Certified

A Certified copy means a copy of a document with an endorsement (signature, stamp and date) on the actual copy which states that an appropriate person has seen the original document and certifies that the copy of that document is a true copy of the original. The copy must be certified by an independent person other than the applicant, ie a Solicitor, a Garda Siochana etc, and–

(a) in the case of a document proving identity (birth certificate or current passport), means a copy of such document certified by a member of An Garda Síochána, a Peace Commissioner, a solicitor or a Commissioner for Oaths, with an original clearly legible stamp affixed on the copy;

(b) in the case of a transcript, parchment, diploma supplement, course handbook or course related documentation, means a copy of such document certified by a member of An Garda Síochána, a Peace Commissioner, a solicitor, a Commissioner for Oaths or registrar’s or registry office of the higher education institution, college or university where the qualification in question was awarded (copies of parchments that are provided along with original transcripts do not need to be certified), and;

(c) in the case of a transcript or statement of results that has been printed from an internet student portal, means a copy of such document stamped by the registrar’s or registry office of the college or university where the qualification in question was awarded;

**Notarised

If your original qualification and transcripts were produced in a language other than English, then you are required to provide notarised translations of these documents in your application for registration. If your original qualification and transcripts were issued by an authority or body outside of Ireland, then you are also required to provide notarised translations of these documents in your application for registration. A notarised document is one that has been authenticated by a notary public. A notary public is a public officer who serves the public in non-contentious matters usually concerned with foreign or international documents. Documents notarised by a notary public are acceptable for use internationally.

A notary public must certify with a seal/apostille the execution in their presence of the authentication of a document. When you meet a notary, you will be required to prove your identity and place of residence. A notary public may only notarise documents in the country where their principal office is located, as appointed, for example in Ireland, a Notary Public is appointed by the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Ireland, for a specific geographical location, ie Dublin, Meath, Wicklow etc.

Further information on finding a notary public in Ireland is available on website http://www.notarypublic.ie/, and in greater Europe on https://notaries-europe.com/.

For further information on how to correctly certify your registration documents, please click on the links below:

How to correctly certify an ID (Passport or Drivers Licence)

How to correctly certify a transcript

How to correctly certify a qualification

How to correctly notarise a document issued outside of Ireland