Documents, translations and legalisation
This guide describes the documents a Bachelor's application often asks for, sworn translation in Morocco, and how a document is made valid abroad. It does not replace the official pages. Every statement links to its source, and anything we could not confirm is marked as to be checked.
The documents to gather
The list below gathers the items the destinations ask for most often. It is an overview. The list that counts is the one for the country and programme you choose.
- The bac certificate or the bac diploma.
- Transcripts from your secondary school years, or the full bac transcript.
- Birth certificate.
- Passport or national identity card.
- Identity photos in ICAO format.
- A language certificate.
- A motivation letter.
- Proof of funds or of financial support.
For a Campus France application, your identity document, your school history and diplomas, and a French certificate or a convocation to the exam, are asked for when you submit the file.
For France, files submitted from 1 August 2026 must include proof of funds of at least 877.50 EUR per month.
Sworn translation in Morocco
In Morocco, the official translation of a document is done by a sworn translator accredited to the courts.
Sworn translators accredited to the courts are listed by the ATAJ association, which is accredited by the Ministry of Justice of the Kingdom of Morocco. Only these translators are authorised to translate official, legal, school, university and administrative documents.
Translations made by these translators are printed on official green paper, with a green relief stamp at the bottom left of each sheet.
The King's Prosecutor authenticates the sworn translator's signature on translations meant for a State that is not a party to the Hague Convention.
The fee for sworn translation and the legal text that governs the profession could not be confirmed from an official source. This point is to be checked.
Morocco and the apostille
Morocco is a party to the Hague Convention of 5 October 1961, which removes the requirement of legalisation for foreign public documents between States parties.
Morocco acceded to the Hague Convention on 27 November 2015. The Convention entered into force for Morocco on 14 August 2016, which made Morocco the 110th Contracting State.
In the Conference status table, Morocco appears as a party, with a deposit on 27 November 2015 and entry into force on 14 August 2016. The deposit type shows that at least one other State raised an objection.
Germany raised an objection to Morocco's accession on 14 June 2016, under article 12, paragraph 2, of the Convention. On the information available, the Convention therefore does not operate between Germany and Morocco.
Morocco's apostille portal confirms the deposit of the accession instruments on 27 November 2015 and the entry into force of the Convention on 14 August 2016 between Morocco and its States parties.
Beyond the Convention, Morocco states that some foreign public documents are also exempt from legalisation under bilateral instruments, including a 1997 convention with Spain and a 1981 protocol with France.
The legalisation chain
There are two paths. If the destination is a party to the Convention with no objection and the document is public, a single apostille replaces the chain. Otherwise, and for documents that are not public, legalisation goes signature by signature up to the destination's consulate.
In Morocco, the apostille is issued by court officers for acts that come from a court or a judicial officer, and by local authorities at province or prefecture level for the other public documents.
Morocco's portal also names the Secretary General of the Ministry of Justice for acts of that ministry's central administration, and notaries for the acts they draw up.
The offices of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs legalise the signatures of public officials, of the authorities of the Ministries of the Interior and of Justice, and of the diplomatic agents and foreign consular officers accredited in Morocco.
- Have the document issued, or notarised if its nature requires it.
- Have the document translated by a sworn translator.
- Have the translator's signature authenticated by the King's Prosecutor when the destination is not a party to the Hague Convention.
- Have the relevant signatures legalised by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
- Have the document legalised last by the destination's consulate or embassy in Morocco.
Germany's embassy in Rabat notes that a translation is only asked for at legalisation if the consular officer does not read Arabic, the document's language, so it can be useful to have the document translated before legalisation.
What each destination asks for
Each country adds its own items and its own translation rule.
France
Both the application and the pre-consular stage run on the Études en France platform. Campus France Maroc is the only official point of contact recognised for these steps.
Unless exempt, the file asks for a French certificate or a convocation to the exam. The titles named are TCF TP, DELF B2 or DALF.
Germany
For Germany, uni-assist asks for diplomas in their original language, with a translation into German or English. Non-certified translations from an ordinary agency are not accepted.
For a Moroccan diploma, uni-assist asks for the bac transcript, and notes that the bac alone does not allow you to study directly in Germany.
Germany's objection to Morocco's accession matters for this country. It should be checked whether the objection has been withdrawn before treating an apostille as enough for Germany. This point is to be checked.
Netherlands
For the Netherlands, the institution decides, after consulting Nuffic on the value of the diploma.
According to Nuffic, Morocco's bac attestation corresponds to at least a Dutch HAVO diploma. The technical bac corresponds to a HAVO with vocational subjects.
For the Netherlands, whether the bac must be legalised or apostilled for Studielink or Nuffic, and which translation language is accepted, could not be confirmed on an official page. This point is to be checked.
Hungary
For Hungary, any document that cannot be provided in the language of the chosen programme or in Hungarian must be translated. The translation is submitted with a copy of the original document.
A Stipendium Hungaricum application asks for, among other items, a motivation letter, proof of language level, school certificates and their translations, the transcript and its translation, a copy of the identity document and a medical certificate.
The motivation letter asked for is at least one page and must be written in the language of the chosen programme or in Hungarian.
Italy
For Italy, visa pre-enrolment for non-EU students happens only on the Universitaly portal, which is free and official.
The secondary-school diploma is translated into Italian by an official translator and legalised by the authorities of the country that issued it. Some institutions also accept the diploma in French, English, German or Spanish.
The dichiarazione di valore in loco is an informative document issued by an Italian representation abroad. It describes the value of the diploma in the country where it was obtained, and does not amount to automatic recognition.
Instead of the dichiarazione di valore, CIMEA can issue a comparability and verification statement. These statements do not bind the institution.
What still needs checking
Some points have no official answer yet. We prefer to name them rather than present them as settled.
- Whether a sworn French translation of the transcript is needed at the Campus France stage is not stated on the pages we read. To be checked.
- Whether Germany's 2016 objection has been withdrawn was not found. To be checked before relying on an apostille for Germany.
- Whether the bac must be legalised or apostilled for the Netherlands, and the accepted translation language, could not be confirmed. To be checked.
- The birth certificate does not appear on the official pages we read for each destination. It may be asked later by the institution. To be checked.
- The fee for sworn translation in Morocco and the text that governs the profession. To be checked.
- The fees and processing times of the CIMEA statements. To be checked.
- The exact wording of Hungary's 2026-2027 translation rule. To be checked.
Where to go next
Use your profile to see the programmes that seem to fit, compare them on the comparison page, look for support on the scholarships page and prepare your steps in my plan.