Germany: which documents need certifying, and in what order

What you need to do

The order of the links matters more than their description, because the chain cannot be redone backwards. First the document is officially confirmed in the country that issued it, then translated by a sworn or recognised translator, then certified as a copy, and only then does it go to the university or the consulate.

The second rule: originals are not sent. Universities and admissions services work with certified copies, and the original is shown in person at enrolment. An original posted away may not come back, and replacing it takes longer than assembling the whole folder again.

The third: the form is set by whoever receives the documents. The admissions service, the university and the consulate may want different things — that is not a contradiction but different procedures. Assemble for each of them rather than "universally".

Where the official answers live

• The uni-assist admissions service — its page on assembling documents: what exactly it accepts and in what form.
• anabin — the database of the Standing Conference of the Ministers of Education: how your certificate or degree is assessed, and therefore what has to be confirmed at all.
• The German Embassy in Chișinău — document and certification requirements for a visa, for people living in Moldova.

How to check that the requirement has not changed

Read the list on the page of whoever you are submitting to, on the day you submit. Check validity separately: some certificates are valid for a limited time, and a folder assembled too early is expired by the time it is handed in.

If someone suggests skipping a link in the chain "because it usually goes through", that is an invitation to risk the whole application to save one visit. Certification rules are published, and they contain no exceptions by arrangement.

What to do with Moldovan documents before leaving — apostille, translation, certification — is covered in a separate article about documents from Moldova.