Certified true copies of documents

What a certified copy is

A certified (true) copy is a photocopy of a document on which a notary or a municipal registry office certifies that it matches the document presented. You use it wherever a document is required but you cannot or do not want to hand over the original – typically diplomas, birth certificates or company documents.

Certified copies for use abroad

For use abroad, a certified copy is often the first step: an apostille is then issued on the notary's signature, or the document is legalized, and then it is translated. Your original stays safe while a fully valid certified document travels abroad.

Good to know

The original document must be presented for the copy to be certified. Not every document can be certified – restrictions apply, for example, to damaged or illegible documents and to some identity documents. For documents in a foreign language we check whether certification in Slovakia is possible or whether it is better done in the issuing country.