Degree certificate and diploma apostille for South Korea

You apostille a notarized copy of your degree, not the original. A notary certifies that a photocopy is a true copy of your diploma, and the Secretary of State of the state where it was notarized apostilles the notary's signature. EPIK and Korean immigration often call this document your “degree certificate” — it's the same U.S. diploma. We can notarize and route it for the state apostille, and handle your FBI check federally at the same time.

A notarized copy, in almost every case. A university parchment has no state official's signature on file, so it can't be apostilled directly — a notary certifies a copy first, and that notarized copy is what gets the apostille. Keep your original diploma safe; you never mail it away.

The state where the copy is notarized — and that can be any state, not necessarily your home state or the state where your university is located. The one firm rule is that the notarization and the Secretary of State must be in the same state. Notarize in Florida and you get a Florida apostille.

No — and this catches people. The FBI Identity History Summary is a federal document, so only the U.S. Department of State can apostille it. Some applicants notarize a copy of the report and get a state apostille on that copy, but Korean immigration requires the federal apostille on the FBI document itself, so the state-apostilled copy gets rejected. Send the FBI report to the U.S. Department of State.

Korea typically wants it recent — commonly issued within about six months of your E-2 visa application, measured from the report's issuance date (as of 2026; some immigration offices apply a tighter window). Your diploma, by contrast, never expires. Confirm the exact window with your school or consulate; if your report predates it, order a fresh one and apostille that.

No. A diploma never expires and an apostille carries no printed expiration date, so a degree you earned years ago is fine to apostille. Only the FBI background check has to be recent for the E-2 visa.

Korean immigration cross-checks the two, so a maiden name, a missing middle initial, or a different transliteration can hold up your file. Include the document that bridges them — a marriage certificate or a court order for a name change — apostilled alongside your degree and FBI check. Prepare it at the start rather than explaining a mismatch mid-application.

It depends on which authority is handling each document. The degree apostille moves through the state Secretary of State where it was notarized, while the FBI background check must be apostilled federally by the U.S. Department of State — and federal timelines in particular can shift. Because you need both finished before the E-2 visa appointment, start the FBI check first and run the two apostilles in parallel, with buffer time built in. Confirm current processing windows before you commit to a visa date.

Usually not for EPIK or most hagwon applications — English-language U.S. documents are generally accepted. However, the destination decides: a specific immigration office, school, or consulate may request Korean translations of certain items. Treat translation as conditional, and if it is required, translate after the apostille so the translation reflects the apostilled document, including the apostille certificate.

The E-2 visa generally expects an accredited four-year bachelor's degree from an eligible country, and online or associate degrees are often not accepted — but that's an immigration-eligibility question set by Korean immigration and your recruiter, not an apostille rule. Confirm your degree qualifies with EPIK, your recruiter, or the consulate before you spend on apostilles. Whatever degree they accept, we apostille it the same way.

It depends on the document, the issuing authority, and how fast you need it. You get a flat, all-in quote before any work begins — with no hidden fees, and no obligation.