Degree and diploma certificates
Degree certificate translation
Universities, assessing bodies and employers ask to see the parchment itself, not only the transcript. We translate the whole certificate — awarding institution, exact title of the qualification, field and level, date conferred, the wording on its seals and a note for each signature — and deliver it digitally, with NAATI certification available.
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Where it is asked for
Where a translated degree certificate is read
The parchment proves the qualification was awarded. These are the places it is commonly read in English.
Universities and assessing bodies
Further study, or a qualification assessed for work, usually means showing the certificate with the transcript. The certificate proves the award was made; the transcript shows the subjects and marks behind it. Each body sets its own rules; check what it asks for before you order.
Employers and citizenship files
Employers commonly ask for a translated certificate when a qualification is a condition of the job. For a citizenship application, Home Affairs says: “Provide an English translation for all documents that are not in English.” Our citizenship documents page covers the rest of that file.
Source: Home Affairs, citizenship application requirements (page last updated 24 July 2026, checked 18 September 2026)
Who may translate it
“All documents not in English must be translated into English. Translators in Australia must be accredited by the National Accreditation Authority for Translators and Interpreters.” Translating in Australia for a Home Affairs file? That is the NAATI certification option at checkout. See NAATI translation online for what it includes.
Source: Home Affairs, translating documents (page last updated 16 September 2026)
What a careful job includes
The award, exactly as the parchment states it
A degree certificate says very little, and every word matters. These are the parts we make sure survive in English.
The institution and the award
The full name of the awarding institution as printed, and the faculty or college where one is named. The exact title of the qualification, the field of study and its level — bachelor, master, doctoral, diploma or advanced diploma — word for word. Honours, distinction or class of award is carried across as written, never shortened into something more familiar.
Titles with no direct English equivalent
Some titles have no one-word match in English. We render the title faithfully and add the recognised English form beside it, so the reader sees what the document says and what it means. We never replace it with an Australian name the parchment does not carry. Deciding what a qualification is worth here is the reader’s job, not the translator’s.
Date conferred, seals and signatures
The date the degree was conferred is written out in full, with the original calendar kept alongside where one is used. Each seal and stamp that shows in your photo is marked where it appears, with its wording translated, and each signature is marked [signed] beside the signatory’s name and title as printed. Your name is romanised to match your passport spelling, so it lines up with the rest of your file.
Translating in Australia for a citizenship or visa file? Home Affairs’ wording points to a NAATI-accredited translator — choose the NAATI certification option at checkout. Its citizenship page (page last updated 24 July 2026, checked 18 September 2026) says every translation should include the translator’s full name, address and telephone number, and their qualifications and experience, in English; our NAATI option carries the translator’s name, practitioner number, certification statement and digital stamp, but not the translator’s own address or telephone number, so for a citizenship file, check with Home Affairs before you order. Ordering the transcript as well? See academic transcript translation. If both go into the same file, send us both order numbers through the contact page.
Pricing
The full price on screen before you order
Translation is $39.99 per page into English, delivered digitally. Add NAATI certification for $59.99 per page, prepared by a NAATI-certified translator with a digital stamp carrying a scannable QR code. The total is shown on screen before you pay.
Need the subjects and marks behind the award? Academic transcript translation covers the record itself; our services page covers the rest of the file. For a skills assessment, what VETASSESS, the ACS, Engineers Australia and TRA each ask for is quoted in one place.
Questions
What people ask about translating a degree or diploma certificate
Each authority words it differently, so read your own authority’s page before you order. Home Affairs says “Each assessing authority has its own assessment procedures, timeframes and charges.” For documents translated in Australia, the Australian Computer Society says “Acceptable translations may be obtained from translators accredited by the National Accreditation Authority for Translators and Interpreters (NAATI).” VETASSESS says “a registered translation service must be used.” If a phrase like that is unclear, ask the authority what it means. Where yours names NAATI, choose the NAATI certification option, prepared by a NAATI-certified translator.
Usually, yes. Engineers Australia tells applicants to “provide both the translation as well as the original language documents”, and asks for a high-resolution colour scan of the degree certificate. The Australian Computer Society says “Both the original document and the translation must be uploaded for assessment.” So upload your own colour scan of the parchment next to the translated PDF, not the translation on its own. With the NAATI certification option, the PDF also carries a copy of the document you photographed, stamped by the translator, so the reader can see which original was translated.
Yes. Testamur is the word Australia’s qualifications framework uses for the parchment. The Australian Qualifications Framework defines a testamur as “an official certification document that confirms that a qualification has been awarded to an individual”, and says that in Australia it may also be called an award, a parchment, a laureate or a certificate. Engineers Australia’s checklist writes “degree certificate (testamur)”. The transcript is a separate document, which the framework calls a record of results. On the order page, a testamur is Diploma or degree certificate; the transcript has its own page, academic transcript translation.
If the reader asks for both, yes, because in some education systems they are two separate documents. VETASSESS’s document list for Chinese qualifications is one example: it names the “Degree Certificate” and the “Certificate of Graduation” separately, and asks for the original and an official translation of each. Check your own authority’s list before you order, so you do not pay to translate a certificate nobody asked for. Each certificate is counted on its own pages, at $39.99 a page.
It depends on who reads it, and they do not all agree. WES, a credential evaluator for the United States and Canada, says it “cannot accept English- or French-language versions of the documents in place of a translation”. VETASSESS, for Chinese qualifications, lists “Official translations issued by the awarding institution” among the translations it accepts. The Australian Computer Society names the awarding institution as a source for documents translated outside Australia. So tell the body you are applying to exactly what the university gave you, and ask before you pay for a new translation. Documents already partly in English covers the mixed cases.
No. Translation and evaluation are separate jobs. The translation says in English what your diploma says, with the award title as printed, not swapped for an Australian one. Where a skilled visa needs a skills assessment, that judgement belongs to the skills assessing authority, which Home Affairs describes as “an organisation that checks that your skills meet the standards they set to work in a relevant occupation”. Home Affairs also says “We can only accept a skills assessment issued by the relevant assessing authority.” A university or an employer reading your diploma makes its own judgement.
Possibly, but check with WES before you order. WES says “In most cases, translation is not necessary for a WES credential evaluation”, and points you to the required documents list in your WES account. Where it does want one, it asks for translations that are “Exact and word-for-word” and “Completed by a professional translator”. Among those it cannot accept, it lists “Translations completed by applicants” and “Translations of photocopies”. We translate from the photo or scan you upload, so ask WES whether that suits your file before you pay. If WES does want a translation, choose the NAATI certification option.
Only if the employer asks for one, so ask before you order. An employer that only needs to read the award may ask for no more than a Standard translation at $39.99 a page: a complete translation with no certification statement and no stamp. The NAATI certification option adds $59.99 a page. It is prepared by a NAATI-certified translator whose digital stamp carries a QR code the reader can scan to check the credential. If the job also needs a skills assessment, the assessing authority’s own wording applies to that part.
Possibly, through the Free Translating Service, if you qualify. Its list of eligible documents includes “Education record (or education certificates)”. Three limits matter for a degree. It says “Document translations required for visa or citizenship applications, and documents issued by private citizens, are not eligible.” Most of its translations are a summary of up to 100 words, though you can ask for a full translation with evidence one is needed, such as a letter from the education provider. And a translation can take up to 30 calendar days after approval. TIS National’s eligibility tests are set out on who qualifies for the Free Translating Service.
Count the sides, not the sheets. Each side with text, a stamp or a seal on it is a page, at $39.99, plus $59.99 a page if you add NAATI certification. Turn the parchment over before you set the page count: if anything is printed or stamped on the back, the certificate is two pages, even when the award itself is all on the front. A transcript is counted the same way and often runs to several pages. Normal delivery within 3 days is included, and the order page shows the full total before you pay. It takes up to four pages; a longer set goes through an enquiry. We do not deliver on Sundays: a delivery that would fall on a Sunday arrives on the Monday.
Photograph it, order online, and the translation comes back as a PDF by email. On the order page, choose your language, pick Diploma or degree certificate as the document type, and set the page count. Take the certificate out of any frame so glare off the glass cannot hide a seal, turn the flash off, and photograph it in colour with all four corners in view. Add the back if anything is printed or stamped there. If the university gave you a PDF, upload that instead. Then choose Standard or NAATI certified, and a delivery speed. Photographing your document has more tips.
Arabic is on the order page in both directions, and an Arabic degree or diploma comes back as an English PDF, with the date conferred written out in full and the original calendar kept alongside where one is used. For a degree going into Arabic, choose English under Translate from and Arabic under Translate to; with the NAATI option, the job goes to a translator certified in that direction.
If we cannot arrange the translation for your language, we tell you promptly and refund the order in full. If the degree is going to an employer or a ministry overseas, ask them first whether they also want an apostille, an attestation or a translator in their own country. We do not arrange apostilles or attestations. More on Arabic to English translation.
NAATI stopped issuing accreditation in 2018, so a form that asks for a “NAATI accredited translator” today means one who holds current NAATI certification. That is who prepares the certified option: a NAATI-certified translator for your language direction — a Certified Translator or Certified Advanced Translator, or a Recognised Practising Translator where NAATI does not test the language. Their practitioner number is on the translation and you can check it in NAATI’s online directory.