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Jump To: → General Documents → Transcripts and Diplomas General Documents: Procedures required to authenticate any document may vary depending on the Consulate of Costa Rica nearest you. The average time to authenticate a document, once the Consulate of Costa Rica receives it, is three business days.
The procedure required to authenticate any document at the General Consulate of Costa Rica in Washington, D. C. or any Consulate of Costa Rica in the U.S. must be followed:
1. First, documents issued by an organization other than the government must be certified by a local notary public in the state where documents were issued. Documents issued by government organizations do not require local notary public certification.
2. Second, documents must be certified under the seal of the Secretary of State of the state where documents were issued. Please request the formal certificate for foreign use. For further information regarding certifications under the seal of the Secretary of State and locations throughout the U.S., call the Federal Information Center at 1-800-688-9889 or see State Authentication Authorities for specific locations and phone numbers.
3. Third, documents must be authenticated by the U.S. State Department in Washington, D.C. only if documents must be authenticated by the Consulate of Costa Rica in Washington, D.C. This step is not necessary if you are authenticating the document at any other Consulate of Costa Rica throughout the U.S. To contact the U.S. State Department, call the Federal Information Center at 1-800-688-9889, visit its web site at http://www.state.gov/m/a/auth. Address for the U.S. State Department in Washington, D.C.
Authentication Office
Department of State
518 23rd Street, N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20520
Tel.: (202) 647-5002
4. Fourth, documents that are not in Spanish may be accompanied by a certified translation issued by an official Spanish translator of your state. Documents can be authenticated without their certified translation. However, once the documents are authenticated, they must be translated into Spanish at the Foreign Affairs Department in San Jose, Costa Rica.
5. Fifth, once the documents have the above certifications, and their official translation (if applicable), they can be authenticated by your nearest Costa Rican Consulate. For authentication rate information, please see our authentication rate chart.
You may bring your documents in person at your nearest Consulate of Costa Rica or mail them. Use our Commercial Directory to search for the nearest Costa Rican Consulate to your residence. (Click "search" in our Commercial Directory and type in the keyword "consulate" to view a list of Costa Rican Consulates worldwide).
If you mail your documents via U.S. mail and/or courier to the Consulate General of Costa Rica in Washington D.C. , you will be required to enclose a self-addressed and stamped U.S. priority mail envelope with the postage that is required so that your authenticated documents can be returned to you via mail.
If you use a private courier (i.e. DHL, FEDEX, U.P.S.), please include a note with your courier information, and a courier self-addressed envelope with your account number. The Consulate of Costa Rica will call your courier when your document have been authenticated to arrange delivery.
Consulates of Costa Rica assume no responsibilities for documents sent via regular mail. Thus, always mail your documents in a way that you obtain proof of delivery for your own references.
Back to Top Transcripts & Diplomas: First, you need to certify the signatures contained on your transcripts and/or diploma at the school or university that granted the transcripts and/or diploma. The certification must be issued in the same county and state where you attended the school or university. For example, if you graduated from University of California in Los Angeles (UCLA), UCLA must issue the certification. If you contact another University of California Campus and they certify it, the certification will NOT be valid for authentication purposes. Request the notary public of the school or university that granted your transcripts and/or diploma to add a note behind the transcripts and/or diploma certifying that the signatures contained on your transcripts and/or diploma are authentic. For transcripts the certification must read: "I certify that this is an official transcript and the signatures adhered to this document attest to its authenticity" For diplomas the certification must read: "This is to certify that the diploma granted by University of (College of) ___________ is an authentic copy and the signatures adhered to this diploma attest to its authenticity" Second, once you have the certification from your school, the transcripts and/or diploma must be certified under the seal of the Secretary of State of the state where transcripts and/or diplomas were granted. Please request the formal certificate for foreign use. For futher information regarding certifications under the seal of the Secretary of State and locations throughout the U.S., call the Federal Information Center at 1-800-688-9889, visit its web site at http://www.state.gov/m/a/auth. In Washington D.C., you may contact: Authentications Office
Department of State
518 23rd Street, N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20520
Tel.: (202) 647-5002 Third, transcripts and/or diplomas that are not in Spanish may be accompanied by a certified translation issued by an official Spanish translator of your state. Transcripts and/or diplomas can be authenticated without their certified translation. However, once the documents are authenticated, they must be translated into Spanish at the Foreign Affairs Department in San José, Costa Rica. Finally, once the transcripts and/or diplomas have the above certifications, and their official translation (if applicable), they can be authenticated by your nearest Consulate of Costa Rica. For authentication rate information, please see our authentication rate chart. The authentication process for transcripts and diplomas takes three business days after the Consulate receives your transcripts and/or diplomas. Back to Top
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