The order never changes. First you check whether the document needs an apostille at all, then the apostille is added by the state that issued the document, and finally a tłumacz przysięgły (sworn translator) translates the document together with the apostille. Nostryfikacja (nostrification) concerns only university diplomas and is needed when no international agreement recognises the diploma and you need a Polish equivalent: for a regulated profession, for studies or for an employer. It is run by a Polish university, not by NAWA, which has 90 days from a complete application.
Step 1. Does the document need an apostille at all
Before you pay for an apostille, answer three questions.
Is the document from another EU country? Regulation 2016/1191 exempts from the apostille public documents on birth, marriage, divorce, death, residence and nationality, among others. On request the issuing country attaches a multilingual standard form that can replace a translation. Whether the form is enough is up to the Polish authority.
Is the document from Ukraine, Belarus or Russia? Poland has legal assistance treaties with these countries. Documents drawn up or certified by a competent authority, with a seal and signature, are valid in the other country without legalisation:
| Country | Treaty | Article |
|---|---|---|
| Ukraine | treaty of 24 May 1993, Dz.U. 1994 nr 96 poz. 465 | art. 15 |
| Belarus | treaty of 26 October 1994, Dz.U. 1995 nr 128 poz. 619 | art. 11 |
| Russia | treaty of 16 September 1996, Dz.U. 2002 nr 83 poz. 750 | art. 15 |
All three are marked as in force in the ISAP database. Some institutions ask for an apostille out of habit, so before paying, check with the institution receiving the document and cite the treaty. More on this route in our article on apostille and consular legalisation.
Is the country a party to the 1961 Hague Convention? Then an apostille. If not, you need consular legalisation, which takes longer and has more stages.
Step 2. The issuing country adds the apostille
Only an authority of the state where the document comes from can add the apostille. The Polish MSZ will not apostille a Ukrainian birth certificate, and Ukrainian authorities will not apostille a Polish diploma. The apostille goes on the original or an official copy. In Poland it cannot be added to a plain photocopy.
For Polish documents an apostille costs PLN 60 in stamp duty per document. It is issued by the MSZ, by NAWA for university documents, by the kurator oświaty for most school certificates and by the regional examination board (OKE) for the matura certificate. A notarial or court document must first be certified by the regional court.
Step 3. The sworn translation after the apostille
The sworn translator translates the whole document with seals, stamps and the text of the apostille. If you order the translation before the apostille, the apostille page stays untranslated and you need a second job.
In karta pobytu proceedings, foreign-language documents are filed with a Polish translation by a sworn translator (art. 8(2) of the Act on Foreigners). The application goes through MOS, and the Mazowiecki office accepts a translation signed electronically by the translator or a scan of a paper translation certified electronically by a notary or a professional representative. Details in our article on translating documents for the karta pobytu.
How the price is counted. A translation page is 1,125 characters (§ 8 of the Minister of Justice regulation on sworn translators' fees, Dz.U. 2025 poz. 312). The same regulation sets rates, but only for orders from courts, prosecutors, police and public authorities:
| Translation into Polish | Official rate per page |
|---|---|
| from English, German, French, Russian | PLN 44.07 |
| from another European language, e.g. Ukrainian | PLN 47.49 |
| from a non-European language in Latin script | PLN 57.65 |
| from a non-European language in another script | PLN 64.44 |
A private client agrees the price with the translator, so these figures only show how volume is measured.
Step 4. Nostrification or recognition under a treaty
A foreign university diploma is equivalent to a Polish one under an international agreement, and where there is none, after nostrification. For former Soviet countries the issue date decides. The science ministry publishes these dates on gov.pl:
| Country | Diplomas recognised under a treaty if issued until | Later |
|---|---|---|
| Russia | 25 September 2005 | nostrification |
| Belarus | 29 September 2005 | nostrification |
| Ukraine | 20 June 2006 | nostrification |
| Moldova | 6 October 2005 | nostrification |
| Kazakhstan | 29 September 2005 | nostrification |
| Armenia | 6 August 2004 | nostrification |
The exception is diplomas of doctors, dentists, pharmacists, nurses, midwives, vets and architects: from these countries they always need nostrification, whatever the date. Poland does not recognise diplomas issued in Transnistria. The later 2005 agreements with Ukraine and Belarus give only so-called academic recognition, the right to continue studying, without any document on equivalence. The agreement with Belarus ceased to apply on 3 November 2023 after Belarus terminated it, and now covers only people who started studying in Poland before that date.
How nostrification works:
- you apply to a university of your choice with an A+, A or B+ research rating in the diploma's discipline (art. 327(4) of the Law on Higher Education and Science);
- the university may ask for an ordinary translation, and for a sworn one only in particularly justified cases (§ 4 of the regulation of 28 September 2018, Dz.U. poz. 1881);
- the decision comes within 90 days of a formally complete application, not counting time for translations, exams and placements (§ 6);
- where programmes differ, the university may set exams or placements;
- the fee cannot exceed 50% of a professor's salary, and the university sets the amount (art. 327(6)).
When nostrification is not needed. In an unregulated profession the employer decides whether to accept your education. It may ask for confirmation of equivalence or for information on the level of education, which NAWA issues. In a regulated profession you first have the diploma recognised and then apply for professional rights under the rules of that profession.
The other way round: a Polish diploma abroad
Many holders of Polish diplomas ask: what comes first, the NAWA apostille or the sworn translation. The order stays the same.
- NAWA apostille on the diploma or supplement. NAWA certifies only documents of Polish universities, has 60 days from registering the set and does not answer status questions before that time is up.
- Sworn translation of the diploma together with the apostille.
- MSZ apostille on the translation itself, if the destination country requires it. The MSZ apostilles the original sworn translation for PLN 60.
Sometimes you can skip the translation. On request the university issues a copy of the diploma and supplement in a foreign language, which under the studies regulation costs PLN 20. NAWA apostilles such a copy too. If the institution abroad accepts the document in English, you do not need a translator. If the country does not recognise the apostille, the procedure has two stages: certification by NAWA for PLN 26 and legalisation at the MSZ.
More on the offices and forms in our article apostille on a Polish diploma: NAWA, kuratorium, OKE.
Common mistakes
| Mistake | Consequence |
|---|---|
| Translation ordered before the apostille | apostille page untranslated, second job |
| Asking the Polish MSZ to apostille a Ukrainian document | refusal, only the issuing country adds the apostille |
| Apostille on a photocopy | impossible, an original or official copy is needed |
| Nostrifying a Russian diploma from 2003 | needless procedure, the treaty already recognises it (except medical professions and architects) |
| NAWA certification instead of an apostille for a Hague Convention country | wrong procedure, you have to apply again and pay twice |
| A translation made abroad attached to a karta pobytu application | the law requires a sworn translator, the office may ask for a new translation |
Costs in Poland
| Step | Amount |
|---|---|
| Apostille at the MSZ or NAWA | PLN 60 per document |
| NAWA certification of a university document | PLN 26 |
| Legalisation at the MSZ | PLN 26 |
| Nostrification | up to 50% of a professor's salary, set by the university |
| Sworn translation | per 1,125-character page, translator's price |
Our prices: an MSZ apostille on a Polish document, handled from receiving the original to collection, costs PLN 500; MSZ legalisation for countries outside the Hague Convention with coordination of the sworn translation costs PLN 1,000, excluding certification at the destination country's embassy. We quote the price and time for a translation once we have a scan of the document. If you are not sure which procedure you need, start with a consultation for PLN 300, which counts towards the fee.
Apostille and legalisation with LegalWin
This article is for information. The final requirements for the apostille and translation are set by the institution that receives the document.
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