Recognition of U.S. elementary and secondary education credentials in Portugal

Process of recognition of U.S. academic credentials (elementary and secondary education) by the Portuguese authorities

FIRST STEP (IN THE U.S.): AUTHENTICATION OF ACADEMIC CREDENTIALS:

There are two ways of authenticating your U.S. credentials to be presented at a Portuguese institution.

One of the following will suffice:

– THE HAGUE APOSTILLE:

Obtain a transcript from the school which bears the seal of the school and the signature of the principal. Ask the school to send the transcript to the County Board of Education, Superintendent of Schools or other official body which can authenticate the school’s seal with a superior seal.

NOTE #1: An alternative would be to make an appointment with the school principal, bring a notary public to the principal’s office in order that the principal may execute an affidavit attesting to the validity of the document before the notary. The document may then be authenticated by the clerk of court of the county wherein the notary was licensed.

NOTE #2: This authentication will also be recognised by all signatory countries of the Hague Convention.

OR

– AUTHENTICATION BY A PORTUGUESE CONSULATE IN THE U.S.:

If the credentials are to be used in Portugal you may authenticate them in a Portuguese Consulate in the U.S. Each Consulate has its own jurisdiction, so you will need to know beforehand what is the Consulate of the area where you live. Then you should call the consulate and ask for the information regarding the authentication.

SECOND STEP (IN PORTUGAL): CERTIFIED TRANSLATION:

All credentials in English should be translated to Portuguese. This translation should be notarized. For a list of translators, please, visit the website of the U.S. Embassy in Lisbon.

THIRD STEP (IN PORTUGAL): REQUEST OF RECOGNITION OR EQUIVALENCY:

The final step is to locate the nearest public school and submit the request of recognition or equivalency.

According to Portaria 699/2006 there is a direct correspondence of year grades between the U.S. and the Portuguese education systems.