Doctors' Guide: MBBS and Medical Degree Certificate Apostille and Attestation

A medical degree certificate apostille is a square, computer-generated certificate that MEA fixes to the back of your degree. It confirms that the signature and seal of the Indian officer who verified the document are genuine. India joined the Hague Apostille Convention of 5 October 1961 with effect from 14 July 2005, so member countries accept this certificate without embassy legalisation.

The apostille does not certify your clinical competence, your registration status or whether you can practise. Those decisions belong to the medical regulator in the destination country. The apostille's role is narrower: it proves that the Indian authorities have verified your degree. Each MBBS apostille has a unique number that can be checked online on the MEA verification facility. MEA

Germany objected to India's accession, and the objection still stands, so an Indian apostille has no legal effect for German authorities. German missions in India stopped legalising Indian documents in 2000 and offer document verification instead, which only a German authority can request. Doctors going to Germany usually deal with the state licensing authority (Approbationsbehörde), which sets its own document rules. China joined the Convention in 2023, but India objected to China's accession, so a medical degree for China needs MEA attestation followed by Chinese Embassy or Consulate legalisation. Germany | anchor "China" → China

The exact list depends on the regulator and the post. Ask your employer or the licensing authority for a written list before you start, because legalising the degree alone and discovering later that the internship certificate was also needed is the most common cause of delay.

The doctor medical degree apostille process has three stages in India, plus foreign stages for attestation countries.

The university that awarded the degree confirms it. In many states, medical degrees are awarded by a dedicated health sciences university rather than the college where you studied, so verification goes to that university. AIIMS institutes and other Institutes of National Importance award and confirm their own degrees. Deemed universities confirm their own degrees as well.

The HRD or Higher Education Department of the state where the university is located verifies the degree. Maharashtra degrees go through the Mantralaya, and Kerala degrees get HRD attestation through Norka Roots. Medical degrees do not go to the SDM or the Home Department; those routes are for personal documents. HRD or Higher Education Department services

MEA apostilles the degree for Hague countries or attests it for non-Hague countries. Hague countries need nothing more for legalisation.

For the UAE, Qatar, Kuwait and similar countries, the embassy attests the degree after MEA, and in the Gulf the Ministry of Foreign Affairs completes the chain. For the UAE, after MEA attestation one online application covers both the UAE Embassy in New Delhi and the UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs; a MOFA-approved provider collects the original, and the digitally attested document is emailed. UAE Embassy

A medical council certificate apostille is an apostille on your registration certificate, issued by a state medical council or by the national register. The registration certificate is not a university degree, so it does not follow the education route through the state HRD department in the same way. The verifying authority before MEA depends on the state and on the type of certificate, and in some cases the council's own verification is needed first. We confirm the current route for your council before pickup.