FÜD
Certified translation › Degree recognition
Degree & diploma recognition in Switzerland (certified translation).
Degree and diploma recognition in Switzerland usually starts with a notarised certified translation of your school certificate, diploma or university degree before swissuniversities (Swiss ENIC) or SERI can evaluate it — for admission, employment, professional licensing or a permit. A qualified translator preserves the original grades and titles exactly. Certified translations from CHF 89, notarisation on request.
- Notarisedrecognised cantonally
- Valid Switzerland-wideauthorities & courts
- Grades mappedsystem explained
- 4,7 · Trustpilot
For swissuniversities (Swiss ENIC) & SERI · notarised certified translation · original grades & titles preserved · DIN EN ISO 17100
Short & clear
When does a foreign degree need a notarised certified translation in Switzerland?
In almost every case: whenever a Swiss body has to evaluate a foreign school certificate, diploma or university degree, it may require a certified translation in a specified form. That covers a university checking your application, swissuniversities assessing a completed degree through its Swiss ENIC office, SERI deciding on a regulated profession, or a cantonal authority processing a permit that depends on your qualification. The exact formal requirement depends on the canton, receiving body and intended use. Where certification or notarisation is required, FÜD checks the applicable form before the assignment.
Keep the roles apart. FÜD translates — faithfully, with your grades, subjects and degree title exactly as awarded. swissuniversities or SERI evaluates — deciding what your qualification is worth in Switzerland. A translation cannot substitute for that decision, and a translator who tried to "convert" your grade or degree title would only slow the evaluation down.
Who decides what
swissuniversities, SERI, university — three different roles.
Translation, evaluation and admission are three separate steps with three separate bodies. FÜD only ever handles the first.
| Step | Responsible | What it produces |
|---|---|---|
| Notarised certified translation | Professional translator + Swiss notary (FÜD) | A signed, notarised rendering of the certificate or diploma — the basis every following step needs |
| Evaluation of a higher-education degree | swissuniversities (Swiss ENIC) | A level confirmation comparing your foreign degree to the Swiss system — an assessment, not automatically a right to admission or practice |
| Recognition for a regulated profession | SERI (State Secretariat for Education, Research and Innovation) | A formal decision on the equivalence of a foreign vocational or professional diploma — the actual licensing step |
| Study admission | The individual university or college | The enrolment decision, made on the translated and, where relevant, evaluated documents |
| Permit or employment file | Cantonal migration or employment authority | Acceptance of the qualification as part of a residence or work-permit application |
The rule behind all of it
The translator renders, and does not judge. Anything that looks like grade conversion, degree equivalence or a level verdict belongs to swissuniversities or SERI, never to the translation. Keeping that line clean is what stops a file being sent back for correction.
Documents we translate into German
The certificate — and what usually travels with it.
A degree rarely moves alone. Depending on the route, swissuniversities, SERI or the university also asks for supporting documents — each one, if not already in German, French, Italian or English, needing its own notarised certified translation.
| Document | Needed for | Handled by |
|---|---|---|
| Degree certificate / diploma | Core proof of the qualification and its award | Notarised certified translation — almost always required |
| Diploma supplement | Detail behind a higher-education degree, used by Swiss ENIC | Certified academic translation |
| Transcript of records / grade list | Subjects, credits and grades behind the degree | Certified academic translation — terminology matters |
| School-leaving certificate | Entrance qualification for university admission | Notarised certified translation |
| Professional licence / registration | Regulated professions assessed by SERI | Certified professional translation |
| Apostille on the certificate | Authentication for documents issued outside Switzerland | Notarised certified translation of the apostille |
Degree titles are kept, not converted into a Swiss one
A "Bachelor of Technology" or a "Licenciatura" is not silently rendered as a Swiss "Bachelor" or "Diplom". The original title is kept, with an explanatory note where useful — the equivalence judgement stays with swissuniversities or SERI, never with the translator. That restraint is exactly what an evaluation body wants to see.
Certified German translation
Notarised certification or apostille — what does a Swiss recognition file need?
Switzerland has no system of state-sworn or court-authorised translators, unlike Germany or Austria. A professional translator signs the translation to attest its accuracy and completeness, and a Swiss notary (Notariat) certifies that signature — confirming the translator's identity, not the academic content itself. Together this produces a notarised certified translation, the form swissuniversities, SERI and Swiss universities recognise.
Authenticity of the original is a separate question. swissuniversities, SERI or a university may ask for your foreign certificate to be apostilled or legalised before translation — obtained from the competent authority in the country that issued it, never from FÜD. For a Swiss certificate going abroad, the cantonal state chancellery (Staatskanzlei) of the issuing canton is responsible instead. Switzerland is a party to the 1961 Hague Apostille Convention but is not an EU member state, so EU Regulation 2016/1191 — which abolishes the apostille between member states for many public documents — does not apply to Swiss documents. Where an apostille is required, get it on the original first; we then translate the certificate and the apostille together, so the file is consistent from the start.
Grades & degree titles
The Swiss grading scale — and why we never convert your grade to it.
Swiss schools and universities grade on a scale from 1 to 6: 6 is excellent, 5 good, 4 the minimum pass, and marks below 4 mean the grade was not achieved — 1 is the lowest. It runs in the opposite direction to the German 1-to-6 scale, where 1 is the best mark; that reversal is the single most common source of a misread transcript.
FÜD's translation keeps your original grades, scale and degree title exactly as issued, adding a neutral explanatory note only where it helps the reader follow the system used. We do not recalculate a foreign mark into the Swiss six-point scale, and we do not relabel a foreign degree as a Swiss "Bachelor" or "Diplom" — that judgement belongs to swissuniversities (Swiss ENIC) for higher-education degrees and to SERI for vocational and professional diplomas, using their own comparison methodology.
Languages we translate into and from German
From which countries do degrees and diplomas most often arrive?
Degree and diploma files for swissuniversities and SERI arrive from every continent. FÜD assigns an academic-professional translator with correct terminology for each — and 70+ languages besides.
Asia
- Hindi, English (India)
- Chinese
- Vietnamese
- Filipino / Tagalog
Middle East & North Africa
- Arabic
- Persian / Dari
- Turkish
- French (Maghreb)
Eastern Europe & CIS
- Russian, Ukrainian
- Georgian, Armenian
- Romanian, Serbian
- Kazakh, Uzbek
Americas & Africa
- Spanish (Latin America)
- Portuguese (Brazil)
- English (Nigeria, Ghana)
- 70+ languages in total
Common pitfalls
Why does a recognition file stall — and how a clean translation avoids it?
Recognition is slow enough without avoidable mistakes. These are the reasons a file gets sent back for correction — and how a notarised certified translation prevents them.
| Pitfall | Why it goes wrong | How FÜD solves it |
|---|---|---|
| Grade "converted" to the Swiss scale | A foreign mark is recalculated into a Swiss 1–6 figure on the translator's own judgement — a distortion that undermines the file swissuniversities or SERI needs. | The original grade and scale are kept exactly as issued, with a neutral explanatory note where useful; the evaluation stays with the competent body. |
| Degree title relabelled as a Swiss one | A foreign diploma is rendered as "Bachelor" or "Diplom" outright, implying an equivalence only swissuniversities or SERI may establish. | The original title is kept, with an explanatory rendering alongside it, never a substitution. |
| Name transliterated inconsistently | A name in a non-Latin script is transliterated differently across the certificate, the transcript and the passport, and the file is queried. | One consistent, rule-based transliteration across the whole document set, matched to your passport spelling. |
| Institution or module names freely translated | A university or module name is translated loosely and can no longer be matched in the Swiss ENIC records. | Established equivalents are used where they exist; otherwise the original name is kept with an explanatory addition, so the institution stays identifiable. |
| Apostille missing or added after translation | An apostille required by the destination is obtained only after the certificate was translated, so the apostille itself is left untranslated. | We flag whether an apostille is needed before we start, then translate the certificate and the apostille as one consistent set. |
| Simple translation submitted instead of notarised | swissuniversities, SERI or a university asks for a notarised certified translation; an uncertified version is rejected outright. | Every translation carries the translator's certification statement and the notary's certified signature, in the form these bodies expect. |
We translate the record faithfully — the evaluation is swissuniversities' or SERI's call.
Original grades kept, original titles kept, notarised — so the file can be assessed without a query.
So it works
How to order a notarised certified translation of your degree or diploma.
You upload a clear, legible scan of the certificate, diploma or transcript, and tell us the route it is for — swissuniversities, SERI, a university application, or a permit file. We review scope and language direction and name a binding fixed price. Once you confirm, an academic-professional translator renders the document faithfully — grades, subjects, degree title, stamps and marginal notes included — and signs the certification statement; a Swiss notary then certifies that signature.
You receive the finished document as a PDF in advance, then the notarised original by post. Standard certificates are usually ready within a few working days once the price is confirmed. On request we check in advance whether swissuniversities, SERI, your university or a destination abroad needs an apostille — so the submission is right the first time.
What a German translation costs
What does a certified translation of a degree or diploma cost?
We review the document, the language and the route it is for, then name a binding fixed price. A single school certificate or diploma is usually a flat fee per document; a diploma supplement or multi-year transcript is priced per standard line — notarisation, an advance PDF and postal delivery included.
| Notarised certified translation by an academic-professional translator | ✓included |
| Notarised certification (signature certified by a Swiss notary) | ✓included |
| Original grades, subjects & degree title preserved | ✓included |
| Advance PDF & postal delivery of the notarised original | ✓included |
| Quality management & final check | ✓included |
A standard line is 55 characters incl. spaces; single certificates and diplomas are usually a flat fee per document. The exact fixed price depends on volume, language combination and file condition — plus VAT in Switzerland. An apostille, where required, is issued by the competent authority in the issuing country or the cantonal Staatskanzlei, and is not part of our service. How the price is made up →
Sources & legal basis
Where these statements come from.
Every procedural claim on this page is tied to a primary, verifiable source — the Swiss federal and academic bodies responsible for recognition, and the relevant Hague/EU instruments. Acceptance of any individual file is always decided by the receiving body.
FAQ
Degree & diploma recognition — frequently asked questions.
Do I need a certified translation of my degree or diploma for recognition in Switzerland?
Does FÜD carry out the recognition or level confirmation itself?
Do you convert my grades into the Swiss system?
What is the Swiss grading scale, and why does it matter for my translation?
Do I also need an apostille?
What does a certified translation of a degree or diploma cost in Switzerland?
My Indian degree and transcript were translated with the title kept as awarded and the grades in the original scale. swissuniversities confirmed my level without a single follow-up question.
R. Krishnan · Swiss ENIC evaluation, Zurich
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