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Certified translation for recognition of foreign education in the Czech Republic

To have your foreign education recognised in the Czech Republic, you submit documents to the competent body — usually with a certified translation into Czech (úředně ověřený překlad). What exactly applies is set out below, each time with a reference to the official source.

Key facts

  • Only a court translator (soudní překladatel) may make the certified translation (Act No. 354/2019 Coll.). [1]
  • Universities accept documents in English or Slovak without translation. [3]
  • Apostille on the original first, translation second; fee CZK 3,000, decision within 30 days. [3]

Who may make a certified translation?

  • Translation work is reserved for a court translator (soudní překladatel) (§ 2(2) of Act No. 354/2019 Coll.). [1]
  • Translation work means performing translation acts before public authorities and making a certified translation required by another legal provision, a directly applicable EU regulation or an international treaty (§ 1(2)). [1]
  • Applications for entry on the list of court interpreters and court translators are decided by the Ministry of Justice (§ 5). [1]
  • Act No. 354/2019 Coll. distinguishes the court interpreter (interpreting) from the court translator (translation) — two separate authorisations (§ 2). [1]

What must the translation look like?

  • A translation act can only be performed in writing. On paper, each copy must be signed by hand and bear the imprint of the translator’s seal (§ 27(2)). [1]
  • In electronic form, the client must consent; each copy must be signed with a qualified electronic signature whose certificate contains the translator’s name and the designation “soudní překladatel” (or “soudní překladatel a soudní tlumočník”) and bear a qualified electronic time stamp (§ 27(2)). [1]
  • An interpreter’s seal may only be applied to a translation act or an interpreting act in written form (§ 27(4)). [1]

Higher education: who decides and what to submit

  • Recognition of foreign higher education is decided by a public university offering a study programme in the corresponding field; for military matters the Ministry of Defence decides, for security services the Ministry of the Interior. [3]
  • With the application you submit the original or a certified copy of the foreign higher-education qualification and the original or a certified copy of the diploma supplement. [3]
  • Documents issued in English or Slovak are accepted without a certified translation. [3]
  • The administrative fee is CZK 3,000; the decision is issued within a basic period of 30 days of receipt of the application. [3]

Apostille or super-legalisation: what applies to your country

  • Higher authentication concerns the ORIGINAL diploma and diploma supplement, not the translation. A public university may require it — so it is not a formality you can skip. [3]
  • If the document was issued in a state that, like the Czech Republic, has acceded to the Hague Convention, „bude diplom a dodatek k diplomu opatřen pouze ověřovací doložkou «Apostille» a poté úředně přeložen do českého jazyka v souladu se zákonem“ (the diploma and supplement will bear only the Apostille certificate and then be officially translated into Czech in accordance with the law). [3]
  • Note the order: first the apostille on the original, only then the certified translation. The reverse order means translating a document that still lacks the apostille — and the translation will not cover it. [3]
  • If the state is not party to the Convention, super-legalisation applies: „ověření pravosti podpisů a otisků razítek ... ministerstvem zahraničních věcí státu, v němž má sídlo zahraniční vysoká škola“ (authentication of signatures and stamps … by the foreign ministry of the state where the foreign university is based), followed by the competent Czech embassy or consulate. [3]
  • An international treaty overrides both: higher authentication is not required „pokud mezinárodní smlouva, kterou je Česká republika vázána, nestanoví jinak“ (unless an international treaty binding on the Czech Republic provides otherwise). So first check whether such a treaty exists for your country. [3]
  • So-called equivalence agreements on the mutual recognition of education documents have a special regime. The Ministry of Education (MŠMT) applies these agreements for Slovakia, Poland, Germany, Hungary and Slovenia; for China, France and Austria the recommendations from the agreements are followed. [3]
  • The Higher Education Act (§ 90(4)) allows the diploma and higher authentication to be replaced by the applicant’s affidavit only for applicants with international protection — asylum or subsidiary protection — and for persons to be treated as refugees. [3]

Primary, secondary and tertiary professional education

  • Recognition of foreign primary, secondary and tertiary professional education is decided by the regional authorities (krajské úřady). [4]
  • No translation into Czech is required for a document in Slovak — unlike the higher-education route, English does not exempt you from translation here. [4]
  • The administrative fee for accepting the application is CZK 3,000. [4]
  • The deadline is 30 days from delivery of the application with all required documents; in complex cases it may be extended to 60 days. [4]

Based on the official sources listed below (as of July 2026). The requirements of the specific body deciding on your application always prevail — check its current conditions and fees.

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Sources

All information above comes from official sources:

  1. Zákon č. 354/2019 Sb., o soudních tlumočnících a soudních překladatelích (e-Sbírka)
  2. Ministerstvo spravedlnosti — Tlumočníci a překladatelé: nová právní úprava
  3. MŠMT — Uznání zahraničního vysokoškolského vzdělání (nostrifikace)
  4. MŠMT — Uznání zahraničního základního, středního a vyššího odborného vzdělání
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