Why IES comes first
The Portuguese apostille authority still refers to DGES in its public guidance for private higher education documents. DGES was extinguished and its functions were transferred to the Instituto para o Ensino Superior, I.P. (IES, I.P.). The pre-apostille authentication requirement remains.
That means the apostille office is not the first stop. We put the academic document through the current higher-education authentication route first.
Documents covered
This route can apply to private-university diplomas, transcripts, certificates of qualifications and other academic records issued by Portuguese private higher education institutions.
What we handle
We review the academic document, prepare the IES authentication step, coordinate the apostille and add certified translation or delivery.
You deal with one team in Lisbon instead of coordinating the higher-education authority and the apostille authority separately.
Do not confuse this with foreign-degree recognition
This service is for Portuguese-issued academic documents that need authentication for use abroad.
Recognition in Portugal of a degree issued by a foreign university is a separate higher-education recognition procedure.
Complete international file
After IES authentication, we continue with the apostille and any translation or courier step required for the destination.