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College forms ask for "attested copies" of your Class 10 and Class 12 marksheets, and many families still go looking for a gazetted officer. For many Indian applications you do not need one. Here is who can attest what, when a digital record counts, and how to send documents abroad while your originals stay at home.
Who can attest marksheets for college applications?
Often, you can. In a 10 May 2013 office memorandum, the Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances asked central ministries and state governments to adopt self-certification of documents such as marksheets, in place of gazetted-officer attestation, wherever feasible. The same memo notes that under self-attestation, "the original documents are required to be produced at the final stage."
Boards have followed. The West Bengal Council of Higher Secondary Education, for example, allows self-attested documents for admission at the Higher Secondary level and for migration certificates, asks candidates to sign with the date under the words "self-attested" on each page, and warns that the authority may call for the originals at any time.
Some institutions still name a gazetted officer, notary or principal. If the prospectus does, follow it.
Is a DigiLocker marksheet as good as the original?
For Indian colleges, it should be. A 2018 letter from MeitY's National e-Governance Division explains that under Rule 9A of the DigiLocker rules, documents issued into DigiLocker by departments "shall be deemed to be at par with original physical documents".
In a 23 September 2024 letter, the University Grants Commission asked all universities and colleges to accept marksheets made available in DigiLocker by boards, including CBSE, as legally valid documents.
The key word is issued. A marksheet your board pushed into the "Issued documents" section counts; a scan you uploaded yourself is just a scan.
How do you make a true copy that will not be rejected?
Small slips get forms sent back. Check every document:
Photocopy every page, including the back of a marksheet if it carries a grading key or instructions.
Check that the roll number, marks and board seal are readable on the copy.
Write "Self-attested" on each page in clear space, never across the marks.
Sign the way you sign the application form, and add the date.
If your name is spelt differently on the marksheet and your ID, attach the proof of the change now.
Make spare sets and scan the signed copies; the same folder will serve your scholarship document checklist.
What do universities abroad need: certified copies, translations or an apostille?
Rules differ by country, so read each university's document page.
uni-assist, which processes applications for many German universities, asks applicants to upload certificates and treats as official those bearing the issuing institution's signature and stamp, a reference to automatic issuance, or a verification code. It does not need a translation if your certificates are issued in German or English. Otherwise, translations must come from translators authorised to work under oath or admissible in court, or from an authorised department of the issuing school or university. If your state board marksheet is only in a regional language, budget time for this.
Some countries want an apostille instead. India has been a member of the Hague Apostille Convention since 2005, and the Ministry of External Affairs apostilles educational documents such as degrees and secondary certificates. Documents are first authenticated by state or Union Territory authorities, then deposited with one of MEA's outsourced service providers, because MEA does not accept documents directly from individuals. The page lists an MEA fee of Rs 50 per apostille, plus an agency fee of Rs 84 per document and Rs 3 per page. Our explainer on apostille and document legalisation covers the steps in more detail.
How do you send documents without losing the originals?
Treat your originals as things you show, not things you send. A simple plan:
Send copies by default. Post an original only when the instructions use the word "original" and nothing else will do.
MEA attests "original documents/true copies", so ask the university whether an apostilled true copy is acceptable before you hand over the original.
Use registered or tracked post, keep the receipt, and photograph each page before sealing the envelope.
Keep a one-page log: document, where it went, date sent, tracking number, date returned.
At physical verification, carry originals in a folder and ask for a receipt for anything kept. If a counsellor rejects a paper on the spot, our guide on what to do when a JoSAA document is rejected has next steps.
While the papers travel, you can get ready for the first semester: Fermi's AI tutor can work out what you already know and build a plan for the session, so you start with a clear next step.
Start today: open DigiLocker, check which marksheets are already issued there, and make your first signed set of copies.
