Document Certification

While you are in the United States you may need to obtain "certified true copies" of various original documents. Student Legal Service provides this service. You will need to fill out the Schedule an Appointment/Online Intake form, submit it, and then come into the office with your "original" document to arrange for an appointment for certification.

Do NOT bring in a photocopy as copies you make cannot be certified.

For more information see our brochure Notaries Public(pdf). This is a downloadable brochure and can guide you on whether you simply need your signature notarized (witnessed by a notary public) or certified by a licensed Student Legal Service attorney. Both notarization and certification are available services in the office.

Examples of documents that you may need to have certified as true copies:

• Passport pages
• University of Illinois Academic transcripts (we recommend as an alternative that you obtain multiple original transcripts from the Office of the Registrar, 901 W Illinois St., Urbana, registrar.illinois.edu/transcripts/)
• I-20, DS-2019, or other U.S. government documents
• Academic transcripts from other universities
• Birth record/certificate
• Marriage licenses

Remember, you must bring in the original document to get a certified copy.