Document Recognition for Estonia: Your School Diploma, Harno and ENIC/NARIC

Fee figures: catalogue of 6 October 2026.

To start a bachelor's degree in Estonia you do not need a separate recognition decision before you apply. The university checks your school-leaving certificate as part of the admission. Behind it stands the Estonian ENIC/NARIC, part of the Education and Youth Board (Harno), which assesses foreign qualifications free of charge and advises institutions.

Who decides

The university decides on admission. Study in Estonia says all applicants to degree programmes need a qualification that gives access to higher education in their home country. Each institution checks this from the documents you send, and adds its own rules for particular countries.
The Estonian ENIC/NARIC assesses foreign qualifications that give access to higher education and makes recommendations on academic recognition. A university can ask it for an assessment of your diploma with your consent, and you can apply yourself. TalTech's admission calendar, for example, refers to recognition by the ENIC/NARIC Centre for applicants who graduate abroad late in the summer.

For most applicants the work is therefore in getting the documents right for each university, not in a separate procedure.

Applying to ENIC/NARIC yourself

You may want your own assessment, for example if your qualification is unusual or a university asks for one. According to Harno:

the assessment is free of charge;
you send everything only electronically, as colour PDF scans, to the address on Harno's academic recognition page;
you need the application form, an identity document, the diploma or certificate and the transcript (originals or certified copies), and authorised translations;
documents in Estonian, English, Finnish, Swedish, Italian, Russian, Ukrainian and Belarusian are accepted without translation; others need an authorised translation into Estonian, English or Russian;
Harno issues a written statement within 30 days of receiving all the documents.

Since 19 March 2025, educational documents from the Russian Federation sent to the Estonian ENIC/NARIC must carry an apostille.

What universities ask for

Most English-taught programmes take applications through DreamApply, and you upload scans of your documents there. Typical requirements:

your final school-leaving certificate and transcript, or the latest results if you graduate this year
certified copies, not simple copies
certified translations into English if the documents are in another language
proof of English

The University of Tartu defines certified copies as copies certified by the issuing institution or by a notary. Tallinn University accepts documents in Estonian or English; others need a certified translation made by the issuer, a sworn translator or a notary. See sworn translations.

Country-specific rules

Universities publish extra rules for diplomas from particular countries. The University of Tartu, for example, accepts only the official WAEC certificate from the Gambia, not school-issued certificates or online print-outs, and asks Cameroonian applicants to have the GCE Board send a confirmation of results directly to the university. Check the country page of every institution you apply to: the rules are not identical.

After admission: documents by post

Admission is often conditional until the university has seen your documents.

At the University of Tartu, admitted students send their documents by post after the results, but only once the university asks. Certified copies and translations of final school documents must arrive by 31 July if you graduate abroad.
Tallinn University gives candidates who are still at school an extension until 1 July to submit final documents.
Programmes in Estonian on SAIS can admit you conditionally if you graduate abroad after the deadline. At TalTech, the final offer then depends on your certificate and its recognition by ENIC/NARIC by mid-August.

Apostille and the residence permit

Universities do not ask for an apostille on every certificate, but some country rules require one. For the residence permit, PPA says documents issued abroad must be legalised or apostilled and translated into Estonian or English, with translations made in Estonia done by a sworn translator. For how the apostille works, see apostille and legalisation of documents.

Step by step

Check that your certificate gives access to higher education in your own country.
Read each programme's admission rules and the university's country-specific requirements.
Order certified copies and translations early.
Upload everything on DreamApply or SAIS by the deadline.
After admission, send the documents by post if asked, then apply for the visa and residence permit. See student visa for Estonia.

Where to look next

Official sources

Always check current information on the official website of the university before you apply.