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Nostrification: how to have your school certificate and university degree recognised in Czechia

Who recognises foreign school certificates and degrees, which documents to prepare, when a nostrification exam is required, what recognising a university degree costs and what to do for a regulated profession.

Want to study in Czechia, work in your field or register a trade that requires qualifications? Sooner or later you will need nostrification, i.e. the recognition of your foreign education. The procedure differs depending on whether it is a school certificate or a university degree.

When you need nostrification

You usually need recognition when an employer, a school you are applying to or an authority asks for a Czech-recognised proof of education. Typical cases are applying to a secondary school or university, a job that requires a specific level of education, or a trade for which the law requires professional qualifications. Apply early: both the procedure and verifying documents abroad can take weeks or months.

Primary and secondary school certificates

You apply to the regional authority (krajský úřad) for the area of your permanent residence, or for foreigners your place of residence (Act No. 561/2004 Coll., Section 108(1)). If Czechia is bound by an international treaty to recognise your certificate, the authority issues a certificate of equivalence; the original or a certified copy is enough (Act No. 561/2004 Coll., Section 108(2)). In other cases it decides on nostrification, and you enclose the certificate, a document on the content and scope of your studies and, where needed, proof that the school belongs to its country's education system (Act No. 561/2004 Coll., Section 108(3)).

Unless an international treaty provides otherwise, signatures and stamps on the originals must be verified by the Czech embassy and by the foreign ministry of the issuing state, or by a notary there. You enclose a certified translation into Czech; documents in Slovak need no translation (Act No. 561/2004 Coll., Section 108(4)).

The nostrification exam

If the content of your studies differs only partly from the Czech framework curriculum, or you cannot provide all documents, the regional authority orders a nostrification exam in the relevant subjects. If it differs substantially, the application is rejected. It is also rejected if you fail the exam in at least one subject. Foreigners and those educated abroad do not take the exam in Czech language and literature (Act No. 561/2004 Coll., Section 108(5)).

University degrees

Foreign higher education is recognised by the Ministry of Education where an international treaty with the country of the university empowers it to do so. In other cases, a public university offering a programme in the same field decides (Act No. 111/1998 Coll., Section 89(1)); at the university, the rector decides (Act No. 111/1998 Coll., Section 90(1)). You enclose the original or a certified copy of your diploma and diploma supplement. The university may also ask for information on the content of your studies and for verified signatures and stamps (Act No. 111/1998 Coll., Section 90(2) and Act No. 111/1998 Coll., Section 90(3)).

• The procedure at a public university costs CZK 3,000 (Act No. 111/1998 Coll., Section 90a(2)).
• The university rejects the application, for example, if the institution was not a university in its own country, lacked authorisation for the programme, or if your education differs substantially from the qualification you are asking for (Act No. 111/1998 Coll., Section 90(5)).

Academic titles after recognition

In Czechia, academic titles are awarded only by a university (Act No. 111/1998 Coll., Section 2(9)). Graduates of master's programmes receive, for example, the title engineer (Ing.), doctor of medicine (MUDr.) or, in other fields, master (Mgr.), written before the name (Act No. 111/1998 Coll., Section 46(4)). A recognition decision issued today states which type of Czech study programme your studies correspond to (Act No. 111/1998 Coll., Section 90(6)); the law does not list a Czech academic title among its contents. The law also prohibits awarding titles that could be confused with Czech academic titles (Act No. 111/1998 Coll., Section 97(2)), so use your foreign title in the form in which the foreign university awarded it.

Older recognition decisions sometimes state expressly that the graduate is entitled to use a particular Czech academic title, for example Mgr. If your decision says so, you may use the title exactly as stated in it: a final decision is binding on the parties and on all administrative authorities (Act No. 500/2004 Coll., Section 73(2)). Always follow the exact wording of your own decision.

Refugees and asylum holders

People with asylum or subsidiary protection, and people in a situation similar to refugees, can replace missing documents and verifications with a sworn declaration (čestné prohlášení) (Act No. 561/2004 Coll., Section 108a(4) and Act No. 111/1998 Coll., Section 90(4)). For school certificates, the regional authority may order a nostrification exam if in doubt.

What to prepare

• the original or a certified copy of your certificate or diploma (with the supplement for a diploma),
• a list of subjects and hours, or your study plan,
• verified signatures and stamps if your country requires it,
• a certified translation into Czech by a court interpreter,
• the completed application form of the regional authority or university.

This article is general information, not legal advice for a specific case. Updated 31 Oct 2026 in line with the laws in force. — 777 PRODUCTION s.r.o.