Preparing Indonesian Ijazah and Transcripts for Overseas Applications: Legalization and Grade Conversion
By Muntasir • Published May 14, 2025 • Updated Aug 08, 2026 • Admissions & Applications, Study in Southeast Asia
Indonesia joined the Hague Apostille Convention on June 4, 2022, so ijazah and transcripts going to another member country now need one apostille instead of the old campus-Kemlu-embassy legalization chain.
🎓 Check your degree on PDDikti before you start, since evaluators cross-check your record there.
📩 Apostilles come from the Ministry of Law and Human Rights (Kemenkumham) online system, not the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, for Convention countries.
📩 Get a certified translation from a sworn translator (penerjemah tersumpah), since ijazah and transkrip are issued in Bahasa Indonesia.
⏱️ Start two to three months ahead: PDDikti checks, apostille, and translation each add separate wait time.
What foreign schools need from your ijazah and transkrip nilai
Your ijazah (diploma) and transkrip nilai (transcript) prove you finished a program and list every grade you earned. A foreign university or an evaluator like WES needs both, plus proof the documents are authentic and, since they are in Bahasa Indonesia, a certified English translation.
Step 1: confirm your degree is registered
Indonesian higher education institutions report every graduate to Pangkalan Data Pendidikan Tinggi (PDDikti), the national higher education database. Before you request legalization, search your name and program on PDDikti to confirm your degree appears correctly, since evaluators and some universities check it there. If your campus falls under the Ministry of Higher Education, Science and Technology (Kemdiktisaintek) , formed in October 2024 when the former Kemendikbudristek split into separate ministries for basic and higher education, and PDDikti shows a mismatch, request a correction from your campus academic office before moving to legalization.
Step 2: get an apostille instead of the old legalization chain
Indonesia joined the Hague Apostille Convention on June 4, 2022. Before that date, a graduate needed the campus to verify the document, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to legalize it, and the destination country's embassy in Jakarta to legalize it again. For any destination that also belongs to the Convention, a single apostille now replaces that entire chain.
The apostille is issued by the Directorate General of General Legal Administration (Ditjen AHU) under the Ministry of Law and Human Rights, through its online apostille system. You upload the scanned ijazah and transkrip, pay the fee, and the office issues a certificate attached to your document rather than a separate stamp per agency. If your destination country has not joined the Convention, ask the Ministry of Foreign Affairs consular service whether you still need the older legalization route plus embassy legalization in Jakarta.
Step 3: certified translation
Your ijazah and transkrip are issued in Bahasa Indonesia, so most evaluators and foreign admissions offices need a certified English translation alongside the original. Use a sworn translator (penerjemah tersumpah) registered with the Ministry of Law and Human Rights, since many evaluators only accept translations from a certified or sworn source, not a self-translation or an uncertified agency. Translate after you receive the apostille, so the translator can also render the apostille certificate itself into English.
Step 4: send everything to your evaluator
If your target program requires a foreign credential evaluation, create an account with WES or another recognized evaluator first and follow its exact document list. Most evaluators want the apostilled original or a certified copy plus the certified translation, and some ask your campus to send a copy directly. Check whether your evaluator wants document-by-document or course-by-course evaluation before you pay, since a course-by-course report that converts every grade costs more.
Converting your IPK
Indonesian universities grade on a 4.00 scale (IPK, or Indeks Prestasi Kumulatif) already close to the US 4.0 GPA, but letter bands differ by campus, commonly A down to E rather than A to F. A course-by-course evaluation converts your transcript to a standard US-style GPA report. If a school asks you to self-report your IPK before formal evaluation, quote it exactly as printed on your transcript rather than rounding it to a US equivalent yourself.
Quick reference
| Step | What happens | Who handles it |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Confirm your degree is registered correctly | PDDikti, your campus academic office |
| 2 | Apostille (single certificate for Convention countries) | Ditjen AHU, Ministry of Law and Human Rights |
| 3 | Certified English translation | Sworn translator (penerjemah tersumpah) |
| 4 | Credential evaluation, if your program requires one | WES or another recognized evaluator |
If your campus has merged with another institution or closed, PDDikti usually still holds your record under the successor institution's name. Contact that successor campus or Kemdiktisaintek's higher education records division to request certification when your original campus no longer exists.
Common mistakes to avoid
Requesting the old Ministry of Foreign Affairs legalization chain out of habit when your destination country accepts an apostille.
Translating before the apostille is attached, which leaves the apostille certificate itself untranslated.
Using an uncertified translator to save money, then having the evaluator reject the translation.
Skipping the PDDikti check and finding a name or program mismatch only after the evaluator flags it.
Start the process two to three months before your application deadline. Sworn translation and apostille processing both take independent turnaround time, and campus record corrections add weeks if PDDikti shows an error.