also called attested copy · certified copy
A photocopy of an original document that an authorised person has stamped and signed to confirm it matches the original they have seen.
A certified true copy is a photocopy that an authorised person has stamped and signed to swear it matches the original they physically saw. Who is allowed to do that swearing changes from country to country: a notary in one place, a solicitor, a police officer or an embassy in another. Get it certified by the wrong kind of person and the office refuses it, so the only rule that counts is the one held by the office asking.
A residency office asks for a certified copy of your degree so you can keep the original safe. You get it stamped by someone who certifies documents fine back home, but this country only accepts a notary's certification, and your carefully prepared copy is handed straight back.
Offices often want a certified copy rather than your precious original, but who is allowed to certify it varies: a notary in one country, a solicitor, a police officer or an embassy in another. Getting it certified by the wrong kind of person means it is refused, so the rule of the office asking is what counts.
The difference is the whole point, so here is each one in a line.
These are the stamps that turn a home document into one a foreign office will accept, in the order they usually stack.
A notary confirms a signature or that a copy matches the original, which is what a certified true copy or notarized copy is; a certified translation puts it into the local language; then an apostille certifies the whole thing for countries in the Hague Convention, while legalization or attestation is the longer chain for countries that do not accept the apostille.
Power of attorney, a long-form birth certificate and a school leaving certificate are the kinds of document that most often need this treatment.
Apostille · Certified translation · Legalization · Long-form birth certificate · Notarization · Notarized copy vs original · school leaving certificate
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