Tamil Nadu (TN) HRD document attestation/authentication process

In order to get apostille from MEA, you need to get authentication from TN govt if your document originated is issued in Tamil Nadu. I will explain the overall process here for authenticating your degree certificate (if it is issued by a university in TN) and birth certificates. Please note that you need to either have an admission letter/email from a foreign university or a job offer in case you are going abroad to work, as the official at TN Secretariat will ask for it.

Degree Certificate

STEP – I: Go to DirectVerify and find your university.

Register, upload your degree certificate, enter your details, pay money and submit it. Wait 2/3 days to a week. They’ll send you a mail about the result of your verification. If it is successful, download the PDF they provide which will have a verification seal at the bottom on both the pages of your degree certificate.

STEP – 2: Ready all of the following documents:

·         Print-out of the directverify PDF (both pages)

·         Original degree certificate

·         A copy of the official admission letter/email from foreign university

·         Photocopy of your passport

STEP – 3: Go to TN Secretariat in Fort St. George. Its on Kamarajar Salai, the road by Marina beach. They will let you in after 10 AM after frisking you and checking your belongings. When you enter inside, ask for Public (Foreigners) Department or HRD.

The official will check your documents, and then give your an application letter. Fill it, and take a photocopy of it. Submit your documents and wait for half hour to one hour. Then collect your documents. Check for the sign, stamp and red seal as shown in the image below.

Birth Certificate

The HRD authenticates your document only if it is downloaded from the Corporation/Municipality/Panchayat website and is available online for e-verification. So, please make sure it is available on your respective civic body’s website. If is not available online and is only in the form of an offline certificate, please go to your Corporation/Municipality/Panchayat office and get it updated into their system and online immediately.

STEP – 1: Print the birth certificate, preferably in color and on a bond paper, so that it will be of better quality. You can print two copies and get authentication on both from TN HRD.

STEP – 2: Ready all of the following documents:

1.      The Birth Certificate print from STEP – 1

2.      Photocopy of your passport

3.      A copy of the official admission letter/email from foreign university

STEP – 3: Go to TN Secretariat in Fort St. George. Its on Kamarajar Salai, the road by Marina beach. They will let you in after 10 AM after frisking you and checking your belongings. When you enter inside, ask for Public (Foreigners) Department or HRD.

The official will check your documents, and then give your an application letter. Fill it, and take a photocopy of it. Submit your documents and wait for half hour to one hour. Then collect your documents. Check for the sign, stamp and red seal as shown in the image below. 

          This is how the authentication looks like

Additional Information

·        Don’t pay anyone any money in the office. Authentication is done free of charge.

·        Go early, as there is generally a considerable crowd. Besides, if you get the authentication done here early, you can rush to the MEA office in Nungambakkam College Road and submit the documents for apostille before 1 PM, beyond which time they don’t accept documents.

·        Please try to do the process yourself and save some money by not seeking the services of any agents.

·        Besides degree certificate and birth certificate, you should be able to get other documents such as class 10 and class 12 certificates, and other official documents authenticated.

·        TN HRD won’t authenticate your academic transcripts. That’s right. I have requested them for it when I needed to apostille my transcript as the country where I am going to do masters made it mandatory. But as you expect, it fell on the deaf ears of these thickheaded govt officials. One of the reasons behind why India’s progress is so excruciatingly slow is, our bureaucrats.

·         Here is the location of TN Secretariat on Google Maps:

Apostille

Please refer to this post about how to apostille your documents.

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Thank you for reading this blog post. If you have any query, please ask in the comments. I wish you good luck in getting your work quickly done. 

Yours Truly,

Mahendranath R.