LBS Degree Certificate Apostille for Saudi Arabia

London Business School publishes different document routes depending on the graduation year and the evidence required. A degree certificate reprint is handled separately from a transcript or verification letter, and older certificate replacements involve the University of London. For a Saudi employment file, identify the precise LBS programme and formal award date before ordering. This is especially helpful where a course completion date, graduation celebration and academic award date appear differently in the graduate’s own records.

For Saudi use: an apostilled degree certificate or transcript connected with study at LBS may form part of the requested documents. It does not automatically complete Mosadaqa, QVP, formal degree equivalency or a Saudi work-visa application. Establish the actual award and procedure before deciding which documents need legalisation.

Awarding-body check: LBS replacement certificate arrangements differ for graduates before 2010 and from 2010 onwards.

Use the LBS certificate route for your graduation year

The LBS degree certificate guidance directs graduates before 2010 to the University of London for replacement certificates. Graduates from 2010 onwards use the LBS request form, which offers a hard copy, PDF or both. LBS can still provide transcripts for graduates from the earlier period.

This split means that the same graduate may obtain a transcript from LBS and a replacement certificate through a different institution. Check the original issuer before entering details in a Saudi form. For a reprint enquiry, prepare the LBS number, legal name, programme and award date, and confirm the delivery format required by the recipient before placing the request.

Ask the Programme Office for transcripts and verification

The same guidance directs transcripts, degree-related official letters and verification letters to the relevant Programme Office. Degree certificate enquiries have their own address, degreecertificates@london.edu. The School therefore provides distinct routes for the final award document and evidence explaining the academic record; the request should identify which service is needed.

Name the programme precisely, including the relevant Executive MBA or other programme variant. If a Saudi verification service wants an institutional response, provide its reference and instructions to the Programme Office. Ask how consent and direct delivery should be arranged. An alumni profile or membership of the LBS community is not a substitute for a confirmation tied to the completed degree.

Use the formal award date in the academic file

The Board of Examiners guidance states that, for the MBA, MSc and MRes programmes covered by that guidance, the degree is conferred on the relevant Board meeting date rather than the date when the student finished the programme requirements. This can explain an apparent discrepancy between a CV’s completion month and the date appearing on the official award.

Use the documented award date consistently and keep attendance dates in their separate context. If you hold executive education certificates as well as a degree, label each by its exact title. The alumni services page is a useful current starting point for the document instructions; retain the completed degree evidence separately from shorter professional development credentials.

Do the degree certificate and transcript both need a UK apostille?

A degree certificate confirms the award; an academic transcript records the studies and results. Mosadaqa’s published guide lists both for bachelor’s verification. However, a request to upload a transcript does not by itself establish that it needs an apostille. The guide also contains legacy instructions, so the current application checklist needs checking.

For documents connected with study at LBS, separate these four questions before ordering document legalisation:

Procedure and document	Point to confirm for this application
Mosadaqa: degree certificate	Is an apostilled certificate required at submission, or is academic verification the immediate requirement?
Mosadaqa: transcript	Is the official transcript sufficient, or is a separately certified and apostilled transcript requested?
QVP: degree certificate	What document format does the selected occupation and application route require?
QVP: transcript	Is it required for the qualification assessment, and does any legalisation requirement apply to it?

The answer for a verification portal may differ from the later work-visa, work-permit, Iqama or professional-registration checklist. Obtain the written requirement and identify which organisation issued it.

Mosadaqa, QVP and Saudi degree equivalency: different checks

Mosadaqa verification: the Saudi Ministry of Education and Cultural Mission coordinate checks with the awarding institution, including the award, course and study mode.
QVP professional verification: qualification checks associated with Saudi employment, under the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development (HRSD) Professional Accreditation (PACC) framework. The qualification and proposed occupation matter. QVP is distinct from practical skills testing under SVP.
Formal Ministry of Education degree equivalency: a separate academic-recognition service. If someone asks for “equivalency”, establish which service and applicant category they mean.
Professional registration: bodies such as the Saudi Council of Engineers (SCE) or Saudi Commission for Health Specialties (SCFHS) may have a separate assessment. A verification result is not itself a professional licence.

Use the official Mosadaqa description, Professional Accreditation portal and Ministry equivalency service to identify the process requested. These services are not interchangeable with UK document legalisation.

Are Mosadaqa and QVP both needed, and which comes first?

There is no single sequence established here for every UK graduate. Ask the employer or responsible Saudi adviser whether your case needs Mosadaqa, QVP, both, or another check, and whether one result is a prerequisite for another. Your occupation code, qualification, nationality, country of residence, visa application location and regulator can affect the route. A UK degree does not make every applicant’s case the same.

Also confirm whether university verification can begin while certification or apostille is being arranged. Do not treat an agency’s preferred workflow, or another applicant’s experience, as a universal rule.

Solicitor verification, certification and FCDO apostille

Ginkgo Advisory is a London-based legal service provider offering UK degree verification, solicitor certification and FCDO apostille services. Verification checks the academic record through the university or its authorised system. Certification records the solicitor’s statement about the document and any checks performed. An apostille authenticates the relevant signature or seal; it does not award Saudi recognition or guarantee a visa.

Where apostilled documents are requested, we review the university evidence and the recipient’s instructions before preparing the certification. The recipient may distinguish an original, a solicitor-certified copy and a notarised copy. A HEDD result or university sharing link can support verification, but does not itself replace an apostille or the Saudi authority’s own checks. See our UK apostille service.

Paper apostille or FCDO e-Apostille?

Eligible electronic documents can use the UK e-Apostille route with the required UK solicitor or notary electronic signature. A university PDF alone is not an e-Apostille. HCCH guidance confirms that a valid e-Apostille cannot be refused solely because it is electronic. Separately, confirm the Saudi recipient’s submission method and preserve the original signed PDF; printing it or uploading a screenshot does not preserve its electronic signature.

Saudi Embassy, Cultural Bureau and MOFA attestation

The Apostille Convention has applied to Saudi Arabia since 7 December 2022. For documents within its scope, an apostille replaces diplomatic or consular legalisation. Saudi Embassy stamping should therefore not be presented as an automatic additional step after every UK apostille. References to Saudi Cultural Bureau, Cultural Attaché or Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) procedures may concern a different check: clarify the purpose of any additional request. Academic verification, translation and professional assessment remain separate matters.

Express apostille timing and what to prepare

Ginkgo offers express paper apostille in 2 working days and express e-Apostille by the next working day, subject to document eligibility, completed verification and certification, and confirmed service availability. These are targets for the apostille stage. University response time, replacement documents, translation, DHL or other delivery, and Saudi verification or visa processing are additional. FCDO checks can extend the timetable.

For a document review, have the certificate, complete transcript or university explanation of its absence, programme and award dates, study location and mode, and the Saudi recipient’s written checklist available. We will explain any identity and consent requirements for verification. For a master’s or doctorate, earlier qualifications or research details may also be requested.

Online study, an overseas campus, transferred credits or a partner college need particular attention. The Saudi Cultural Mission’s UK guidance lists restrictions affecting distance/correspondence study and overseas-branch awards under its non-Saudi verification criteria. Confirm how the relevant authority applies its current rules to your award before paying for legalisation; an apostille cannot resolve an eligibility issue.

Frequently asked questions

Who supplies an LBS transcript or degree verification letter?

LBS directs those requests to the relevant Programme Office. Certificate reprints use a different route: pre-2010 graduates are directed to the University of London, while graduates from 2010 onwards use the LBS certificate request form.

Can the certificate and transcript share one apostille?

Possibly, if the certification arrangement and recipient’s requirements allow it. Documents uploaded or assessed separately may need separate treatment. GOV.UK tells applicants to check grouped versus separate apostilles with the receiving party; do not assume a bundle will be accepted.

Must I send my original degree certificate to the UK?

A secure university document share or clear scan may allow an initial review. Whether the work can be completed remotely depends on successful verification and the required certification format. Confirm the route before posting an original or ordering a replacement.

Will an English-language degree need an Arabic translation?

Ask the Saudi recipient whether a translation is required, who may prepare it, and whether it must cover the certificate, transcript, certification and apostille. The fact that the university taught in English does not answer that document-submission question.

Can an existing apostille or verification report be reused?

Provide the existing apostilled documents and report details for review. A change of employer, occupation, regulator or document may affect what is requested. Do not assume that an earlier result must be repeated, or that it is automatically reusable in every new application.

Ask Ginkgo to review your LBS documents

Send an initial enquiry with the teaching institution, awarding body, qualification level, graduation year, intended use in Saudi Arabia and any written requirements received. We can assess the UK verification, solicitor certification and apostille work and provide a quote. The responsible Saudi authority or adviser should confirm the Saudi application route and outcome.

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Related guidance: UK degrees, Mosadaqa and QVP · Contact Ginkgo Advisory.

LBS Degree Certificate & Transcript Apostille for Saudi Arabia