Attestation
HEC, IBCC and MOFA attestation, in the order they have to happen
Attestation is a chain, and each link depends on the one before it. These pages set out which body attests what, and where translation belongs — which is last, not first.
What order does attestation happen in?
Issuing authority first, then the verifying body — HEC for university degrees, IBCC for matric and intermediate certificates — then MOFA, then the destination country's embassy in Islamabad. Translation comes last, because attestation stamps go on the original and a translation made earlier will not show them.
HEC Degree Attestation
How HEC degree attestation works in Pakistan, what documents you need, where it sits before MOFA and embassy attestation, and why translation must come last.
Read the HEC Degree Attestation guideIBCC Attestation and Equivalence
How IBCC attestation works for matric and intermediate certificates, the difference between attestation and equivalence, and where translation fits in the chain.
Read the IBCC Attestation and Equivalence guideMOFA Attestation
What MOFA attestation actually certifies, which body must attest your document first, where translation belongs in the sequence, and why doing it early wastes money.
Read the MOFA Attestation guideApostille in Pakistan
How an apostille differs from the embassy attestation chain, when a Pakistani document can take the apostille route instead, and why the two are alternatives rather than sequential steps.
Read the Apostille in Pakistan guideWhich body attests your document
| Document | Attest first with |
|---|---|
| University degree, transcript, DMC | HEC |
| Matric and intermediate certificates | IBCC |
| Foreign school qualification | IBCC equivalence |
| Birth, marriage, death certificate | NADRA computerised version |
| Police character certificate | Issuing police authority |
| Commercial and company documents | Chamber of commerce |
All of them then go to MOFA, and after that to the destination embassy where required. The full walkthrough is in our MOFA attestation checklist. Once the stamps are on, what each authority wants from the translation is covered by destination.
What we do, and what we do not
We translate documents. We do not perform attestation, do not represent clients at HEC, IBCC, MOFA, or any embassy, and cannot speed up or guarantee a government outcome.
No fees or processing times are published on these pages. The authorities set them, revise them, and charge per document, so a figure that is right today would quietly mislead you in six months. Every page links to the official source instead.
What we can do is stop you translating at the wrong point in the chain — which is the single most common and most expensive mistake in Pakistani document preparation.
Attestation complete? Send the documents for translation
Translation comes after the stamps are on. Send the attested documents with your destination and deadline, and we will confirm the price and turnaround before any work starts.