Notarisation of TEFL certificates

Hello, I have a question about notarisation of TEFL certificates.

I'm currently thinking of starting a company offering online TEFL courses and global English teaching job recruitment (I'm already working in recruitment now so this isn't an entirely new concept to me).

I understand that the TEFL industry is a bit of a free-for-all, with many people claiming that in some countries all you need to do is print a fake certificate for yourself and that's enough.

This isn't the case in all places though, and it would be very unwise to run a business based on that approach. With this in mind, the aim is to see what the general process is for when someone wants their TEFL certificate to be notarised and deemed as legitimate.

In particular, I'm wondering what the process is for notarising a TEFL certificate, and what might cause a notary to reject it? Is there anything a TEFL course provider must do?

Thanks :smile:

Reply 1

nulli tertius

Original post by stuart_aitken

Well, I am a notary so let's go from here.

Are you teaching for CELTA or other external qualifications?

If yes, I would wish to see the student's passport, evidence of his address, original CELTA and I would have him sign an authority to approach Cambridge Assessment for verification.

If you are providing your own courses and assessments then in addition to the above (obviously the authority is to approach you not Cambridge) I would wish verify that you were an accredited body. There are various public and private sector accrediting bodies, but I as the notary carry the can, not merely that the certificate is genuine but that the course and its provider are as well. For you sort of provision, I would probably expect to see accreditation by the Open & Distance Learning Quality Council but wouldn't rule out accreditation by another appropriate body.

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