Translating a Lithuanian diploma and diploma supplement: what to prepare for study or work abroad

Algirdas Urbonas · 7 October 2026

A foreign university, employer or qualification recognition body will almost always ask for your diploma together with its supplement, and often for a translation of both. Some of that cost can be avoided: if you completed your studies in Lithuania in 2006 or later, you already have an official English text. Below I explain what really needs translating, what does not, and where people most often go wrong.

First check whether the supplement is already in English

Since 1 January 2006, Lithuanian higher education institutions have been required to issue a diploma supplement to everyone who completes their studies in 2006 or later. The supplement is issued in Lithuanian and English and follows the model developed by the European Commission, the Council of Europe and UNESCO/CEPES. It does not replace the diploma but adds to it: it sets out the study programme, the subjects and the grades.

So if the documents are requested in English, the supplement usually does not need translating. Simply ask the receiving institution whether it accepts the English text prepared by the higher education institution. Some higher education institutions issue the diploma itself in two languages as well, but often it is in Lithuanian only. In that case it still has to be translated.

If you graduated earlier, you most likely do not have an English supplement (some 2005 graduates received one on request). What is translated then is the appendix issued with the diploma (diplomo priedas), which lists the subjects and grades.

When a language other than English is needed

Institutions in Germany, France or Norway often ask for a translation into their own language. The question then is which language to translate from. I advise translating from the Lithuanian original: the translation then corresponds exactly to the document your higher education institution issued, and the translator confirms by signature that this is the document that was translated. Some institutions do, however, accept a translation made from the English part of the supplement, so check this before you order.

Translations into other languages are done by my partners, while I coordinate the work and check that the names of the degree, the programme and the subjects match in all the documents.

The name of the degree: no improvising

Most mistakes are made in translating the name of the degree. For example, profesinis bakalauras (Professional Bachelor) and bakalauras (Bachelor) are different degrees: the first is awarded on completion of college studies, the second on completion of university studies. If both simply become “Bachelor” in the translation, a foreign institution may assess your education incorrectly.

That is why I take the names of the degree and the study programme from the English part of the supplement. The names in the diploma translation and in the supplement then match, and the evaluator is left in no doubt that they refer to the same qualification.

First name, surname and dates must match your passport

I write your first name and surname exactly as they appear in your passport, with all the Lithuanian diacritics: “Žemaitytė”, not “Zemaityte”. If you have used a different spelling in your application or in other documents, tell me in advance and we will work out how to avoid discrepancies.

In an English translation I write the month as a word, for example “3 April 2024”. Written as “03/04/2024”, the date would mean 4 March in the United States but 3 April in the United Kingdom and many European countries.

Grades are translated, not converted

A translator does not convert grades from the ten-point scale into A–F or into another country’s grading system. The translation shows the grades and credits exactly as they are entered in the original. If the grades need to be converted, that is done by the receiving institution or by the recognition body of that country, not by the translator.

Signature, notary and apostille

For most institutions, a translation with the translator’s signature is enough. Some require a notary to attest the authenticity of the translator’s signature, and sometimes an apostille as well.

Since 18 January 2016, apostilles for documents issued in Lithuania have been issued by notaries. An apostille confirms only the authenticity of the signature, the capacity in which the person who signed the document acted and, where there is one, the identity of the seal or stamp – not the content of the document. Both the diploma itself and the notary’s attestation of the translator’s signature can be apostilled, so be sure to ask which document needs the apostille. I have written more about this in “Translator’s signature, notarisation or apostille: what your document needs in Lithuania”.

What it costs and how long it takes

For private clients, translation costs from €9 per page incl. VAT, with the translator’s signature included. One page is 1,700 characters without spaces, and the minimum order is €15 incl. VAT. The text of a diploma is short, so a diploma on its own often comes to the minimum order. A supplement with its list of subjects is longer, and its price depends on the number of characters. If you need the documents urgently, I can translate them the same working day for a 50% urgency surcharge.

What to ask the receiving institution before you order

• Do you accept the English supplement issued by the higher education institution without a translation?
• Which language should the documents be translated into, and is a translation from the Lithuanian original acceptable?
• Do you require the translator’s signature, notarisation and an apostille? If an apostille is needed, on which document?
• Do you need the paper original, or is a scanned copy enough?
• What is the deadline for submitting the documents?

Send me scanned copies of the diploma and the supplement and tell me which country and institution they are for. You will have a price and a delivery date the same working day.

Get a quoteYou can upload the diploma and the supplement in the request form.