Diploma Nostrification at MUNI, VUT and Mendel: A Guide for English Speakers

Applying to an English-taught programme at Masaryk University, VUT or Mendel University, or trying to get your foreign degree recognised in Brno? The terminology alone — nostrification, verification, recognition — can be confusing, and getting it wrong can mean paying a fee and waiting weeks for a procedure you didn’t actually need. This guide walks through both routes, what needs translating, and which countries are exempt entirely.

For a general overview of certified translation in the Czech Republic, see our full guide.

• There are two routes: General Nostrification (universal, lifelong, a 3,000 CZK fee) and Faculty Verification (valid only at one faculty, done after admission).
• If your diploma is already in English, Masaryk University and VUT do not require a translation.
• Applicants from Slovakia, Germany, Hungary, Poland and Slovenia need no recognition procedure at all.
• Holders of temporary protection status are exempt from the 3,000 CZK fee.

This is the distinction that trips up the most applicants, and getting it right can save you both time and money.

General Nostrification is a universal recognition valid for life at any public university in the Czech Republic. It’s handled centrally — by the Rector’s Office for higher education diplomas, or by the Regional Office for secondary school certificates — and carries a 3,000 CZK administrative fee.

Faculty Verification, by contrast, is valid only for studies at that specific faculty, and — importantly — it typically happens after you’ve already been admitted to an English-taught programme, not before. Several faculties at Masaryk University use this route specifically for international applicants to English-taught programmes: you apply and get a conditional offer first, and the faculty verifies your prior education as part of finalising your enrolment.

If you’re applying to an English-taught bachelor’s or master’s programme, check with the faculty first — many will run Faculty Verification as part of your admission, meaning you may not need General Nostrification at all.

This is a detail that surprises a lot of applicants, and it can save a genuine cost.

Both Masaryk University and VUT confirm explicitly: documents issued in English (or Slovak) do not require translation for recognition of foreign education. Only documents in other languages need an official translation.

There’s a further detail worth knowing: Masaryk University accepts translations into either Czech or English — so if your diploma is in, say, Portuguese or Ukrainian, you can have it translated into English rather than Czech. This can be genuinely useful if you already need an English translation for other purposes and want to avoid commissioning two separate translations.

For applicants from a handful of countries, the entire recognition question disappears.

Thanks to bilateral agreements on mutual recognition of educational qualifications, applicants who completed their education in Slovakia, Germany, Hungary, Poland, or Slovenia typically need only submit the original document, or an officially certified copy — no nostrification, no verification, and no fee.

For everyone else, the standard rules on document authentication apply: an apostille for documents from Hague Convention countries, or superlegalization (authentication by the foreign ministry of the issuing country plus the Czech embassy there) for documents from other countries. VUT publishes a country-by-country table specifying exactly which authentication route applies.

Beyond the core diploma, a few supporting documents are commonly required.

The diploma and its supplement are typically assessed together — the supplement is what shows the university the actual subjects and hours studied, so it matters as much as the diploma itself. We handle certified translations of both on our diplomas and certificates page.

Processing times are set by law, but it’s worth planning around them rather than assuming the fastest case.

The standard processing period is 30 days, extendable by another 30 for more complex cases. The administrative fee is 3,000 CZK, though holders of temporary protection status under the relevant Czech legislation are exempt from paying it.

Where you apply depends on your level of education: secondary school certificates go to the Regional Office, while bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral diplomas go to Masaryk University’s Rector’s Office, which corresponds by both Czech and English email. If you’re a researcher joining a Brno institution rather than a degree student, the process for prior qualifications works the same way.

Our office is on Příkop in central Brno, close to the university campuses, and we handle both the translation and, where needed, apostille coordination — standard documents in express mode within 24 hours.

We translate diplomas and supplements with the stamp accepted by Brno’s nostrification and admissions committees.