I need some info about the attestation rules for certificates issued by German universities. I did my Phd from university of Karlsruhe. I am planning to go back to India and also in the process of searching for jobs there. For govt jobs, some of them specifically ask for attestation by the Indian embassy/consulate for copies of certificates from foreign universities. When I contacted the Munich consulate they said they need to see the attestation from the landesgericht to do that (which also cost 14 euros per copy). I live in Stuttgart and I therefore contacted the landesgericht here. They said they will do that only if the copy is attested by a Notar (wont accept from anybody else, even buergerbuero!) And the Notar charges on an average 10 euros/copy. That is in addition to the time one has to spend for running after these people. That means in the end one has to roll out around 30 euros for just one copy! I simply dont understand this nonsense. Is there any written rule behind this? All you need for attestation is to see the original certificate. For the landesgericht to say that they dont attest the copy of a certificate issued by a german (elite) university unless they see a signature from a Notar doesn't make any sense. Does anyone know the truth? Or are the really like that? (won't be surprised though, when compared to the other bureaucratic nonsenses that I experienced at the auslanderamt!)

Contact your uni to begin with. They must know whats the right way to be done. The rest are semi-informed. Good luck.