Miguel Angel Pollino – CEO of LegalSpain
"If you have a high school diploma from another country and want to study at a Spanish university, you need to have your degree validated." It is the mandatory procedure that converts your foreign qualification into a qualification equivalent to the Spanish Baccalaureate., officially recognized by the Ministry of Education. In LegalSpain We have been managing hundreds of homologation applications each year for over a decade. We know exactly what documents the Ministry requires, what errors delay the applications, and how to avoid them.
In this guide we explain the entire process: requirements, documents, deadlines, costs and how we can help you make sure everything goes smoothly from day one.
The homologation of the baccalaureate is the administrative procedure by which the Ministry of Education, Vocational Training and Sports of Spain officially recognizes that your pre-university studies carried out in another country are equivalent to the Spanish Baccalaureate degree.
Once your qualification is officially recognized, it will be fully valid in Spain , just as if you had completed your high school studies at a Spanish institution. This allows you to:
Yes, for most international students it is mandatory. The only exceptions are students from European Union countries, China, Colombia, or holders of the International Baccalaureate (IB) Diploma , who can access the university through the UNEDasiss Credential instead of validation.
If you have any doubts about whether your situation requires UNEDasiss accreditation or certification, please contact us without obligation.
Anyone who has completed pre-university studies equivalent to the Spanish Baccalaureate in a foreign education system can apply for validation. It is not necessary to be a resident of Spain or physically present in the country to begin the process.
The most frequent cases we handle in LegalSpain They are students from:
If your country is not on this list, don't worry: we handle applications from any education system in the world.
To be able to apply for the validation of a high school diploma, it is essential that these conditions are met:
This is the standard documentation requested by the Ministry. Depending on your country and specific situation, additional documents may be required.
All Latin American countries are signatories to the Hague Convention, so the appropriate legalization procedure is the Apostille. This process is carried out at the relevant Ministry in your country before sending the documents to Spain.
En LegalSpain we indicate you exactly which documents need an apostille and how to obtain it correctly to avoid rejections.
Locate your original diploma and transcript. Verify that they are apostilled (or legalized if your country is not a signatory to the Hague Convention) and, if they are not in Spanish, hire a certified translator. Estimated time: 2-6 weeks depending on your country and the speed of the preliminary procedures.
The official fee for the homologation of high school diplomas (fee 079) currently amounts to €49,76. Payment is made using form 790 provided by the Ministry and is an essential requirement for submitting the application. This fee is included in the service of LegalSpainYou don't have to manage it yourself.
The application can be submitted:
En LegalSpain We handle all of this on your behalf, including the filing of documents and obtaining the file initiation slip.
Once the application has been submitted correctly, the Ministry issues a validation initiation notice. This document is key: it allows you to enroll at the university provisionally while your application is being processed, without having to wait for final validation. LegalSpain We will give you this flyer as soon as it is available so you can use it for your university pre-registration.
Once the process has begun, the file is processed by the Ministry. During this time, additional documentation may be requested. Responding to these requests promptly and accurately is essential to avoid delaying the resolution. LegalSpain We monitor the status of your file and manage any requirements that may arise, so you don't have to worry about it.
Once your application has been approved, the Ministry will issue the Equivalency Certificate, the final document that certifies your foreign qualification is equivalent to the Spanish Baccalaureate. We will give it to you as soon as we receive it.
This is one of the most important aspects to consider, and also the one that generates the most questions. Estimated time for the entire process: between 3 and 9 months.
The timeframe varies significantly depending on several factors:
Factor | Impact on the deadline |
| Country of origin of the title | Stop — each consulate has its own processing times |
| Completeness of initial documentation | Very high — incomplete documentation generates requirements that can add months |
| Season of the year | High — the months of highest demand (January-March) are more saturated |
Most Spanish universities require that the accreditation process be completed—or at least initiated and with a supporting document—before October of the year of admission. In regions like Catalonia, some universities require final accreditation for pre-registration, further shortening the timeframe.
The recommendation of LegalSpain It's always the same: Start the process as far in advance as possible, Ideally as soon as you have the degree in hand, regardless of when you plan to start studying.
The base price of the high school diploma validation service with LegalSpain It costs €330. This price covers the vast majority of standard applications and includes everything necessary to complete the process from start to finish.
Includes:
Not included: postal shipping costs for original documents from your country, apostilles or legalizations, or translations.
In some more complex cases, the price may exceed the base price of €330. This occurs in specific situations, such as studies obtained from different educational systems or with particularly complex documentation, cases requiring additional procedures outside the standard process, or cases that need a significantly higher level of dedication from our team.
En LegalSpain We always conduct a preliminary analysis of your situation before confirming the final quote.If your case requires a different price than the standard one, we will inform you from the beginning, with total transparency and no surprises in the middle of the process.
En LegalSpain we manage hundreds of homologation files each year. This allows us to know precisely what the Ministry requires in each case, what errors are most frequent and how to avoid them.
What we do for you:
1. Preliminary feasibility analysis — before starting, we review your situation and documentation to confirm that everything is correct and that there will be no problems in the presentation.
2. File preparation — we organize and verify each document according to the exact requirements of the Ministry.
3. Official submission — we process the application directly with the Ministry on your behalf.
4. Provisional slip — we will send it to you as soon as it is available so you can use it for your university registration.
5. Active monitoring — we monitor the status of the file and inform you of any updates.
6. Requirements management — if the Ministry requests additional documentation, we handle it.
7. Delivery of the credential — when the homologation is resolved favorably, we deliver the final credential.
Yes, this applies to most international students whose country is neither a member of the European Union nor has a special agreement with Spain. It is the academic requirement that virtually all Spanish universities demand for admission to students with foreign qualifications. The exception is students from EU countries, China, Colombia, or those with an IB Diploma, who are admitted through the UNEDasiss Credential.
The process can take between 3 and 9 months depending on the country of origin, the time of year, and the completeness of the documentation. To avoid problems with university pre-registration deadlines, we recommend starting the process as early as possible, ideally as soon as you have your degree in hand.
Yes. Once the application has been submitted correctly, the Ministry issues a certificate of commencement of the process, which allows provisional enrollment at the university. Most Spanish universities accept this certificate to formalize enrollment while the application is being processed. Exception: In some autonomous communities, such as Catalonia, certain universities may require final validation of the degree.
In the vast majority of cases, yes. Documents issued in countries that are signatories to the Hague Convention (including all Latin American countries) must bear the Hague Apostille. For non-signatory countries, the process is consular legalization. If you're unsure how to apostille your documents, we'll guide you step by step.
Yes. The process can be started from outside Spain through the education department of the Spanish Embassy or Consulate in your country. LegalSpain They can manage the case even if you are not in Spain, coordinating the entire process with you remotely.
A request means that the Ministry is asking for additional documentation or clarification on some aspect of the file. It is more common than it seems, and if it is not answered correctly and within the established deadline, it can halt the process. LegalSpain We handle all requirements included in the service, at no additional cost.
The homologation process declares that your foreign qualification is equivalent to a qualification within the Spanish education system (recognition of the entire qualification). Validation, on the other hand, recognizes specific subjects or courses, not the entire qualification. To access a Spanish university with a foreign high school diploma, you need homologation, not validation.
The price of the complete high school diploma validation service with LegalSpain It costs €330, including official fees and full management up to the delivery of the final credential.
No. To begin the validation process, it is essential to have completed and received your high school diploma in your country of origin. It is not possible to validate incomplete studies.
Yes. The high school equivalency credential also allows access to higher-level vocational training cycles, not just university studies.
Depending on your specific situation, you may need a different procedure than the validation of your high school diploma. LegalSpain We manage all processes related to access to studies in Spain:
Not sure what procedure you need? Tell us about your case and we'll advise you without obligation.