Where Can I Get Certified Copies of Documents for Master's Applications in the United States So in a few weeks I will be submitting applications for Master's Programs in Germany. I am a resident of the United States living in Ohio and am required to submit certified copies of my Bachelor's Diploma and Transcript. The German website that handles several online applications list these as available sources:

issuing institutions, e.g. schools, universities and language schools
the Ministry of Education in your home country (I guess the Department of Education in the US)
German embassies and consulates (nearest one is several states away)
the department of cultural affairs of the embassy of the country in which the certificate was issued
public authorities and notaries which are authorized to supply official certifications in your country of origin.

The last point leads me to believe that it could be any notary, but then one application in particular says: &quot;authorities and notaries authorized to provide official notarization in the respective country
In no case will we accept notarizations from private individuals, lawyers, a priest's office, banks, health insurance companies or the AStA (student union executive committee)!&quot;
To sum up, basically I am wondering where I could get certified copies of my documents and which notaries count as &quot;official notaries&quot;. For instance there is an Ohio Notary Public office nearby, which is a state department, would that count?
If anyone has gone through this process before and could shed light that would be greatly appreciated.
Edit: After some additional research it would seem notary publics in most US states can not certify copies of documents, including in Ohio. Accepted top answer as option 1 is really the only viable option in my and most US states.
Option (1) is probably easiest.
It's normal in the US to send official transcripts directly from one educational institution to another. The way you do this is typically to go to your school's website and search &quot;official transcript&quot;. You may need to pay a fee or may only need a fee to send more than some number.
Since schools are used to sending these to other US schools I'm sure they are also prepared to send them to Germany. They'll come directly from the university with some sort of seal.
When I was applying for grad school this step at least was still entirely by physical mail; there may be digital options now too.