EPIK Documents: Apostille, Transcripts and Letters

EPIK asks for documents only after you pass the interview, and it rejects files that are almost right. This checklist follows EPIK's own document pages, read on 6 October 2026. EPIK says the guide is updated for each intake, so check the current version before you order anything. For the overall process, see the EPIK application guide.

The list

1. Signed application form. The online form printed with your wet-ink signature on page 6.

2. Professional photo.

3. Passport copy. A colour copy of the information page. EPIK says the passport should be valid within 1.5 years of the start of the application period.

4. Apostilled criminal record check. It must come from the national police authority of your country of primary citizenship. Checks from state, provincial or local police are not accepted. It must be dated within a window tied to your intake: for the Spring term, on or after 1 August for the main February intake, 1 September for late March and 1 October for late April. For the Fall term, the dates are 1 February, 1 March and 1 April respectively.

5. Apostilled bachelor's degree. See below.

6. Sealed transcripts. See below.

7. Two recommendation letters. See below.

8. Teaching licence, or TEFL, TESOL or CELTA certificate, unless your degree is in education. See below.

9. Proof of teaching experience, optional, but it can raise your starting level.

10. Extra documents depending on your nationality or schooling. EPIK specifically advises applicants from Australia, the UK and South Africa, Korean citizens and anyone who attended an international school outside the designated countries to read that section.

The degree and the apostille

EPIK wants an apostilled copy of your bachelor's degree certificate, even if you hold a master's. A master's can be added only to try for a higher pay level. It recommends apostilling a notarised or authenticated copy instead of the original, because it cannot promise to return originals to successful candidates. Official digital certificates are accepted if they can be processed physically for notarisation and apostille. EPIK cannot process e-Apostilles. If the certificate is not in English, include an official English translation from the university, which does not need to be notarised.

For US and Canadian applicants EPIK describes a notarised copy first, then the state or provincial authority for the apostille. South African applicants apostille the original SAQA verification letter together with a verified copy of the diploma. If you have not graduated yet, a letter of intent to graduate from the registrar can stand in for the application, but the apostilled certificate must reach EPIK by your coordinator's deadline or you lose any placement.

Transcripts

Sealed transcripts must accompany each degree, in an envelope marked across the seal so it is clear it was never opened, and must state the date the qualification was completed. If you spent under two years at the university that issued your degree, EPIK also wants sealed transcripts from your previous schools. Study-abroad transcripts are not required. Applicants who have not graduated can send in-progress transcripts as a placeholder, with the final ones due by the deadline.

Recommendation letters

Letters must come from a supervisor, manager, professor, academic adviser, co-teacher or other professional source, not a friend, family member or co-worker. Letters about freelance work, tutoring, nannying or au pair work are not accepted. Each letter needs the referee's name, title and contact details, official letterhead or a business card, a wet-ink signature, and a typed date of issue within two years of the date applications open. For the Spring 2027 term EPIK says that means on or after 1 August 2024. After the interview the original signed letters are required.

Teaching qualification

If you have a government-issued licence that lets you lead a classroom, send a copy, and note that anything expiring before your contract starts is not accepted. A PGCE counts. Otherwise a TEFL, TESOL or CELTA certificate is needed, and the eligibility page sets the minimum at 100 hours from an accredited programme. Indian nationals need an English-education teaching licence, which a TEFL certificate cannot replace.

Our advice

Start the national police check and the apostilles as soon as you are interviewed, because the police check has a start-date window and the apostilles depend on a state or national office. Keep a spare apostilled copy. Ask your coordinator which version of each document they want before you pay for anything.

Browse current Korea openings while you wait, or get new ones by job alert.

Sources

- EPIK: Required documents, general guide (read 6 October 2026)

- EPIK: Criminal record check (read 6 October 2026)

- EPIK: Bachelor's degree certificate (read 6 October 2026)

- EPIK: Sealed transcripts (read 6 October 2026)

- EPIK: Recommendation letters (read 6 October 2026)

- EPIK: Teaching licence or TEFL (read 6 October 2026)