DoV, CIMEA or ARDI: which document do you actually need?

Start with the recipient, qualification and purpose

Create a document plan for your exact university, programme and intake. Record separately what admissions, final enrolment, the visa office and the scholarship authority require. Ask the university which evidence it accepts for the qualification’s level, its authenticity and any translation. One document does not automatically answer all three questions.

Bologna illustrates why the distinction matters: its policy separates authenticity from qualification value and permits different evidence for each. Its listed alternatives are Bologna’s rules, not a national promise that every university accepts the same combination.

What the names mean

A Declaration of Value, or DoV, is an informative consular document about a qualification. The relevant consulate follows where the qualification was issued. It is not an admission decision.

CIMEA Comparability describes a qualification’s level and its place in the education system. CIMEA Verification checks whether the named holder was actually awarded it. Neither service grants automatic academic recognition or a visa.

ARDI supplies correspondence information for listed qualification types from covered education systems. Its free correspondence statement is not individual verification. A qualification missing from ARDI is not thereby invalid. Use the service finder rather than assuming every Indian applicant can download an ARDI statement.

Use the awarding system, not your passport

In DiploMe, choose the country or system that awarded the qualification and the correct qualification level. Studying in India does not turn a UK-awarded qualification into an Indian one. Foreign-board and international qualifications need their own selection.

Before purchase, send the receiving office the exact service name you intend to order. Ask whether it wants comparability, verification, both, a DoV, or another accepted route; which award and transcripts; the delivery format; and the final deadline. Keep its written answer with your application.

A useful way to label your document folder

Use four folders: Admission, Enrolment, Visa and Scholarship. Within each, keep the current requirement, issuing authority, original file, translation if required, verification receipt and delivery confirmation. This makes it easier to reuse evidence without assuming that one office’s approval binds another.

If the programme involves a regulated profession, ask separately about professional recognition. Acceptance for study should not be presented as permission to practise.

Official sources

Check the current programme call before submitting. The links below were used to prepare this guide; a prior-cycle call does not confirm the deadline for your intended intake.

1. Translation, authenticity and value of foreign qualifications ↗www.unibo.it
2. Declaration of Value ↗consmumbai.esteri.it
3. Comparability and Verification service ↗cimea-diplome.it
4. ARDI and verification service ↗cimea-diplome.it
5. DiploMe service finder and prices ↗cimea-diplome.it

Continue your research

• CIMEA DiploMe: fees, processing time and how to apply
• Mumbai DoV for study: use the 2026/27 checklist
• Mumbai University verification and eTranscript: choose the right route