If the college you studied at has closed, it is natural to fear your degree is now unverifiable. But there is an important distinction in the Indian system that usually saves the day: your college and the university that awarded your degree are often not the same body — and it is the university that matters for attestation.
College vs university — the crucial difference
In India, most colleges are affiliated to a university. You studied at the college, but your degree was awarded by the affiliating university, whose name and seal appear on the certificate. Critically, it is that university — not the college — that verifies the degree for attestation. So even if your college has closed, the affiliating university generally still holds your records and can confirm them.
Step 1 — Identify the affiliating university
Look at your degree certificate: the awarding university is named on it. That is the body you approach for verification, regardless of your college’s status.
Step 2 — Apply to the university for verification
Request verification directly from the affiliating university, providing your enrolment number, mark sheets and ID. Since the degree was theirs to award, it is theirs to confirm.
Step 3 — If the university itself has also closed or merged
If the affiliating university has also closed, merged or been renamed, the records pass to a successor institution or a state authority — trace that body and approach them instead.
Step 4 — The SDM route as a backup
Where verification is genuinely impossible and your destination accepts it, the SDM route can attest the degree at state level without direct university verification.
Step 5 — Complete attestation or apostille
With verification achieved, proceed through state attestation and then MEA apostille (or embassy attestation for non-Hague destinations).
A closed college is far less of a problem than it first appears, because your degree lives with the affiliating university, not the college. Identify that university, apply for verification, and your attestation can proceed as normal.
Quick FAQ
My college closed — can I still get my degree attested?
Usually yes. Your degree was awarded by the affiliating university, which verifies it for attestation — not the college — so a closed college doesn’t block it.
Who do I approach if my college is shut?
The affiliating university named on your degree certificate.
What if the university has also closed?
The records pass to a successor institution or state authority; trace that body, or use the SDM route where your destination accepts it.
How Manav Corporate Consultants can help
At Manav Corporate Consultants (MCC), we handle the complete apostille and attestation journey — checking your documents for issues before submission, then managing notarisation, state and Chamber of Commerce verification, MEA apostille and embassy legalisation — with doorstep pick-up and drop across India and genuine, online-verifiable results. As an ISO 9001:2015-certified, MEA-licensed firm, we help you avoid the errors that cause rejections and delays.
Mumbai – +91 7738980318 / Chennai – +91 96770 59423 / Pune – +91 9970466594 | info@manavconsultants.com | www.manavconsultants.com