NORKA attestation in Kozhikode: fees, documents and how to apply

NORKA-Roots is the field agency of the Kerala Government’s Department of Non-Resident Keralites Affairs, and it is where the Kerala stage of certificate attestation actually happens. If your certificate was issued in Kerala and is going to the Gulf, this is the first stop. We prepare and run these files for customers across Kozhikode, Malappuram, Wayanad and Kannur from our office in Eranhipalam.

Everything below was read off NORKA’s own website on 26 October 2026. NORKA does not date-stamp its fee tables, so treat these as the published rates on that day and confirm at the counter — or ask us and we will confirm for you.

What NORKA actually does

Two different things, and it matters that you know which is which:

• It is the attesting authority itself for educational certificates. General Education Department officers sit at NORKA’s centres and sign the state-level attestation — the stamp people call “HRD attestation”. NORKA describes itself as the single agency authorised to attest educational certificates under the central guidelines.
• It acts as your courier for every later stage. After the state attestation it forwards the certificate to the NRK Development Office in New Delhi for the MEA stage and the embassy stage, and to Mumbai for consulate attestation. For personal documents it routes the file through the Kerala Home Department first.

So NORKA saves you the trip to Delhi — but it does not replace the MEA or the embassy. Those stamps are still obtained; NORKA simply obtains them on your behalf. NORKA submits to the embassies of the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain and Qatar. Oman is not on that list, which fits: Oman is an apostille country and needs no embassy stage. The full chain is explained on our certificate attestation page.

The Kozhikode office

• NORKA-Roots has three authentication centres in Kerala: Thiruvananthapuram, Ernakulam and Kozhikode, plus district NORKA cells.
• The Kozhikode regional office serves Kozhikode, Malappuram and Wayanad, and shares Kasargod with the Kannur district cell. Kozhikode district number: 8281004911.
• Attestations are normally done Monday to Friday, 10am to 2.30pm.
• Cash is not accepted at the Thiruvananthapuram, Ernakulam or Kozhikode centres — card or Google Pay only, since 1 October 2023.
• General enquiries: 0471 2329950, toll-free 1800 425 3939 within India, +91 8802 012345 from abroad.

We have deliberately not printed a street address here. The only Kozhikode address available online belongs to the Kerala Non-Resident Keralites’ Welfare Board, which is a different organisation, and sending you there would waste your morning. Ring the district number above, or ask us and we will tell you where to go on the day.

Who can apply

• Educational certificates: the certificate holder, or their parents, siblings, spouse, or father-in-law and mother-in-law on production of the marriage certificate.
• Personal and Home Department documents: the certificate holder or an authorised person.
• Whoever attends, the original passport of the certificate holder must be produced at the attestation counter.

Published fees — educational certificates

• State Government attestation — Rs 75
• UAE embassy and MOFA — Rs 8,900
• Saudi Arabia embassy — Rs 17,130
• Qatar embassy — Rs 3,816
• Kuwait embassy — Rs 3,116
• Bahrain embassy, school and degree — Rs 3,716
• Bahrain embassy, diploma and non-education — Rs 6,017
• Each apostille — Rs 50
• NORKA service charge — Rs 708; each additional embassy attestation Rs 250
• Postal fee outside Kerala — Rs 200

Published fees — personal and Home Department documents

• UAE embassy — Rs 3,750
• Saudi Arabia embassy — Rs 3,500
• Qatar embassy — Rs 3,000
• Kuwait embassy — Rs 1,250
• Bahrain embassy — Rs 2,750
• Apostille — Rs 50
• NORKA service charge — Rs 708; each additional embassy attestation Rs 250
• Speed post — Rs 100
• No separate state fee is published; the application form carries a Rs 10 court-fee stamp

Read those two lists side by side and you will see the same embassy priced very differently — Saudi Arabia at Rs 17,130 for a degree and Rs 3,500 for a birth certificate. NORKA gives no explanation for the gap, and the educational UAE figure is the only one explicitly described as including MOFA. We are not going to invent a reason. Tell us which document and which country, and we will get you the exact figure before anything is paid.

How the application works

• Register on the NORKA-Roots website — the application is online, there is no walk-in form
• Choose Certificate Attestation, then Educational or Non-Educational
• Fill in the certificate details and the destination country, and select every stage you need. If the certificate has no state attestation yet, the state stage must be selected together with the embassy stage — the embassy stage cannot be applied for on its own
• Book a token for a date, and choose speed post return if you do not want to collect
• Attend with the originals and the original passport, and pay by card or Google Pay

Where we come in

None of the above is secret, and if your case is a single degree certificate going to Oman we will tell you to do it yourself and save the money. Where we earn our fee is the file that is not simple: a laminated certificate, a provisional certificate that has aged out, a transcript that will never be attested, a certificate issued outside Kerala, a Saudi or Bahrain case where the law says apostille but the employer says embassy, or a set of documents that has to arrive complete because the joining date is fixed. We check the whole set against the rules first, tell you what will be refused before you pay, and chase the file through Delhi so you are not ringing a toll-free number every morning.

We are not NORKA and we have no influence over it, or over the MEA or any embassy. What we sell is the checking, the lodging, the follow-up and one person you can call. If the attestation is for a Gulf job or a family visa, see also our visa services and flight tickets from Calicut.

Questions we are often asked

What are the NORKA attestation fees?

The Kerala state attestation of an educational certificate is Rs 75, an apostille is Rs 50 and NORKA’s own service charge is Rs 708, with Rs 250 for each additional embassy attestation. Embassy charges run from Rs 1,250 for Kuwait on a personal document up to Rs 17,130 for Saudi Arabia on an educational one. Both published tables are listed in full above, as read on 26 October 2026.

Where is the NORKA office in Kozhikode?

NORKA-Roots has a regional authentication centre in Kozhikode covering Kozhikode, Malappuram and Wayanad, and sharing Kasargod with the Kannur district cell. The district contact number is 8281004911 and counters work Monday to Friday, 10am to 2.30pm. We have not printed a street address because the Kozhikode address circulating online is actually the NRK Welfare Board’s — a different organisation. Ask us and we will tell you exactly where to go.

Can I apply for NORKA attestation online?

The application itself is online and must be — you register on the NORKA-Roots website, enter the certificate details, select the stages you need and book a token for a date. But the attestation is not fully online: you have to attend with the original certificates and the original passport, because originals cannot be attested from a scan. Speed post return is available if you do not want to collect.

Does NORKA do MEA and embassy attestation too?

Not itself — but it obtains them for you. NORKA performs the Kerala state attestation, then forwards your certificate to the NRK Development Office in New Delhi for the MEA stage and the embassy stage, and to Mumbai for consulate attestation. It submits to the UAE, Saudi, Kuwait, Bahrain and Qatar embassies. That forwarding is the real value of using NORKA: the file travels to Delhi instead of you.

Can NORKA attest a certificate from outside Kerala?

No. NORKA attests certificates issued by authorities and institutions within Kerala. A degree from Tamil Nadu or Karnataka has to be attested by that state’s own authority before it can go on to the MEA. If your certificates come from more than one state, tell us at the start — it changes the order of the whole file and is a common reason people lose weeks.

Do I need NORKA attestation for a family visa?

Usually yes, for the marriage certificate and for the children’s birth certificates, since a Gulf family visa is granted on proof of relationship. Those are Home Department documents, so they go through the personal-document route and its fee table. A minor’s certificate needs the parents’ passports at the counter.