What is meant by official or officially certified transcripts and degree certificates?

• Official transcripts and/or degree certificates are those issued directly by the institution at which the coursework was completed or the degree earned, holding original seals and/or stamps and/or signatures.
• Officially certified transcripts and/or degree certificates are hard-copy photocopies of the original, or official transcripts or degree certificates which are certified by the issuing institution (this is common in cases where one and only one official transcript and/or degree certificate is ever issued); by the U.S. Consulate’s Education/Culture Departments or its official representatives; or by select U.S. sponsoring agencies such as Fulbright, IREX, etc.
• Notarized copies of academic credentials are not acceptable in lieu of official or officially certified ones as notarized copies do not attest that the notarized copy is a copy of an original, or an official or officially certified document.