As a diluted magnetic semiconductor (DMS), (Ga,Mn)As is a possible candidate for the realization of spintronics devices, due to its intrinsic compatibility with GaAs based electronics. The low Curie temperature still limits its use for practical devices. Despite the huge knowledge on GaAs surface, the (Ga,Mn)As surface is still not well understood and difficult to handle. Standard surface cleaning techniques have many drawbacks, mainly because thermal treatments changes crystal structure. We will compare the magnetic and spectroscopic properties of differently processed (Ga,Mn)As surfaces with X-ray photoemission (XPS), X-ray absorption (XAS) and X-ray magnetic circular dichroism (XMCD). Samples as-grown, chemically etched, Ar+ sputtered and annealed in oxygen will be compared. (C) 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.