Apostille, legalization and certification of documents

1961

The Hague convention abolishing the requirement of legalization of foreign public documents

Order a cost estimate and specialist consultation

Documents required for the operation of a foreign company are subject to legalization with an apostille to remain valid in other countries.

Legalization shows that:

It's important:

Legalization does not confirm the correctness of the content of the document.

01
Legalization without apostille
- The Office of Country A verifies the signature of the document by the appropriate official authority, such as the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Country A. Once approved, a stamp/sticker is placed on the document. This shows country B that the document was issued by the competent office of country A.
- The office of country B verifies and legalizes the document with a stamp/sticker. This is usually done by the embassy, consulate general or honorary consul of country B in country A. After legalization, the document is allowed to be used in country B.
02
Legalization is not required
- Legalization is not required if country A has an agreement with country B that exempts your type of document. Thus, you can use the document in country B without legalization.
03
Legalization is impossible
- Sometimes legalization is not possible in a particular country for a number of reasons. In such a case, the authorities of the host country will check and evaluate the document.