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Apostille or legalisation

Apostille vs legalisation

The short answer

An apostille is a single certificate issued by the country of origin that is valid in all other Hague Convention countries. Legalisation is the older chain of certifications – usually the issuing authority, the foreign ministry and then the embassy or consulate of the destination country – and is required when the destination is not a Convention party (for example the UAE, Qatar or Egypt) or when an Article 12 objection is in force between the two countries (for example Germany and India).

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Step by step

    Side by side

    • Apostille: one step, one certificate, accepted in 130+ countries, typically days to a few weeks.
    • Legalisation: three or more steps (authority → foreign ministry → embassy, often followed by attestation in the destination), embassy fees that can be high for commercial documents, typically two to six weeks.

    When legalisation is still required

    For non-Convention countries: the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Kuwait, Egypt, Iraq, Iran, Lebanon, Jordan, Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya, Malaysia, Taiwan and others.

    For objected pairs: Article 12 lets a state object to another’s accession. Germany, for instance, objects to India, the Philippines, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Vietnam and others, so documents between them are legalised or verified instead. Our checker knows every such pair.

    Countries that recently switched

    China (November 2023), Canada (January 2024), Bangladesh (March 2025), Algeria (July 2026) and Vietnam (September 2026) moved from legalisation to apostille for most partners – with objections from some states. Thailand follows in February 2027.

    Questions

    In the Gulf and South Asia “attestation” usually means the same chain; in the UAE it additionally means the final stamp of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs after arrival.

    Yes, if the destination is not a Convention party or has an objection against the issuing country. The apostille is then not recognised and the legalisation chain applies.

    Apostille by document

    EU↔EU: no apostille

    Birth certificate

    Geburtsurkunde · acte de naissance · certificado de nacimiento

    Requirements & fees

    University degree & transcript

    Hochschulzeugnis / Diplom / Urkunde · diplôme universitaire · título universitario

    Requirements & fees
    EU↔EU: no apostille

    Police clearance certificate

    Führungszeugnis · extrait de casier judiciaire · certificado de antecedentes penales

    Requirements & fees

    Power of attorney

    Vollmacht · procuration · poder notarial

    Requirements & fees
    EU↔EU: no apostille

    Marriage certificate

    Eheurkunde / Heiratsurkunde · acte de mariage · certificado de matrimonio

    Requirements & fees

    FBI background check

    FBI-Führungszeugnis · casier judiciaire FBI · antecedentes penales del FBI

    Requirements & fees

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    Tell us where the document was issued and where it goes – the notary reviews your application, we handle the rest, quoted before you pay.

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