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Timing

How long does an apostille take?

The short answer

An apostille takes from the same day, where a country issues e-Apostilles or processes in person, to two or three weeks for postal applications – longer when a pre-certification (county clerk, education ministry) or a fresh certificate is needed first. Legalisation for non-Convention countries typically takes two to six weeks. With Notaryzer Express our part of the process runs at least twice as fast, and the result ships the same day it is ready.

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Step by step

    What makes it slow

    • Ordering a fresh certificate from the registry.
    • Pre-certification by a university, ministry or county clerk.
    • Postal round trips to the authority.
    • Authority backlogs (seasonal – often before university intakes).
    • Translation that must include the apostille, so it can only start afterwards.
    • Embassy steps for legalisation.

    How to make it faster

    Choose a recent certified copy from the start, let us submit in person where the authority allows it, choose e-Apostille countries where possible, and pick Express: priority at every step and same-day dispatch.

    Questions

    Sometimes: several authorities issue apostilles over the counter or electronically within a day. We tell you after the pre-check whether a same-day route exists for your document.

    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

    Ready when you are

    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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    Questions? Write to [email protected]