An Apostille is a certificate that authenticates the origin of a public document (e.g., a birth, marriage or death certificate, a judgment, an extract of a register or a notarial attestation). The Model Apostille Certificate is reproduced at the beginning of this brochure.Apostilles can only be issued for documents issued in one country party to the Apostille Convention and that are to be used in another country which is also a party to the Convention.You will need an Apostille ifallof the following apply: • the country where the document was issued isparty to the Apostille Convention; and• the country in which the document is to be used is party to the Apostille Convention; and• the law of the country where the document wasissued considers it to be a public document; and• the country in which the document is to be usedrequires an Apostille in order to recognise it as a foreign public document.An Apostille may never be used for the recognition of a document in the country where that document was issued – Apostilles are strictly for the use of public documents abroad!An Apostille may not be required if the laws, regulations, or practice in force in the country where the public document is to be used have abolished or simplified the requirement of an Apostille, or have exempted the document from any legalisation requirement. Such simplification or exemption may also result from a treaty or other agreement that is in force between the country where the public document is to be used and the country that issued it (e.g., some other Hague Conventions exempt documents from legalisation or any analogous formality, including an Apostille).If you have any doubts, you should ask the intended recipient of your document whether an Apostille is necessary in your particular case

The Apostille Convention only applies if both the country where the public document was issued and the country where the public document is to be used are parties to the Convention. A comprehensive and updated list of the countries where the Apostille Convention applies, or will soon apply, is available in the Apostille Section of the Hague Conference website – look for the link entitledStatus table of the Apostille Convention.

Usse the Authentiaction or Embassy Legalisation Process. See our page on Embassy Authentication. If your public document was issued or is to be used in a country where the Apostille Convention does not apply, you should contact the Embassy or a Consulate of the country where you intend to use the document in order to find out what your options are. The Permanent Bureau (Secretariat) of the Hague Conference does not provide assistance in such cases.

The Convention only applies to public documents. Whether or not a document is a public document is determined by the law of the country in which the document was issued. Countries typically apply the Convention to a wide variety of documents. Most Apostilles are issued for documents of an administrative nature, including birth, marriage and death certificates; documents emanating from an authority or an official connected with a court, tribunal or commission; extracts from commercial registers and other registers; patents; notarial acts and notarial attestations (acknowledgments) of signatures; school, university and other academic diplomas issued by public institutions.

Contact us for a no obligation quotation or enquire at the your nearest High Court or DIRCO.

Before you approach a Competent Authority about getting an Apostille, you should consider questions such as:

• Does the Apostille Convention apply in boththe country that issued the public document and the country where I intend to use it

• If the country that issued the public document hasdesignated several Competent Authorities, which one is the relevant Competent Authority to issue an Apostille for my public document

Yes. We can assist even if you are living abroad. Contact us for a no obligation quotation to get started.

We can bind some documents together in a set. It's best to enquire with the end user as to how they want documents bound. If unsure rather bind seperately.

Sometimes. Message us to find out more.

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The short anwer is 1 - 21 days. Its best to complete our online quotation form. We will give current time estimate. Timelines change from time to time especially in with Covid restrictions.

While an Apostille should conform as closely as possible to the Model Certificate, in practice Apostilles issued by different Competent Authorities vary. These variations may be in design, size and colour as well as in any additional elements mentioned outside the box that holds the 10 numbered standard informational items. Such variations in appearance are not a basis for refusal of an Apostille by the intended recipient.

No. An Annex to the Apostille Convention provides a Model Apostille Certificate(which is reproduced at the beginning of this brochure). Apostilles should conform as closely as possible to this Model Certificate. In particular, an Apostille must:• be identified as an Apostille; and• include the short version of the French title of the Convention (Convention de La Haye du 5 octobre 1961); and• include a box with the 10 numbered standard informational items.An Apostille may also provide additional information. For example, an Apostille may:• provide extra information about the public document to which it relates;• recall the limited effect of an Apostille (i.e., that it only certifies the origin of the public document to which it relates);• provide a web-address (URL) of a register where the origin of the Apostille may be verified; or• specify that the Apostille is not to be used in the country that issued it.However, such additional information must be outside the box that holds the 10 numbered standard informational items

An Apostille must be placed directly on the public document itself or on a separate attached page (called an allonge). Apostilles may be affixed by various means, including rubber stamps, self-adhesive stickers, impressed seals, etc. If an Apostille is placed on an allonge, the latter can be attached to the underlying public document by a variety of means, including glue, grommets, staples, ribbons, wax seals, etc. While all of these means are acceptable under the Convention, Competent Authorities are encouraged to use more secure methods of affixation so as to safeguard the integrity of the Apostille. See example. Document is bound by using lint, red seal and embossing stamp in South Africa.

An Apostille only certifies the origin of the public document to which it relates: it certifies the authenticity of the signature or seal of the person or authority that signed or sealed the public document and the capacity in which this was done.An Apostille does not certify the content of the public document to which it relates.Apostilles are not grants of authority and do not give any additional weight to the content of underlying documents.An Apostille may never be used for the recognition of a document in the country where that document was issued – Apostilles are strictly for use of public documents abroad.It is up to the country where the Apostille is to be used to decide how much weight to give to the underlying public document.

No. An Apostille issued by the relevant Competent Authority is all that is required to establish that a signature or seal on a public document is genuine and to establish the capacity of the person or authority that signed or sealed the public document. Enquiries can be made with the High Court, DIRCO and the Notary Public in South Africa.

hague conference on private international law | conférence de la haye de droit international privé2726www.hcch.net > Apostille SectionEach Competent Authority is required to keep a registerin which it records the date and number of every Apostille it issues, as well as information relating to the person or authority that signed or sealed the underlying public document.Recipients may contact the Competent Authority identified on the Apostille and ask whether the information on the Apostille corresponds with the information in the registe. In South Africa that means that the High Court, DIRCO or Notary Public can be contacted.

Apostilles issued in accordance with the requirements of the Convention must be recognised in the country where they are to be used. Apostilles may only be rejected if and when:

• their origin cannot be verified (i.e., if and when the particulars on the Apostille do not correspond with those in the register kept by the Competent Authority that allegedly issued the Apostille); or • their formal elements differ radically from the Model Certificate annexed to the Convention.

The Convention does allow Competent Authorities to issue Apostilles in electronic form (e-Apostilles) and to maintain electronic registers of Apostilles (e-Registers).Many Competent Authorities are developing and implementing e-Apostilles and e-Registers, as suggested by the Permanent Bureau. South Africa does not maintain an electronic register.

The Hague Conference on Private International Law was established in 1893 and became a permanent intergovernmental organisation in 1955. Today, the Hague Conference is the pre-eminent World Organisation dealing with cross-border legal issues in civil and commercial matters. Its mission is to work towards a world in which individuals and companies can enjoy a high degree of legal certainty in cross-border situations.Responding to the needs of a globalising international community, the Hague Conference develops multilateral Conventions (45 since 1893) and assists with their implementation and practical operation. These Hague Conventions deal with such diverse fields as Apostilles; service of process abroad; taking of evidence abroad; shares, bonds and other securities; child abduction, intercountry adoption, maintenance obligations, etc. These Conventions serve to build bridges between various legal systems while respecting their diversity. The Secretariat of the Hague Conference is called the Permanent Bureau.