Document Legalisation Service specialise in obtaining Apostille Certificates for all original South-African public, company, commercial and educational documents.
Apostille is a French word (pronounced "ah-poh-steel"), meaning a certificate issued by a government of a country, authenticating the signature and or seal of a public official on a public document issued by that country, and intended for use in a foreign country.
South-African public, company, commercial or educational documents, including documents witnessed, certified and sealed by an South-African Notary Public, when affixed or attached with an Apostille Certificate issued by the South-African Government, will automatically be accepted for legal use in foreign countries signatories to the Hague Convention.
Apostille Certificates are restricted in their use to those countries which are signatories to The Hague Convention otherwise a full embassy or consulate legalisation procedure necessary.
| The following countries have AGREED to participate in "The Hague Convention Abolishing the Requirement of Legalisation for Foreign Public Documents" | |
| Albania | Lithuania |
| Andorra | Luxembourg |
| Antigua & Barbuda | Macau (SAR of China) |
| Argentina | Macedonia |
| Armenia | Malawi |
| Aruba | Malta |
| Australia | Marshall Islands |
| Austria | Mauritius |
| Azerbaijan | Mexico |
| Bahamas | Moldova |
| Bahrain | Monaco |
| Barbados | Mongolia |
| Belarus | Montenegro |
| Belgium | Montserrat |
| Belize | Namibia |
| Bermuda | Netherlands (The), including: Aruba, Suriname, Netherlands Antilles: (Curacao, Bonaire, St Martin, St Eustatius, and Sabah) |
| Bosnia-Herzegovina | New Zealand |
| Botswana | Niue |
| British Guyana | Norway |
| Brunei Darussalam | Oman |
| Bulgaria | Peru |
| Cape Verde | Panama |
| Cayman Islands | Poland |
| China (Hong Kong-Special Administrative Region (SAR) only) | Portugal |
| Colombia | Romania |
| Comoros Islands | Russian Federation |
| Cook Islands | St. Christopher (Kitts) & Nevis |
| Costa Rica | St. Georgia & South Sandwich Islands |
| Croatia | St. Helena |
| Cyprus | St Pierre & Miquelon |
| Czech Republic | St. Lucia |
| Denmark | St. Vincent & the Grenadines |
| Dominica | Samoa |
| Dominican Republic | San Marino, Republic of |
| Ecuador | Sao Tome and Principe |
| El Salvador | Serbia |
| Estonia | Seychelles |
| Fiji | Slovakia |
| Finland | Slovenia |
| France including: French Guiana, French Polynesia, Guadeloupe, Martinique, New Caledonia, Reunion, St. Pierre, Miquelon and Wallis and Futuna | South Africa |
| Germany | South Korea |
| Georgia | Spain |
| Greece | Suriname |
| Grenada | Swaziland |
| Guernsey | Sweden |
| Guyana | Switzerland |
| Hong Kong (SAR of China) | Tonga |
| Honduras | Trinidad and Tobago |
| Hungary | Turkey |
| Iceland | Tuvalu |
| India | United Kingdom of Great Britain & Northern Ireland, including: Anguilla, Guernsey, Bahamas, Isle of Man, Barbados, Jersey, Bermuda, Montserrat, British Antarctic Territory , St. Georgia & the South, Sandwich Island, British Virgin Islands, St Helena Cayman Islands, Tonga & Caicos Islands, Dominica, Turks & Caicos, Falkland Islands, Virgin Islands, British Gibraltar |
| Ireland | United States of America, including: 50 USA States, The District of Columbia, American Samoa, Guam (Territory of), Puerto Rico and US Virgin Islands |
| Isle of Man | Ukraine |
| Israel | Uruguay |
| Italy | Uzbekistan |
| Japan | Vanuatu |
| Kazakhstan | Venezuela |
| Korea (Republic of) | Yugoslavia |
| Latvia | |
| Lesotho | |
| Liberia | |
| Liechtenstein | |
An Apostille Certificate is the appropriate form of legalisation, if your South-African South-African public document is required to operate in any of the above participating Hague Convention countries.
Ordering and quoting online is simple and safe. Complete the secure online form to get a no-obligation quotation with a time estimate for completion. You can use the secure incorporated facility to upload any documents you would like us to check.
