F.A.Q - Document Legalisation South-Africa  

Frequently Asked Questions relating to Document Legalisation (Apostilles, Authentication, Embassy Attestation & Notary Public Services.

Yes!  We specialise in helping people just like you prepare your documents to be used in foreign countries.  

We can certainly handle the legalisation or acquiring an apostille certificate on your behalf.

You send or drop off your documents to us, and we will handle the rest, often in as little as a few days. This process consists of three steps:
  1. Document preparation – we ensure your documents meet the criteria of each process step.
  2. Document authentication – we will have your documents authenticated by the appropriate authorities in South Africa. 
  3. Document legalisation – we will have your documents legalised at the embassy or consulate of the destination country.
Contact our friendly specialists to discuss your options and answer your questions. We would be happy to hear from you!
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The apostille certificate is attached and sealed to another document that is required in another country. This is done as a failsafe against tampering. After a document has been checked and the signatures or stamps have been verified the apostille can be issued. We aim to complete all apostille orders in just 1 – 14 working days and currently achieve this with approximately 98% of orders. In most circumstances, documents are ready in just 24 hours. We are a leading apostille service. With over 10 years of experience legalising documents, customers trust us to handle their orders securely and quickly.

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We know that everyone's situation is unique and may have different notary services or document legalisation needs. Our document legalisation specialists will work closely with you to ensure that all documents receive the proper certification that is required for the relevant country and situation. If you would like to clarify the process on your documents or have any special requests, please Message Us
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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.
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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. 
Before starting the document legalisation process of your South African public documents, you’ll need to verify the appropriate process to follow by ascertaining that the destination country where your document will be used is have subscribed to the Hague Apostille Convention (Hague Convention of 5 October 1961 Abolishing the Requirement of Consular Legalisation for Foreign Public Documents). South African public documents must be legalised or authenticated using the Apostille Certificate if the destination country has subscribed to the Apostille Convention.

South Africa is a subscribing country to the Hague Apostille Convention. Under this Convention, member countries (contracting states) have agreed to a truncated, more efficient document legalisation and authentication process, namely an Apostille Certificate by a South African designated (Competent) authority.
Louwrens Koen Attorneys deliver comprehensive Apostille certificate services. Contact us Tel: 0870010733 or Email info@louwrenskoen.co.za for more information.
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The Convention thus facilitates a more efficient verification process of public documents. Apostille certificates are thus required for all Hague Apostille Convention contracting states. When the destination country of your South African document is not a subscribing member to the Hague Apostille Convention, such document will have to be legalised using the longer chain document “authentication’ and verification process regulated by High Court Rule 63 of the Uniform Rules of Court as the verification of any signature on a document.

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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 if all of 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 was issued considers it to be a public document; and
• the country in which the document is to be used requires 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

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Use the Authentication 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 to find out what your options are. The Permanent Bureau (Secretariat) of the Hague Conference does not aid in such cases.

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Before you approach a Competent Authority about getting an Apostille, you should consider questions such as:
• Does the Apostille Convention apply in both the country that issued the public document and the country where I intend to use it
• If the country that issued the public document has designated several Competent Authorities, which one is the relevant Competent Authority to issue an Apostille for my public document

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

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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 bind separately.

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Sometimes. Message us to find out more.

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See our pricing and costs page.
How much does an Apostille cost and what forms of payment are available?
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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 the 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 abridged 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.
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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 these means are acceptable under the Convention, Competent Authorities are encouraged to use more secure methods of affixation to safeguard the integrity of the Apostille. See example. Document is bound by using lint, red seal, and embossing stamp in South Africa.

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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.
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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.
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Each Competent Authority must keep a register that 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 register.

The High Court, DIRCO or Notary Public can be contacted in South Africa.

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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 when:
• their origin cannot be verified (i.e., 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.

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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 yet.

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The Hague Conference on Private International Law was established in 1893 and became a permanent intergovernmental organization in 1955. Today, the Hague Conference is the pre-eminent World Organization 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 globalizing 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.
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The word “Apostille” (pronounced a-pos-TEE, not a-pos-TEAL or a-pos-TILL-ee) is of French origin. It comes from the French verb “apostiller”, which derives from the old French word apostille meaning “annotation”, and before it the Latin No suggestions, a variation of the word postea, which means “thereafter, afterwards, next” (Le Nouveau Petit Robert: Dictionnaire alphabétique et analogique de la langue française, Paris, 2004). Usage of the words “Apostille” and “apostiller” dates to the end of the 16th century in France. Thus, an Apostille consisted of an annotation in the margin of a document or at the end of a letter.

During the negotiations on the Hague Apostille Convention, the term “Apostille” was preferred because of its novelty. According to the reporter: “Following a discussion on terminology [in the French language], the word Apostille has been preferred because of its appealing novelty.” The meanings of the word Apostille described above are still valid today.
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In South Africa, Apostille Certificates are issued primarily by

1. The Registrar of the High Court, where documents have been
  • Authenticated by a notary public.
  • Translated by a sworn translator.
2. The Department of International Relations and Cooperation's (DIRCO) in respect of the following documents
  • Unabridged birth and marriage certificates.
  • Police clearance certificates.
  • Degrees, diplomas, and transcripts.
  • Matric certificates, school transfer certificates and reports.
  • Driver's license confirmation letter.
  • Medical Reports.
Louwrens Koen Attorneys deliver comprehensive Apostille certificate services. Contact us Tel: 0870010733 or Email info@louwrenskoen.co.za for more information.

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  • When a document issued in South Africa is required to be used in another country which is also a signatory to the Apostille Convention, an Apostille Certificate will be issued either by the High Court or by the Department of International Relations (DIRCO). This will be the end of the Apostille process.
  • Where a document is required to be used in a country which is not a signatory to the Apostille Convention (such as China or the UAE) the document will receive an Authentication of Signature Certificate (not an apostille certificate), which must be issued by DIRCO, irrespective of whether the document has gone to the High Court first.
  • Once authenticated by DIRCO, the document must then be submitted to the relevant country's Embassy for legalisation. Only once legalised by the Embassy will the authentication process be complete.
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Yes and no.  A document with an apostille can be used in almost any other apostille country without additional requirements.

A document that has gone through the authentication and embassy legalisation process can be used in the country for which it was legalised.

The apostille and the document authentication and legalisation process have the same purpose; to certify a document created in one country so it can be officially recognised in another country.

Apostille certificates are issued by countries that are signatories to the Hague Apostille Convention.

Countries that are not a signatory to this convention, instead of issuing apostille certificates, use a process called authentication and sometimes embassy legalisation.

We are available to answer your questions and discuss your documents. Contact us toll-free at 087 0010 733 or SUBMIT ONLINE FORM to get a detailed quotation.

The Hague Apostille Convention, formally known as the “Hague Convention Abolishing the Requirement of Legalization for Foreign Public Documents”, is an international agreement governing how a document issued in one country can be certified for legal purposes in another.  

This certification is called the apostille process. Any country that is a signatory to the Hague Apostille Convention will legally recognise documents from other signatory countries if these documents have first been “apostilled”.

Therefore, countries that are not a signatory to The Hague Apostille Convention cannot obtain an apostille on their official documents. The appropriate document legalisation process to certify the signatures on documents for these countries is called authentication and embassy attestation.

For more information on the Hague Apostille Convention, contact us. We would happily discuss your documents and how to best have them processed for use abroad. Call us at 087 0010 733 or submit an online form to get an obligation-free online quotation.

Albania 
Only an admitted and certified notary public can notarise documents.
It takes only minutes to make a notarised copy of a document. We deliver a walk -n Notary Public service. 
If you are wondering what the notary fees are, you should know that the cost of notarising a document depends on the nature and complexity of the information in the document. However, Louwrens Koen Attorneys ensures that the cost of notarisation is kept at a minimum. From R160 for a notarised copy.

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Yes, notarisation acts as proof that a document is genuine and can be used with full legal effect. However, there might be a difference in the requirements for the authentication of documents from one country to another. If the country is a member of the Hague Convention, it will need an apostille stamp, while non-member countries require authentication and sometimes embassy attestation.

Notary Public Services and Document Legalisation may be confusing. Let us assist.

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  • Notarisation: This is the authentication of paperwork intended for use both domestically and overseas through the signature of a notary public.
  • Apostille: An apostille stamp certifies a document as being legally valid for use in signatory countries of the Hague convention. In SA DIRCO and the High Court issues apostille certificates. 
  • Embassy Legalisation also called Authentication: Countries that are not members of the Hague Convention require documents for use in their country to be legalised as authentic by their embassy in the document issuing nation. In South Africa, Pretoria embassies legalise SA documents for use in their respective countries. However, they require the documents to be authenticated beforehand.


The following Countries have not subscribed to the Hague Apostille Convention:
Afghanistan, Algeria, Angola, Bangladesh, Benin, Burkina Faso, Burma Myanmar, Cambodia, Cameroon, Canada, Chile, China, Congo Republic, Congo Democratic, Ivory Coast, Cuba, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Ghana, Guinea, Haiti, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Jamaica, Jordan, Kenya, Kuwait, Laos, Lebanon, Libya, Macedonia, Madagascar, Malaysia, Mali, Mauritania, Mozambique, Myanmar Burma, Nepal, Niger, Nigeria, Pakistan, Palestine, Philippines, Qatar, Rwanda, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Syria, Taiwan, Tanzania, Togo, Thailand, Turkmenistan, UAE (United Arab Emirates), Uganda, Vietnam, Yemen, Zambia, Zimbabwe.

Documents which are being presented for use in a country which is not party to the Hague Convention (relating to apostilles) will often request further legalisation and possibly embassy attestation. This usually involves having an apostille attached to the document and then carrying out further legalisation through the embassy of that country. This can add considerable complexity to the process as all embassies have different procedures and costs. It is also advisable to ask the person or authority that you intend to present the document to what their exact requirements are.