Apostille

Are you in a situation where you have to submit a document abroad? Or are you in a situation where you have to submit a foreign document in the Czech Republic?

In such cases, you need an apostille or superlegalization. Without them, they will not recognize a foreign document in the Czech Republic, i.e. the authorities will not be able to consider it genuine. Conversely, they will not recognize a Czech documentary abroad.

Save time and money and use our services – we can get not only an apostille, but also a document to be apostilized, such as a birth certificate. If you already have a document, send it or bring it to us. We will procure an apostille and send you an apostille document wherever you need it. Save time and money – do the price calculation.

What is the Apostille?

Few people know the term „Apostille“ (apostille, apostille). We encounter this concept only if an office, school, bank or other institution requires us from a public deed (diploma, notarial certificate, extract from the criminal record…), which must be apostilled. The most common cases where someone will request an apostille document from you will occur if you need to use one document issued in one country in another. To put it simply, Apostille is a clause that is attached to an official document and confirms the veracity of a particular signature or stamp on that document.

The apostille represents a higher level of verification of the document, its authenticity and verification of the signature and stamp of the document. The convention dealing with apostille states that states have an obligation to mutually recognize authentic instruments that have an apostille clause.

This greatly simplifies the verification of documents and replaces the process of superlegalization, which is more complicated. The apostilization clause is issued by one or more apostilization authorities in each country. In the Czech Republic it is, for example, the Ministry of Education, District Authorities,…

What does the Apostille look like?

The apostille must be given in the language of the issuing State. However, the French name Apostille is always given (Convention de La Haye du 5 octobre 1961).

Here you can also read how to secure the apostille yourself – the process of settling the apostille?

What is the difference between apostille and superlegalization? The apostille is much simpler and cheaper than superlegalization. Both are certificates of authenticity of the document, but superlegalization requires a certificate from a foreign and also from a domestic country, and apostilization requires only one certificate.

Apostille processing time?

From the Czech Republic – country of origin of the document Czech Republic – 1 day to 2 weeks
From another country – the country of origin of the document, eg the USA, Germany, England – 2 days to 4 weeks

What documents can I provide with an apostille?

Which documents need an apostille? These are most often birth certificates, marriage certificates, death certificates, certificates, diplomas, extracts from the criminal record and extracts from the Commercial Register:

• Documents issued by the Registry – birth certificate, marriage certificate, death certificate;
• Documents related to studies – university diplomas, evidence of state examination, high school diploma, evidence of higher professional, secondary or basic education;
• Business documents – invoices, extract from the Commercial Register;
• Medical documents – only public documents that are verified by the Ministry of Health, medical documents and documents are not verified;
• documents issued by financial authorities;
• Documents issued by judicial and notarial authorities;
• Criminal record.

When do you need the Apostille for your documents?

The answer to this question depends on the specific situation. First of all, reference should be made to the so-called Apostille Convention (officially called the „Convention on the Abolition of the Requirement of Verification of Foreign Authentic Instruments“, adopted in The Hague on 5 October 1961). In this convention we can find a list of states that have signed up to this convention and are parties to it. So, for example, if you have a criminal record issued in the Czech Republic and you need to use it in Germany, it is possible to find in the Convention that Slovakia and Germany are Member States and therefore it is sufficient to provide an Apostille for the criminal record. A complete list of states can be found here.

Did you not find the country in which you want to use the document in the list, or the country from which you have the document is also not in the list? In such a case, a situation arises where, instead of apostilizing the document, it is necessary to ensure the superlegalization of the document. Is it starting to get tangled up?

The aim of the convention, as its official name implies, was to remove the requirement to verify foreign public documents and to introduce a simpler method in the form of the Apostille. However, if superlegalization is needed, the whole process becomes considerably more complicated and causes a higher bureaucratic, time and financial burden. If you did not find this country in the list, do not hesitate to contact our experts, who will advise you on how to proceed – price calculation or contact form.

When do I not need aspotil?

However, there may be situations where both states are on the list and yet it will not be necessary to provide Apostille (at least it might seem so at first glance). There are also bilateral agreements on legal aid in civil and criminal matters between some states. On the basis of these contracts, it is not necessary to ensure the apostilization of documents or their superlegalization. However, it should be emphasized that not all institutions (mainly banks or the Aliens Police claim in the processing of a residence permit or temporary residence that these are administrative proceedings not covered by bilateral agreements) take these bilateral agreements into account and, as a result, from Apostille will require you anyway.

Contract on legal aid and legal relations in civil, family and criminal matters

According to the applicable legislation, documents that are necessary in official (administrative) proceedings and issued by the authorities of foreign states must be provided with a higher verification clause, unless an international agreement or special regulation provides otherwise. The Ministry of the Interior may, in justified cases, waive the higher requirement verification of the certificate of good conduct.

According to the valid legal regulation, the procedure for an application for temporary residence is governed by the General Act on Administrative Procedure, i.e. this procedure is an administrative procedure. The Treaty on Legal Aid and Legal Relations in Civil, Family and Criminal Matters covers legal relations in civil, family and criminal matters. From the above, its application in the case of administrative proceedings concerning applications for temporary residence of third – country nationals is not possible.

From the above, it can be stated that in cases of submitted documents and issued by the authorities of foreign states, they must be provided with a clause of higher verification, apostille or superlegalization.

(No) Facilitating the movement of documents from 16.02.2018?

From 16 February 2019, the Regulation on authentic instruments (official title of Regulation (EU) 2016/1191 of the European Parliament and of the Council on promoting the free movement of citizens by simplifying the submission of certain authentic instruments in the European Union and amending Regulation (EU) no. 1024/2012). The aim of this Regulation is to remove bureaucratic obstacles that prolong the process of processing applications with negative consequences for applicants, such as the cost of apostille as well as the cost of a court translator’s remuneration.

Unfortunately, in reality, private institutions, banks, etc., still require an apostille. Apostille is also required by state institutions that are not courts, such as municipal authorities, etc. Within the European Union, the process of verifying documents that should be submitted to state authorities and institutions has been slightly simplified. For example, state institutions require an apostille in all cases that are not court proceedings (civil, criminal, or family proceedings), so a large proportion of situations involving proceedings before a government agency require an apostille. The question also remains how private institutions such as banks will react to this regulation. It should also be emphasized that the Regulation will apply within the European Union, so if documents need to be submitted from the US (Ukraine, Russia, China), or to the US or other countries outside Europe, the higher verification requirement (for now) remains in force.

Ministry of Foreign Affairs

Deadline: The time for apostilization of documents is 30 days.
Power of attorney: An application for apostille can be submitted on behalf of someone else without a power of attorney.
Administrative fee: The administrative fee for apostille is paid in the form of stamps

The Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports

The application for the issue of an apostille must state the following:

• the country where the document is to be used;
• the address where the apostated document is to be sent;
• telephone number, e-mail address;
The Application must be accompanied by:

• required number of stamps
Notice! Stamps should not stick anywhere.

• The document you want to apostille.
Deadline: IF you have a certificate issued after 1995, the apostille will be resolved during office hours within 30 days of receipt of the application.

Power of attorney: An application for apostille equipment can be submitted on behalf of someone else without a power of attorney.

Administrative fee: The administrative fee for apostille is paid in the form of stamps.

Department of Justice

The application for the issue of an apostille must state the following:

the country where the document is to be used;
the address where the apostated document is to be sent;
telephone number, e-mail address;

The Application must be accompanied by:

required number of stamps

Notice! Stamps should not stick anywhere.

the document you want to apostille.

Deadline: Apostille is usually completed within 30 days.

Power of attorney: An application for apostille equipment can be submitted on behalf of someone else without a power of attorney.

Administrative fee: The administrative fee for apostilization is paid in the form of a stamp. Stamps must be purchased in advance, you can find them at Czech Post branches.

Original

To apostille, you must have the original or an officially certified copy of a document on education, whether it is a certificate, a school-leaving examination certificate, a final examination certificate, an apprenticeship certificate, a diploma of issued bases, a secondary and higher education institution in the Czech Republic. register for schools and school facilities.

The process of „apostille“

At first glance, the process of obtaining the Apostille for a document is not at all demanding. However, if you do not know in a given situation which document needs to be certified, this relatively simple matter becomes a fight with windmills, in which they send you from one office to another and may require something different from each of you.

The apostille of academic documents is different from the apostille of extracts from the criminal record or registry documents. If you do not want to waste your time, energy and patience running around the offices and ask for stamp after stamp, we recommend entrusting this process to an experienced agency, which will ensure the entire process, from receipt of the document to its final apostille. There are even situations where you do not even have to own the document, for example, we can give you an extract from the Commercial Register without any activity on your part.

Don’t forget the translations

If you already have a documentary that you managed to apostille after a long fight, it does not necessarily mean that you have won. It should be pointed out that not all states know how to understand our eloquent language, and conversely, not everyone in our country understands a foreign language. That is why it is necessary to provide a translation into an apostilled document. However, it must not be forgotten that a simple translation is not enough. The translation must be done by an official translator registered in the list of translators kept by the Ministry of Justice. Information on translation services can be found here.

Official documents issued in the Czech Republic for use abroad

In short, the security of the apostille is as follows: You need the required number of stamps to pay the administrative fee for processing the apostille. It is necessary to obtain them in advance. You pay for the apostille of one document with one stamp.

Apostille

You can go with the stamps to the relevant apostille office. The apostilization clause is issued, for example, by the Ministry of Education for study documents, and by the District Offices for registration documents. It is best to always contact the authority where you want to use the documents and find out what verification they are asking for, whether they are asking only for the Apostille or even for an official translation, which is then still apostilized.

Do you think that’s it?

It does not have to be! The fact that the official translator translated the document for you, gave him his confirmation and signature, meant that you have in your hands a public document that must be used abroad. And when is it possible to use a public deed abroad? If you answer that it is equipped with an apostille, then you are right. Thus, in conclusion, an apostille must be provided for the official translation by which the original document was translated.

Get a court translation

Finally, it is time to translate the document that you have given the apostille together with the apostille clause into the required language.
For more information on court translations, visit the Official Translation website

Official documents issued abroad for use in the Czech Republic

The decisive factor is which state issued the given document. If the instrument was issued by a State which is a signatory to the Hague Convention on Abolishing the Requirement of Legalisation for Foreign Public Documents  of 5 October 1961, the instrument shall be verified in the form of an apostille issued by the competent authority of the issuing State. You can find out more about which authority is competent to issue apostilization clauses in which country from the embassy of the Czech Republic or the local authorities of a specific state. In any case, we advise you to first obtain information and requirements for the apostilization clause from the Czech office where you want to use the apostilled document.

The apostille through the agency

Save time and money and you can entrust the entire process of processing the apostille to the experts of our company – here you can calculate the price. They can obtain the documents for you at the relevant authorities, have them apostille and arrange for their official translation. The whole process can take place without you, so you have no unnecessary worries about handling, running around the offices, waiting.

If you are interested in the services of our company, you can find more information at www.apostila.cz

Things to watch out for:

Apostille of a document is not enough, if you want to use it in a state that does not have a bilateral agreement with the Czech Republic, and is not a signatory to the Apostille Convention, such a document needs to be superlegalized. For more information on Superlegalization, see the Superlegalization Process page.

To facilitate the settlement of the apostille in the EU, read the section on the EU Apostille Regulation – here.

Contact us

Do you need advice on either apostille or superlegalization? Use the services of our experts, who will be happy to help you and provide you with the necessary information. We will help you with the translation as well. Send us a non-binding order and we will get back to you within 15 minutes.