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Have you ever had to present a commercial document or a commercial invoice abroad? Was your birth certificate or marriage certificate required for official matters outside of the German national borders? Or did you ever need certified copies of a certificate, for example for an employment contract in another country? No? Fortunately, you have been spared any surprises so far. Your documents and deeds that are legally binding in Germany are initially not valid abroad.
At first, this fact may cause irritation, after all, these are usually official documents. However, it is the custom of international document traffic that every document must first be certified before it can be used abroad. This process is called legalization, it attests to the authenticity of the issued document, the stamp or seal applied and the signatures. With the apostille and the legalization there are two procedures to legalize certificates and documents.
The long road to legalization
Legalization is always carried out via the embassy or consulate of the country in which the document is to be used. As a rule, prior authe ntication is required. The issuing German authorities, offices and institutions must certify the authenticity of their documents. Only then is the legalization carried out by the consular officer, the document from then on has full validity in the country concerned.
The apostille is a simplified form of legalizing documents. The legal basis is the Hague Apostille, which was ratified by numerous nation states in 1961. Accordingly, it is no longer the consular officer who should ultimately carry out the legalization, but the issuing authorities themselves vouch for the authenticity of the document and its seal with the apostille. Documents with an apostille are therefore fully valid in the respective foreign country even if the consular officer has not seen them. The Federal Foreign Office offers extensive information on which states have approved the apostille.
You do not necessarily have to legalize documents yourself. It is permitted to commission third parties to do this. Lega-service.com offers a comprehensive service to make documents and certificates legally valid abroad. The agency obtains notifications and pre-notifications, takes care of the necessary apostille or consular legalization of the documents. Lega-service.com is a partner portal of Visa-service.com, the specialist for foreign visas.
Disclaimer: Lega- Service is a private visa / legalization agency that is not affiliated with any government agency or department such as an embassy or consulate. Visa-service.com offers expediting services for your visa or document legalization, and charges a service fee. Visa legalization can also be obtained directly from the respective government websites without paying the additional service fee.