also called legalisation · consular legalization · attestation · authentication
A multi-step process to certify a document for use in a country that doesn't accept the apostille.
Legalization is the long way of getting a document recognised in a country that does not accept the simple apostille stamp. Instead of one certification, you walk the paper through a chain: your own authorities, then a foreign ministry, then that country's embassy. It is the same goal as an apostille but with more stops, more time and more cost.
You need your birth certificate accepted in a country outside the Hague system for a residence application. Rather than a single apostille, you have to get it certified at home, then stamped by your foreign ministry, then again by that country's embassy before anyone there will look at it.
For non-Hague countries you need this longer chain of stamps instead of a simple apostille, adding time and cost.
The difference is the whole point, so here is each one in a line.
These are the stamps that turn a home document into one a foreign office will accept, in the order they usually stack.
A notary confirms a signature or that a copy matches the original, which is what a certified true copy or notarized copy is; a certified translation puts it into the local language; then an apostille certifies the whole thing for countries in the Hague Convention, while legalization or attestation is the longer chain for countries that do not accept the apostille.
Power of attorney, a long-form birth certificate and a school leaving certificate are the kinds of document that most often need this treatment.
Apostille · Certified translation · Certified true copy · Long-form birth certificate · Notarization · Notarized copy vs original · school leaving certificate
A new term lands on this site every day, and the email is how you get it the day it lands. No digest, no roundup, no pitch. One term, what it means, and what it costs you to get it wrong.
Unsubscribe in one click, any time. We do not sell or share your address.