Certification, legalisation and apostille - what is the difference?

A certification confirms the authenticity of a document or signature. So signatures, documents, certificates, copies and transcripts of documents as well as translations can be certified. A certified translation confirms the authenticity and correctness of the translation of a document for submission to official authorities. It does not certify the authenticity and correctness of the original document. Certified translations can only be carried out by court-sworn translators.

There is also a difference between a public and an official certification. Public certifications can only be issued by notaries. This kind of certification is necessary, for example, for entries in the land register, inheritance documents, powers of attorney, etc. Official certification, on the other hand, can be issued by authorities for the following documents, i.e.: Certificates, identity documents, PhD, etc.  

The ‘Hague Apostille’, or apostille in short, is a form of certification for documents in an international context. It is used by member states of the Hague Convention. The apostille replaced legalisation for some countries and today simplifies the exchange of documents between these member countries. The apostille confirms the authenticity of the signature and the competence of the issuer of the document. An apostille is therefore required for documents that are presented to foreign authorities, for example when emigrating to another country. The apostille confirms the authenticity of the document to the foreign country’s authorities.  

Due to an EU regulation, an apostille is no longer required for civil status documents, such as birth certificates, marriage certificates and death certificates, within the European Union. It has been agreed that a multilingual form requesting the necessary information is sufficient for submission to the authorities. For identity documents, such as passports or identity cards, an apostille is in general no longer required for the member states of the Hague Convention.  

An apostille may be issued by designated domestic (German) authorities. This also distinguishes legalisation from an apostille, as legalisation may only be issued by consulates and embassies of the respective country in which the document is presented.

Note: There are some countries that have acceded to the Hague Convention, but whose accession is not recognised by Germany. These include, for example, India, Morocco, Tunisia, the Dominican Republic, etc. Legalisation is still required for these countries in and for Germany.

Legalisation is another form of certification and may be necessary for non-member states of the Hague Convention. In contrast to an apostille, it can only be issued by embassies or consulates of the country in which the document is presented. For legalisation, the consulate or embassy may require the document to be ‘pre-certified’ in advance by a domestic (German) authority. Thus the authenticity of the document is confirmed by a normal certification.  

As a general rule, documents and certificates must usually be available to authorities in the respective national language. Therefore, most documents must be translated for submission to foreign authorities. And also foreign documents must also be translated for German authorities. But why does the translation need to be certified? The translator confirms the correctness and completeness of the translation by signing, stamping and certifying it. This makes the translation itself an official document in the national language of the respective authority. This allows the authority to approve of the document.

Certified translations are valid for a lifetime, unless of course changes are made to the original document. If this is the case, the document must be translated and certified again.  

Certified translations can only be issued by court-sworn translators. In order to be sworn in at court, translators must have completed an officially approved education as translators. This can be a degree from a university or a specialised academy. In addition to a police clearance certificate, the translator must also submit several other documents. The translator is then publicly appointed and sworn in at court.

Yes, both the document itself and the apostille must be translated into the language of the country in which the document is to be presented.