What is the apostille or legalization of documents?
Documents issued in the territory of one country and having legal force can be used in the territory of another country after being duly formalized. Currently, there are two types of such formalization: apostille and consular legalization.
Apostille - confirms the authenticity of the signature of the person who signed the document, in which capacity this person acted, and, if necessary, the authenticity of the seal or stamp affixed to the document. The apostille itself does not require re-authentication or legalization of the signature, affixed seal and stamp.
Consular legalization - consists in determining and confirming the authenticity of the signatures on documents and acts and their compliance with the laws of the state where the consulate is located.
What is the difference between apostille and legalization?
Legalization, as a longer procedure, requires the approval of several institutions.
Legalization:
- implies that the document is certified by the consulate of the foreign state in which it is intended to be used;
- a legalized document can only be used in the territory of the state that legalized it.
Issuing an apostille - is a one-step procedure, which means that the document is certified only by one authority, and the document can be presented in all states that are parties to the Hague Convention of October 5, 1961 “Abolishing the Requirement of Legalization for Foreign Public Documents”.
What documents are issued with an apostille?
Each state that is a party to the Hague Convention “Abolishing the Requirement of Legalization for Foreign Public Documents” determines which documents are to be issued with an apostille. In general, the following documents are issued with an apostille:
- documents issued by state authorities;
- court documents;
- notarized documents (including notarized copies or translations of documents issued by a legal entity; documents signed by an individual, if his signature is notarized).
Which authority issues an apostille to documents?
The Ministry of Justice has been designated as the authority authorized to issue an apostille for the following documents:
- documents issued by courts;
- documents of prosecutorial bodies;
- documents of justice authorities;
- documents certified in notarial form;
- documents on state registration of civil status acts.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has been designated as the authority authorized to issue an apostille for other documents.
Which body legalizes documents?
The functions of consular legalization are performed by the Consular Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the Republic of Azerbaijan and the consulates of the Republic of Azerbaijan in foreign countries. For consular legalization of the original document, an application must be made to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
To legalize a copy or translation of a document, first of all, the authenticity of the translator’s signature on the copy and translation is certified by a notary. The authenticity of the notary’s signature on this document and the fact that the seal belongs to that notary are certified by the Ministry of Justice. After that, the document is legalized in the Consular Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and at the consulate of the state in our country that will be used on its territory.
What documents are not certified with apostille?
Documents drawn up by diplomatic and consular agents, administrative documents directly related to customs and commercial transactions are not certified with apostille.
Which countries apply legalization?
The procedure for legalizing documents is applied to countries that are not members of the “Convention Abolishing the Requirement of Legalization for Foreign Public Documents”.
How long does it take to issue an apostille?
Documents are issued apostille after they are checked within 5 working days of their receipt by the Ministry of Justice. Documents that are not properly prepared are returned without an apostille. If additional verification of the documents submitted for an apostille is required, as well as if the number of documents exceeds 10, the period of issue of apostille may be extended by 5 days or more.
What documents are submitted for the issuance of an apostille or legalization?
The issuance of an apostille or legalization can be carried out in relation to the original document or its notarized copy or translation. The document can be submitted to the Ministry of Justice in the following manner:
- directly by the document owner;
- through notary offices;
- through “ASAN service” centers;
- by third parties.
An electronic copy of applications for the issuance of an apostille can be obtained by using the “Application for an Apostille” electronic service located in the “State Services” section of the official website of the Ministry of Justice.
What are the requirements for documents for issuing an apostille?
It is not allowed to include any additional information in the documents submitted for apostille, to draw a line through incomplete lines and other blank spaces.
Documents consisting of several sheets must be stitched, the sheets must be numbered, signed and sealed by the official issuing the document.
The document must be formalized in order to give it official character and legal force. Formalization is carried out by signing, approving, registering and sealing the document.
The signature includes the title of the person signing the document, his personal signature, name and surname. If the official who must sign the document is temporarily absent, the document is signed by his deputy or a person acting on his behalf. In this case, the actual title, name and surname of the person signing the document must be indicated. It is prohibited to sign the document by writing the word “instead of” or by drawing a line in front of the title of the position.
Note: In accordance with the requirements of the legislation, documents with irregularities and drafts, unapproved attachments, documents whose text cannot be read due to damage, or documents written in pencil are prohibited from being accepted for notarial actions.
The texts of notarially certified transactions and documents must be written clearly and correctly, dates and periods related to the text of the document must be written in words at least once, and the names of legal entities must be written without abbreviations, indicating the address of their bodies.
The name, surname and patronymic of individuals must be written in full, their place of residence must be indicated.
If documents expressed on several sheets are not numbered, not bound, not certified by the signature of an official and the seal of the department, enterprise and organization that issued the document, these documents are also not accepted.
How much is the public duty for issuing an apostille or legalization?
The public duty for issuing an apostille for a document is 10 manats.
There is no public duty for approving a document submitted for legalization.
The payer is provided with a bank or postal receipt in the prescribed form for payment of the public duty to the state budget in cash, an extract from the relevant payment system when paying via electronic payment systems, including the Internet, and a bank or postal document confirming the execution of the payment when transferring from the payer’s account.
The public duty for issuing an apostille to a document can also be paid through the electronic service “Making of payments related to notarial acts, issuance of an apostille and state registration of civil status acts via the Internet”, located in the “Public services” section of the website of the Ministry of Justice.
You can find the list of institutions authorized to prepare and submit documents for apostille issuance by clicking on the link.
Time of receipt and delivery of documents at the General Department of Notary, Registration and Registry of the Ministry of Justice
Reception and delivery of documents to the General Department of Notary, Registration and Registry for apostille issuance is carried out on working days from 15:00 to 17:00.
You can find the list of institutions authorized to prepare and submit documents for apostille issuance by clicking on the link.
You can find the list of member states of the “Convention Abolishing the Requirement of Legalization for Foreign Public Documents” by clicking on the link.
