Document Legalization

Legalization makes documents valid within the territory of another country and is required when submitting documents to foreign authorities.

There are two types of legalization:

1.   1. Apostilization means marking of official documents with a special stamp to make them valid in the member states of the Hague Convention (1961).

2.   2. Consular legalization means a more complicated procedure applied in countries which are not party to the Hague Convention. It involves the following steps:

■   Notarization

■   Authentication of the notary’s signature and seal by the Ministry of Justice

■   Authentication of the seal of the Ministry of Justice and the authorized official’s signature by the Consular Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs

Any document can only be legalized if it is accurately and correctly translated and notarized. A certified translation can be required both at the primary stage of legalization in the country of origin of the document and at the stage of its legalization by foreign authorities.

In the latter case, the properly legalized document is translated and certified; this translation is then notarized by a notary of the country in which the translation is intended to be used.

We provide assistance with legalization in Russia, providing certified translations of both Russian and foreign official documents.

Click here for detailed information about the legalization requirements for certain types of documents and the procedure itself.