Apostille Certificates and the Hague Convention
Louwrens Koen Attorneys and Notary specialise in obtaining Apostille Certificates for all original South-African public, company, commercial and educational documents.
Apostille is a French word (pronounced "ah-poh-steel"), meaning a certificate issued by a government of a country, authenticating the signature and or seal of a public official on a public document issued by that country, and intended for use in a foreign country.
South-African public, company, commercial or educational documents, including documents witnessed , certified and sealed by an South-African Notary Public, when affixed or attached with an Apostille Certificate issued by the South-African Government, will automatically be accepted for legal use in foreign countries signatories to the Hague Convention.
Apostille Certificates are restricted in their use to those countries which are signatories to The Hague Convention otherwise a full embassy or consulate legalisation procedure is necessary.
South-Africa is a member of The Hague Convention.
As at 1st January, 2010, the following countries have AGREED to participate in "The Hague Convention Abolishing the Requirement of Legalisation for Foreign Public Documents"
Albania
Andorra
Antigua & Barbuda
Argentina
Armenia
Aruba
South-Africa
Austria
Azerbaijan
Bahamas
Barbados
Belarus
Belgium
Belize
Bermuda
Bosnia-Herzegovina
Botswana
British Guyana
Brunei Darussalam
Bulgaria
Cape Verde
Cayman Islands
China (Hong Kong-Special Administrative Region (SAR) only)
China (Macau-Special Administrative Region (SAR) only)
Colombia
Comoros Islands
Cook Islands
Costa Rica
Croatia
Cyprus
Czech Republic
Denmark
Dominica
Dominican Republic
Ecuador
El Salvador
Estonia
Fiji
Finland
France, including:
French Guiana
French Polynesia
Guadeloupe
Martinique
Germany
Georgia
Greece
Grenada
Guernsey
Guyana
Hong Kong (SAR of China)
Honduras
Hungary
Iceland
India
Ireland
Isle of Man
Israel
Italy
Japan
Kazakhstan
Korea (Republic of)
Latvia
Lesotho
Liberia
Lithuania
Luxembourg
Macau (SAR of China)
Macedonia
Malawi
Malta
Marshall Islands
Mauritius
Mexico
Moldova
Monaco
Mongolia
Montengro
Montserrat
Namibia
Netherlands (The), including:
Aruba, Suriname, Netherlands Antilles: (Curacao, Bonaire, St Martin, St Eustatius, & Saba)
New Zealand
Niue
Norway
Oman
Peru
Panama
Poland
Portugal
Romania
Russian Federation
St. Christopher (Kitts) & Nevis
St. Georgia & South Sandwich Islands
St. Helena
St Pierre & Miquelon
St. Lucia
St. Vincent & the Grenadines
Samoa
San Marino, Republic of
Sao Tome and Principe
Serbia
Seychelles
Slovakia
Slovenia
South Africa
South Korea
Spain
Suriname
Swaziland
Sweden
Switzerland
Tonga
Trinidad and Tobago
Turkey
Tuvalu
United Kingdom of Great Britain & Northern Ireland, including:
Anguilla, Guernsey, Bahamas, Isle of Man, Barbados, Jersey, Bermuda, Montserrat, Brunei, Mauritius, British Antarctic Territory, St. Georgia & the South Sandwich Island, British Virgin Islands, St Helena, Cayman Islands, Tonga & Caicos Islands, Dominica, Turks & Caicos, Falkland Islands, Virgin Islands, British Gibraltar
United States of America, including:
50 USA States
The District of Columbia, American Samoa, Guam (Territory of), Puerto Rico, US Virgin Islands
Ukraine
Uzbekistan
Vanuatu
Venezuela
Yugoslavia
An Apostille Certificate is the appropriate form of legalisation, if your South-African public document is required to operate in any of the above participating Hague Convention countries.
Popular South-African Public Documents
Consent letter for children to travel or visit overseas
Powers of Attorney
Certified translations
University, degrees, diplomas, course certificates, school certificates and transcripts
Doctor and Dentist applications for overseas appointments
Birth, Death and Marriage Certificates
Change of Name documents
Single Status Certificates
Certificate of No Impediment to Overseas Marriage
Statutory Declaration signed before a Notary Public
Probate, Letters of Administration
Land Transfer documents
Affidavits, sworn Statements, and depositions sworn before an South-African Notary Public
Certificate of Incorporation of South-African Company issued by CIPC and miscellaneous original company documents
Notarised copy of Passport, Drivers Licence and other identity documents
Certificate of Divorce issued by the Court of South-Africa
Police Clearance Certificate ("no criminal record") issued by SAPS
Miscellaneous notarised documents for use overseas
This list is not exhaustive. If you have a document not listed above which you require Apostilled, Contact us for free professional guidance.
Telephone: +27 (0) 87 001 0733
Fax: +27 (0) 12 343 0269
Cell: +27 (0) 82 880 5646
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Postal Address: Louwrens Koen Attorneys Authentication Service
PO Box 14383, Hatfield, Gauteng, South-Africa 0028