Apostille (Hague) Legalisation - DIRCO & High Court

Key Takeaways:

• An apostille authenticates documents for international use, simplifying cross-border transactions.

• Obtain an apostille to streamline legal recognition and acceptance of your documents in foreign jurisdictions.

Legalising a document means that official (public) documents executed within South Africa for use outside of South Africa are affixed, sealed and signed with an Apostille Certificate (if the destination country is a signatory of the Hague Apostille Convention).

As a general rule, the process is simpler, and faster, for countries that have adopted the Hague Apostille Convention, as that country has agreed to adopt a shortened process, only requiring an Apostille certificate.

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An Apostille certificate simply means that your document that originates in South Africa has been authenticated or legalised by The Legalisation Section at the Department of International relations and Cooperation (DIRCO), or the Registrar of the High Court of South Africa, thereby authenticating the origin of a public document. 

Keep in mind that an Apostille only certifies the origin of the public document to which it relates - it certifies the authenticity of the signature or seal of the person or authority that signed or sealed the public document and the capacity in which this was done (usually a Notary Public). It does not however certify the content of the public document(s) to which it relates. Apostilles are not grants of authority and do not give any additional weight to the content of underlying documents. An Apostille may never be used for the recognition of a document in the country where that document was issued, it is only to be used abroad.

An Apostille Certificate is an official government Certificate that authenticates the seal and or signature of the public official or authority such as a notary or registrar issuing the document. 

An issued Apostille Certificate confirms that the person signing, sealing or stamping a public document has lawful authority to do so, and the Apostilled document automatically becomes a legal document in countries which are members of the Hague Convention. It does not authenticate or confirm the contents of a document.  

Note - it is up to the country where the Apostille is to be used to decide how much weight is to be given to the underlying public document. If you have any doubts, you should ask the intended recipient of your document whether an Apostille is necessary in your particular case. 

Although there are a wide variety of documents that can be Apostilled, the most common documents include the following: 

1. marriage certificates;

2. birth certificates;

3. death certificates;

4. letters of no impediment / single status certificates;

5. divorce certificates and decrees of divorce;

6. police clearance certificates;

7. educational qualification documents;

8. powers of attorney (when signed in person in front of the Notary);

9. copies of Identity Documents including passports and driver’s licenses;

10. TEFL and TESOL certificates (once a photocopy has been notarised as a true copy of the original by a notary public);

11. Travel consent letters for minors (when signed in person in front of the Notary);

12. Company incorporation documents and resolutions (copies can be notarised as true copies of the original):

13. Commercial contracts (copies can be notarised as true copies of the original or can be signed in person in front of the Notary);

14. Affidavits for use in foreign courts (when signed in person in front of the Notary);

15. Foreign property transfer documentation (when signed in person in front of the Notary);

16. Statutory declarations (when signed in person in front of the Notary);

17. Last Will and Testament and Letters of Executorship (Probate) (copies can be notarised as true copies of the original or officially certified copies can be uplifted from the Master of the High Court); and

18. in addition, any document that needs to be copied and the copy thereof notarised as a true copy of the original can then be Apostilled.

What is the Hague Convention?

According to the HCCH –

“The Convention of 5 October 1961 Abolishing the Requirement of Legalisation for Foreign Public Documents (HCCH 1961 Apostille Convention) facilitates the use of public documents abroad. The purpose of the Convention is to abolish the traditional requirement of legalisation, replacing the often long and costly legalisation process with the issuance of a single Apostille certificate by a Competent Authority in the place where the document originates.”

— The HCCH

As a general rule, the process is simpler, and faster, for countries that have adopted the Hague Convention, as that country has agreed to adopt a shortened process, only requiring an Apostille certificate. The process for non-Hague Convention countries is a little more complex.

In instances where the foreign country requires the original document to be legalised for use outside of South Africa then the following documents must be submitted directly to DIRCO to be Apostilled.

The following countries are members of The Hague Apostille Convention:

A

Albania
Andorra
Antigua and Barbuda
Argentina
Armenia
Australia
Austria
Azerbaijan

B

Bahamas
Bahrain
Barbados
Belarus
Belgium
Belize
Bolivia
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Botswana
Brazil
Brunei Darussalam
Bulgaria
Burundi

C

Cape Verde
Chile
China (Hong Kong)
China (Macao)
Colombia
Cook Islands
Costa Rica
Croatia
Cyprus
Czech Republic

D

Denmark
Dominica
Dominican Republic

E

Ecuador
El Salvador
Estonia

F

Fiji
Finland
France

G

Georgia
Germany
Greece
Grenada

Guatemala

H

Honduras
Hong Kong
Hungary

I

Iceland
India
Ireland
Israel
Italy

J

Jamaica

Japan

K

Kazakhstan
Korea
Kosovo
Republic of Kyrgyzstan

L

Latvia
Lesotho
Liberia
Liechtenstein
Lithuania
Luxembourg

M

Macao (China)
Macedonia (FYR of)
Malawi
Malta
Marshall Islands
Mauritius
Mexico
Monaco
Mongolia
Montenegro
Morocco

N

Namibia
Netherlands
New Zealand
Nicaragua
Niue
Norway

O

Oman

P

Panama
Paraguay
Peru
The Philippines
Poland
Portugal

R

Republic of Moldova
Romania
Russian Federation

S

Saint Kitts and Nevis
Saint Lucia
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
Samoa
San Marino
Sao Tome and Principe
Serbia
Seychelles
Singapore
Slovakia
Slovenia
South Africa
Spain
Suriname
Swaziland
Sweden
Switzerland

T

Tajikistan
The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia
Tonga
Trinidad and Tobago
Tunisia
Turkey

U

Ukraine
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (UK)
Uruguay
United States of America (USA)
Uzbekistan

V

Vanuatu
Venezuela

Why should we trust Benaters to Apostille our documents?

At Benaters we pride ourselves on the fact that we are able to offer a specialised niche service, always remembering that due to the ethical nature of the services which Notaries render and the specialist knowledge required to draft and/or legalise certain documents. And we take that extremely seriously (and therefore hold ourselves to very high standards).

We are proud to offer this specialised service to you!

So, let’s see how we can best support you during this process.