Apostille and legalisation (documents and authentications)
Performance specification
Abroad, German public documents (i.e. documents issued by a public authority) are often only recognised if their authenticity has been confirmed by the competent representation of the foreign country concerned (embassy, consulate) in Germany(legalisation).
The representations of the foreign states generally require the documents to be certified by the competent German authorities beforehand. The authenticity of the signature, the capacity in which the signatory has acted and, if applicable, the authenticity of the seal or stamp affixed to the document are certified. As a rule, a preliminary authentication is required for this. Depending on the place of issue, the issuing authority and the type of German public document, there are different responsibilities:
Legalisation is not required if international agreements provide for it. In some cases, documents are then exempt from all formalities in international document transactions, in others there are procedural simplifications (apostille). A large number of states have acceded to the "Hague Convention Abolishing the Requirement of Legalisation for Foreign Public Documents" of 5 October 1961 (the so-called "Apostille Convention") (for an overview of countries, see the link below to the website of the Federal Foreign Office).
In these cases, the apostille, which directly recognises the German document abroad, takes the place of certification.
Auswärtiges Amt: Internationaler Urkundenverkehr - Legalisations, Apostille, Urkundenüberprüfung - German public documents for use abroad
What are the fees?
The assessment is made by the Regierungspräsidium Kassel (currently € 25.00 per certification/apostille).
What else should I know?
Whether legalisation or an apostille is required in a particular case is decided by the foreign authority to which you submit the German public document.
Certifications/postilles are usually needed at very short notice. Both the district administration and the regional council therefore process them immediately.
As a rule, the public documents can be submitted in the original with an informal letter (stating the request "Pre-authentication for legalisation/apostille", the country in which the document is to be presented and the sender's address) by post or by depositing it in one of our letterboxes. After short-term processing, the district administration forwards the application to the Regional Council Kassel, which, after affixing the apostille/authentication, returns the document with the invoice for the fee to the address given.
In case of urgency and for questions regarding the nature, content or course of the proceedings, we recommend contacting us in advance by telephone.
Who do I need to contact?
The competence of the district administration is limited to the pre-certification of public documents issued by municipal authorities in the district of Waldeck-Frankenberg. Subsequently, the certification is carried out by the Regional Council Kassel.
The apostille shall be affixed by the Regional Council Kassel after the district administration has confirmed the authority to sign, the authenticity of the signature and the official seal.