Documents from Bavarian courts or notaries for use abroad; application for an apostille

If you wish to use a deed from a Bavarian court or notary abroad, you may need to have the deed notarized. The authenticity of the document can be certified by issuing an apostille.

The apostille is a simplified form of certificate of authenticity. It certifies the authenticity of the signature, the capacity in which the signatory has acted and, where applicable, the authenticity of the seal or stamp affixed to the document. It only replaces legalization in the contracting states of the Hague Convention Abolishing the Requirement of Legalization for Foreign Documents.

There are international agreements according to which certain documents are exempt from the apostille.

The local and regional courts certify, for example, German judgments, resolutions, decisions, court documents, notarial deeds and translations by issuing an apostille.

Documents that

• by the Bavarian State Ministry of Justice,
• the Bavarian Constitutional Court,
• the Bavarian Supreme Court and
• the Public Prosecutor's Office at the Bavarian Supreme Court

shall be apostilled by the Bavarian State Ministry of Justice .

• Document from the court or notary in the original

You want to use a court or notarial deed abroad (e.g. if you want to work abroad, get married or adopt a child) and need an apostille.

You can apply for an apostille for a judgment, an order or a decision of a German court, a deed of a court or a notary or for a translation informally by sending a short letter to the local or regional court in whose district the document was drawn up.

Apostilles for documents issued by the Bavarian State Ministry of Justice, the Bavarian Constitutional Court, the Bavarian Supreme Court and the former public prosecutor's office at the Bavarian Supreme Court must be requested from the Bavarian State Ministry of Justice.

When sending by post, it is essential to specify the country for which the document is required. The original documents must generally be enclosed. The documents can also be handed in personally.

There are framework fees for issuing the apostille.

A fee of around EUR 25.00 is to be expected for each document.

If you need an apostille for a document issued by a Bavarian state authority or municipality, the government in whose district the document was issued is responsible (see under "Related topics").