Documents from state authorities or municipalities for use abroad; application for an apostille or pre-certification for legalization
If you want to use a document from a Bavarian state authority or a municipality abroad, you may have to have the document authenticated. The authenticity of the document can be certified by legalization or the issuance of an apostille.
Description
By issuing an apostille in accordance with the Hague Convention or within the framework of the legalization procedure for foreign representations, the governments authenticate German public documents that have been issued by state authorities or municipalities in the respective government district. In many cases, these are documents from the registry offices, registration certificates, school or university certificates, etc..
The apostille is a simplified form of the certificate of authenticity. It certifies the authenticity of the signature, the capacity in which the signatory has acted and, if applicable, the authenticity of the seal or stamp with which the document is marked. It replaces legalization only in the countries that are parties to the Hague Convention Abolishing the Requirement of Legalization for Foreign Documents. There are international agreements according to which certain documents are exempt from apostille.
German public documents are generally only recognized abroad if their authenticity has been confirmed by the competent representation of the country concerned in Germany (legalization). The representations of the foreign states generally require prior certification of the German documents by the competent German authorities.
Prerequisites
You want to use a document from a Bavarian state authority or municipality abroad and need an apostille or a pre-certification for legalization.
Procedure
If you need an apostille or certification for a legalization procedure, you can informally send a short letter to the responsible government and describe your request (Apostille or certification? For which foreign country?). The request can also be made using the form under "Forms".
The documents concerned must be submitted in the original.
The government in whose district the document was issued by a municipality or state authority is responsible in each case.
Special notes
If you need an apostille for a document issued by a Bavarian judicial authority (e.g. a local or state court, 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), the local court, state court or the Bavarian State Ministry of Justice is responsible (see under "Related topics").
Processing time
As a rule, it takes only a few days to settle the matter by mail. In urgent cases, the matter can also be settled - after making an appointment by telephone - during a personal visit.
Forms
Please select a location in "Localization" so that the address of the responsible authority can be filled in.
Fees
The issuance of the apostille and the certification within the framework of the legalization procedure are official acts subject to a fee, for which a framework fee is provided.
A fee of approximately 20.00 EUR is to be expected for each document. For more details, please contact the relevant governments.
Links to more information
Status: 03.02.2023
Responsible for editing: Bayerisches Staatsministerium des Innern, für Sport und Integration
- Online transactions, Bavaria-wide
- Online transactions, locally limited
- Prefillable Form, Bavaria-wide
- Legal bases, Bavaria-wide
- Legal bases, locally limited
- Fees, Bavaria-wide
- Fees, locally limited
If you select a location under "Localization" the contact details of the responsible authority and, if applicable, locally valid information will be displayed.