27 September 2024

Who accepts apostilles?

When you go abroad, you might need to get an apostille if you are taking documents with you. Find out which countries accept apostilles in our informative blog.

Estimated reading time: 3 minutes

Knowing who accepts apostilles is important if you are planning on going to another country for a reason such as to work, study, for business, or another similar reason, you will need to take some documents with you. These documents will act as proof of your right to work or study, and prove that you have the required qualifications.

However, for documents to be accepted as legitimate, they will first need to be notarised and legalised. Apostilles are on such from of legalisation, and the most common.

It should be noted that not every country accepts apostilles, and they instead use other forms of legalisation. If you are wondering ‘who accepts apostilles?’ then we shall take you through which countries do accept apostilles, so that you can plan for getting one.

Who accepts apostilles?

The following is a lot of what countries accept apostilles as a way of legalising official documents:

Albania
Andorra
Antigua and Barbuda
Argentina
Armenia
Australia
Austria
Azerbaijan
Bahamas
Bahrain
Barbados
Belarus
Belgium
Belize
Bolivia
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Botswana
Brazil
Brunei Darussalam
Bulgaria
Burundi
Cabo Verde
Canada
Chile
China
Colombia
Cook Islands
Costa Rica
Croatia
Cyprus
Czech Republic
Denmark
Dominica
Dominican Republic
Ecuador
El Salvador
Estonia
Eswatini
Fiji
Finland
France
Georgia

Germany
Greece
Grenada
Guatemala
Guyana
Honduras
Hong Kong
Hungary
Iceland
India
Ireland
Israel
Italy
Jamaica
Japan
Kazakhstan
Kosovo
Kyrgyzstan
Latvia
Lesotho
Liberia
Liechtenstein
Lithuania
Luxembourg
Macau
Malawi
Malta
Marshall Islands
Mauritius
Mexico
Moldova
Monaco
Mongolia
Montenegro
Morocco
Namibia
Netherlands
New Zealand
Nicaragua
Niue
North Macedonia
Norway

Oman
Palau
Panama
Paraguay
Peru
Philippines
Poland
Portugal
Romania
Russian Federation
Rwanda (as of 5 June 2024)
Saint Kitts and Nevis
Saint Lucia
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
Samoa
San Marino
São Tomé and Principe
Saudi Arabia
Serbia
Seychelles
Singapore
Slovakia
Slovenia
South Africa
South Korea (Republic of Korea)
Spain
Suriname
Sweden
Switzerland
Tajikistan
Tonga
Trinidad and Tobago
Tunisia
Türkiye
Ukraine
United Kingdom
United States of America
Uruguay
Uzbekistan
Vanuatu
Venezuela

This list of who accepts apostilles may change over time, as more countries become signatories of the Hague Convention that introduced apostilles. We shall keep this list updated in the event there are any changes.

Also, some other countries accept apostilles, but use them as part of their own legalisation system. For example, the UAE uses apostilles, but requires them as part of a longer process.

Legalisation for other countries

Countries that do not accept apostilles have another form of legalisation, called embassy legalisation.

As there is no specific international standard for embassy legalisation, the process itself can vary a lot between different countries. Some will take longer than others, and be more costly.

Which documents need to be legalised?

Essentially, any document that you plan on using abroad will need to be legalised by being given an apostille, or through another type of legalisation.

Types of documents can range from Birth Certificates and other General Register Office (GRO) certificates, to Powers of Attorney and even business documents like the Certificate of Incorporation from Companies House.

Please note that whilst most documents that can be legalised will first need to be notarised, some will not need to be notarised at all. For example, GRO certificates cannot be notarised as they are subject to Crown copyright, and so are already certified documents. However, they will still need to be legalised for a foreign jurisdiction to recognise them as having legal weight to documents from their own country.

How we can help

Now you know which countries use apostilles, you can make use of our notarisation and legalisation services.

We can help you with getting your documents notarised, and then we can help you with getting them apostilled for your destination country. If the country you want to go to does not just need an apostille, we can assist you with other forms of legalisation as well.

To get your documents notarised, you will first need to book an appointment with our Notary Public of England and Wales, Nathan Woodcock. You can do this by contacting our helpful team by either phone, email, or our website chatbot.

For your appointment, you can choose for it to take place at one of our conveniently located offices, or use our mobile notary service. We have offices in London, Manchester, and Sheffield. If you decide to use our mobile notary service, then you can arrange your appointment to take place at a suitable time and place, such as at your home or office.

Once your documents have been notarised, we can then begin to help you with getting an apostille from the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office. We offer a standard apostille service, and a fast-track service. View our apostille packages to see what suits you the most.

Get in touch with us today to see how we can help you get your documents notarised and apostilled.