What is an apostille?

An Apostille is an official confirmation that a signature or seal on a document is genuine. Apostilles are issued by and recognized by many countries around the world that belong to the Hague Convention, currently around 120. Apostilles do not confirm the genuineness of the content of a particular document, but only that a certificate that has been signed to affirm that it is genuine has been signed in an acceptable way. Both signatures and seals are confirmed as genuine by an apostille.

When do you need an apostille?

Typically, the need for an apostille is part of the legalization procedure that occurs whenever documents are presented to an official government agency that is in another country or jurisdiction. For example, if you need to present your educational or professional qualifications, a medical certificate, or a marriage certificate for immigration or residence purposes, then you may be asked to legalize the documents. If the language is different from the country where the documents have been issued is different, then normally the documents must be translated and certified by the translator. The apostille is an accompanying letter or document that affirms that any signature or seal on any of the original or translated documents is genuine. 

Although apostilles are issued in just about every European Union country, such as Germany, they are not typically required by E.U. member states as long as the documents have been issued by E.U. government agencies. However, a non-E.U. government may ask for an apostille to be issued if documents are submitted by someone who is a citizen of Germany or another E.U. state for immigration or residence purposes outside of the E.U. Similarly if you are a non-E.U. citizen applying for a visa in the E.U., then any documents you submit may have to be accompanied by apostilles.

How can you get an apostille in Germany?

You can send off your documents to the appropriate authority yourself if you need an apostille in Germany or you can use a German apostille service to do this for you. 

Who actually provides the apostille in Germany?

The apostille issuing authority in Germany depends on whether the document itself was issued by a state or federal government agency.

Apostilles for federal documents can be requested from the Bundesverwaltungsamt, which is the Federal Office of Administration, located in Cologne.

The President of the German Patent Office is responsible for issuing apostilles for documents that have been issued by that particular office.

If your documents have been issued by any of the individual German state government agencies, you will need to find out what the office is for issuing an apostille, as this varies from state to state.

Requirements for getting an apostille in Germany

There is normally a fee for issuing an apostille. This is currently 25 Euros paid by card or, in exceptional circumstances, cash. The documents for which an apostille is required should be sent to the appropriate apostille issuing authority (see above) by post with the completed application form and fee. The documents and apostille(s) will be returned to a German postal address.

Conclusion– Certified Translations of German Apostilles

If an apostille has been issued in Germany, then it will have been issued in German. This means that if the documents for which the apostille has been requested are submitted anywhere where German is not the official language (just about everywhere else in the world!) then the apostille itself must also be translated by a certified translator. This does seem a rather unwieldy process, but most governments around the world are keen to ensure that documents that are submitted to support the entry of the holder to their countries to carry out work or legally reside are actually genuine. 

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