Apostille is a special mark (stamp) put on official documents issued by institutions of one state for recognition by official institutions in another state. Therefore, only documents issued in Poland can be apostilled in Poland. Apostille verifies the authenticity of an official’s signature and status, as well as a seal and stamp on an official document. Apostille does not certify the authenticity of the content, though. Apostille is a simplified legalisation procedure that only applies to the signatories of the 1961 Hague Convention treaty. Apostilled foreign documents are recognised in all member countries of the Hague Convention and do not require any other form of certification.

We are taking care of all formalities for you — we request a preliminary procedure to verify the notary’s seal and signature (Uwierzytelnienia dokumentu) at the District Court of Warsaw, make an appointment at the Foreign Ministry, fill out all necessary forms, pay the state fees, get an apostille for all personal or corporate documents and, where necessary, send them to your address in any country by courier mail. We also deliver sworn translations of all types of documents, if you need them.

Apostille stamps are normally placed on personal or corporate documents issued by the Polish state authorities. The most common cases include:

• certificates of marital status, birth, death and marriage, court rulings;
• documents from the National Criminal Register (KRK), including certificates of no criminal record, or court orders concerning a company, certificates of conviction;
• notarised documents (deeds, powers of attorney, protocols);
• qualification certificates, including school certificates and university diplomas, copies, duplicate copies, and appendices;
• commercial contracts, invoices, import and export consignment notes, copies of certificates from the National Court Register (KRS) and the Central Register and Information on Economic Activity (CEIDG).

Furthermore, sworn translations can also be apostilled to be valid abroad.

As a rule, you will obtain your apostilled document within 3–5 days if you refer to our office NotaBene in Warsaw and within 10 days if you contact our office in Gdansk. We always have booked dates and time slots for visits to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which enable us to expedite the process.

We have been in the translation business for more than 20 years; please, contact our managers.