An apostille is a specially designed and approved stamp that is affixed to a document that confirms its authenticity.

The apostille is affixed by the following state bodies: the Ministry of Justice of Ukraine (Ministry of Justice), the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine (MFA), the Ministry of Education of Ukraine.

The apostille can be placed on personal documents:

• documents issued by the registry offices (birth certificate, marriage certificate, divorce certificate, etc.).
• notarized documents: statements, powers of attorney, affidavits, etc.
• certificates (of no criminal record, place of residence, state of health and others…)
• educational documents: diplomas, archival certificates, curricula, certificates

For legal documents (certificates of registration, powers of attorney, statutes, etc.)

Depending on the jurisdiction of the document, the apostille seal is affixed in the relevant ministries.

Well, for example, on certificates of no criminal record, medical certificates, certificates of residence, etc. the apostille is affixed in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine (MFA); for documents from the registry office - in the State Registration Service; for notarial documents - in the Ministry of Justice of Ukraine; for documents on education - in the Ministry of Education of Ukraine.

About the apostille in Ukraine

Beginning on December 22, 2003, Ukraine formally acceded to the Hague Convention of October 5, 1961, which abolished the requirement of consular legalization of foreign documents. As a result, for the legalization of documents is used to put a seal of a certain standard, which greatly simplifies the process of legalization. This procedure also applies to Ukraine's member states to the Hague Convention. Once the apostille is affixed to the document, only its notarized translation is required.

The Ministry of Justice has published a list of countries for which an apostille is required:

Australia	Iceland	PAR
Azerbaijan	Spain	Poland
Albania	Kazakhstan	Russian Federation
Andorra	China (Hong Kong and Macao only)	Romania
Antigua and Barbuda	Cyprus	Samoa
Argentina	Colombia	Swaziland
Armenia	Korea	Seychelles
Bahamas	Latvia, Lesotho	Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
Barbados	Lithuania	Saint Kitts and Nevis
Belize	Liberia	Saint Lucia
Belarus	Liechtenstein	Serbia and Montenegro
Bulgaria	Luxembourg	Slovak Republic
Bosnia and Herzegovina	Mauritius	Slovenia
Botswana	Macedonia	USA
Brunei	Malawi	Surinam
Venezuela	Malta	Tonga
Honduras	Marshall Islands	Trinidad and Tobago
Grenada	Mexico	Turkey
Greece	Moldova	Hungary
Georgia	Monaco	Ukraine
Dominican Republic	Montenegro	Federal Republic of Germany
Ecuador	Namibia	Fiji
El Salvador	Niue	Finland
Estonia	New Zealand	Croatia
Israel	Norway	Czech Republic
India	Cook Islands	Sweden
Ireland	Panama	Japan

For some countries, such as Austria, Belgium, France, the United Kingdom, Portugal, Switzerland, the Netherlands, and Italy, a double apostille is required in the following cases:

• the first apostille is placed on the original document or on its notarized copy,
• then a notarized translation is made,
• then put the second apostille on a notarized translation.

For some countries, such as Italy, Spain, France, it is possible to legalize documents in two ways:

• apostille on a document → notarized translation → second apostille on a translation;
• apostille on the document → accredited translation → certification by consular seal

What is an accredited translation?

This is a translation made by an embassy-accredited translator.

For France and the Czech Republic, the legalization of documents is as follows:

affixing an apostille on the document + translation by a sworn translator at the embassy

How to draw up documents for Spain and Italy: double apostille or apostille + accredited translation with consular seal?

The answer to this question will have to be given to the customer himself, having previously inquired how to register them in the bodies where they will be submitted.

For countries where embassies do not have an accredited translator, the procedure for legalizing the document will be unambiguous:

• apostille → notarized translation → second apostille on translation.