Authentication with an apostille, legalisation

Apostilles are required for official documents issued in Estonia (e.g. school diplomas, extracts from a register, notarised authorisation documents) that are to be used in another country that has acceded to the Apostille Convention.

An apostille is a certificate that certifies the capacity in which the person signing the document has acted.

An apostille is attached inseparably to the document. An apostille can be attached to

• the original document,
• a notarized or officially certified copy,
• a printout or extract of a public document.

A document issued in a foreign country that does not include an apostille is invalid and translations of such documents are not certified by a notary.

All notaries in Estonia certify public documents with an apostille from 1 January 2010. A list of notaries and their contact details is available at 
https://www.notar.ee/en/notaries/list
Notaries certify documents with an apostille regardless of their jurisdiction. However, a notary cannot apostille documents certified or authenticated by him or herself.

For more information about certification with apostille, visit https://www.notar.ee/en/teabekeskus/apostille

Public documents to be used in a country with which Estonia has signed an agreement on mutual legal assistance are not subject to apostillation.