Department of the Interior and Sport, Office for Migration

Apply for apostilles for abroad

Prerequisites

• You need the confirmation of authenticity for an official document of the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg (FHH), for example the registry office, Hamburg Service on site (formerly customer center), tax office or a state-recognized school in Hamburg.
• Your document was not issued for a specific purpose, such as a birth certificate for applying for parental allowance (printed on the certificate).
• Your document has been signed by an authorized person of the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg.
• The signatory of the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg is known to the competent authority.
• You have clarified your issue in advance with the responsible department, for example by email.

Documents required

In the appointment procedure:

• Appointment Booking Proof
• identification document
• Your original document without earmarking, which you have sent to us by e-mail for a preliminary check.
• EC card or cash

In the procedure by post:

Adress to:

Department of Interior and Sport
Office for migration
M251
Hammer Street 30-34
22041 Hamburg

Necessary information in the cover letter of the postal procedure:

• Destination country of the document (e.g. Russia)
• Your Address
• email and phone number
• We also need the originals of the documents to be certified.

• In order to shorten the processing time, send an e-mail with the attached document(s) as a scan or photo to the local authority for a preliminary check of your documents. Please indicate in your e-mail that you do not want an appointment and that your document is in the mail.

More information:

• If you are resident in Germany, the fee will be charged by means of a fee notice.
• If the fee is more than 100 € or if you live abroad, an advance payment will be required after completion. You will be sent a notification of fees for this. After the value date, your documents will be sent back to you.

Please note

The subsequent legalization is carried out by a consular officer at the foreign representation of the state in which the document is required.

The pre-certification or apostille is done for the document and is not personal. A non-affected person can also apply for the pre-certification or apostille without a power of attorney.

For confirmation of authenticity of federal certificates (such as certificates of good conduct) or federal documents, please contact the Federal Office for Foreign Affairs.

Final certifications of pre-certified documents from the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg can be obtained from the Federal Office for Foreign Affairs.

Final certifications by the Federal Office for Foreign Affairs are only carried out for pre-certified copies/duplicates from the issuing authority. For example, for documents from the University of Hamburg, only copies/duplicates from the University of Hamburg are accepted.

The federal state in which the swearing-in took place is responsible for confirming the authenticity of translations by interpreters who have not been sworn in Hamburg.

For confirmation of authenticity of certificates or documents issued in other federal states or nations, please contact the issuing country or federal state.

Deadlines

Apply for the certificate of authenticity early.




To ensure the validity of the confirmation of authenticity (apostille/legalization), find out from the submitting authority abroad (embassy, authority abroad) how old it may be.




The competent authority is not aware of the sovereign provisions of the respective country in this regard.

Procedure

• You book an appointment.
• You send an email to the responsible office with your request, your name, your telephone number, the country of destination of the document (for example, Russia), and the date and time of your appointment. Attach a photo or scan of the document for which you need confirmation of authenticity.
• You show up for the appointment.
• You submit the documents for confirmation of authenticity and, if necessary, show the originals.
• If you need a confirmation of authenticity for more than 7 original documents (or more than 5 copies), you can only hand in the documents. You will be given a separate collection date for the certified documents.
• The responsible authority checks the authenticity of your documents or signatures.
• The responsible authority will affix the seal to your documents to confirm their authenticity.
• You usually pay the fees with an EC or credit card. In exceptional cases you can pay with cash.
• You will receive your documents back with confirmation of authenticity.

You can also request confirmation of the authenticity of your documents for use abroad by post.

• To shorten the processing time, you can send a scan or photo of your documents to the responsible office by email for preliminary checking. In your email, state that your original document is in the mail and that you do not need an appointment.
• You send your request and the necessary documents by post to the responsible office.
• Please include the following information in your cover letter:
  • country of destination of the document (for example Russia)
  • your address
  • your email address and phone number
• You will receive a fee notice.
• If the fees are 100.00 euros or more, you must pay them in advance.
• If you reside abroad, you must pay the fees in advance.
• As soon as the payment has been received by the responsible authority, you will receive your documents back.

Processing time

If you come in person, you will usually receive confirmation of authenticity for up to six documents immediately.




You will receive confirmations of authenticity for more than 6 documents 3 to 4 working days later. You will be given a separate collection date.




If you request confirmation of authenticity by post, you will usually receive your processed documents back 10 working days after they have been received in full by the responsible authority.

Fees

Fees for appointments:

• 14.50 € per apostille


• 9.50 € per pre-certification


• 5 € translator stamp


• 6 € Copy certification/official certification - per 1st page of the document


• 1 € Copy Certification/Official Certification - from the 2nd page of each document


• 0.60 € copies - from the 1st page to the 10th page


• 0.30 € copies - from the 11th page

Different fees in the postal procedure

• 35.50 € per apostille


• 30.50 € per pre-certification

Payment methods available

• Girocard
• Bill
• Cash payment

Payment information

Payment by invoice / notification of fees is only possible if the application is sent by post.

Legal remedies

There is no legal remedy.

Legal basis

Convention Abolishing the Requirement of Legalization for Foreign Public Documents

https://www.hcch.net/de/instruments/conventions/status-table/?cid=41




§ 33 (1) Hamburg Administrative Procedure Act (HmbVwVfG)

https://www.landesrecht-hamburg.de/bsha/document/jlr-VwVfGHAV8P33




Hague Apostille Convention - List of States

https://www.auswaertiges-amt.de/de/-/2570832