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 confirmation
• ID document
• Your original document, without any specific purpose, which you sent to us by email for preliminary review.
• debit card or cash

In the case of postal delivery:

Address to:

Department of the Interior and Sport

Office for Migration

M251

Hammer Street 30-34

22041 Hamburg

Required information in the cover letter for postal proceedings:

• Country of destination of the document (e.g. Spain)
• Your address
• Email address and phone number
• Furthermore, we require the original documents to be certified.

• To expedite processing, please send an email with a scan or photo of your document(s) attached to this office for preliminary review. Please indicate in your email that you do not require an appointment and that your document is currently in transit.

Further information:

• The fee is collected by means of a fee notice for residents of Germany.
• For fees exceeding €100 or for clients residing abroad, advance payment is required upon completion. You will receive a fee notice. Your documents will be returned to you after payment has been processed.

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 from 01.01.2026


When making an appointment:

• €16.00 per apostille


• €11.00 per pre-authentication


• 5 € translator's stamp


• €6 for certified copy/official certification - per 1st page of the document


• €1 for certified copy/official certification - from the 2nd page of each document


• €0.70 for copies - from page 1 to page 10


• €0.40 for copies - from page 11 onwards.

Different fees apply to postal services

• €39.00 per apostille


• €34.00 per pre-authentication

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