Legalize documents and deeds from the district court for foreign countries

Prerequisites

Your certificate or your document was issued by the Hamburg district court or by a Hamburg district court.

Documents required

• The document(s) to be certified or apostille
• original certificate
• Passport or other proof of identity (not applicable if the application is made in writing)
• if applicable: written power of attorney for the representatives

Please note

Certificates from the Hamburg notaries receive a legalization or apostille at the Hamburg Regional Court.

Deadlines

None

Procedure

You can request apostilles / legalizations by submitting an application in writing

• First you fill out an informal application
• You submit the application with the relevant document in the original to the District Court of Hamburg and indicate for which country the apostille or pre-authentication is required. Return address and if applicable Phone numbers are required for any queries.
• The District Court of Hamburg examines the application and the required documents and decides whether the certification can be issued
• If the application is approved, you will incur costs for issuing the certification
• You will then receive an invoice. The costs for issuing the certification are based on the Costs Ordinance

Processing time

The processing time is two working days. If you appear in person, you can take it with you immediately.

Fees

A fixed fee of EUR 25.00 per document is charged for certification of official signatures on documents from the Hamburg district courts, such as excerpts from the commercial register, divorce decrees and certificates of inheritance.

Legal remedies

No

Legal basis

• Law on the Hague Convention of 5 October 1961 on the Exemption from Legalization of Foreign Public Documents
  https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/urkbefr_bkg_haag/BJNR208750965.html
  


• Ordinance on the issuance of apostilles in accordance with Article 3 of the Hague Convention of October 5, 1961 on the Exemption from Legalization of Foreign Public Documents https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/urkbefrv_1997_haag/BJNR287200997.html
  


• § 13 Consular Law (KonsG)
  https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/konsg/__13.html
  


• No. 1310 of the annex to § 4 paragraph 1 law on costs in matters of judicial administration (Justice Administration Costs Act - JVKostG)
  https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/jvkostg/anlage.html

• If you would like to have documents and deeds from the district court and the Hamburg district courts certified for foreign countries, you must contact the Hamburg district court.
  • The District Court of Hamburg is only entitled to provide its own deeds and documents with a pre-authentication (for later legalization) or an apostille, which is subject to a fee.
  • The authenticity of the signature, the capacity in which the signatory acted and, if applicable, the authenticity of the seal or stamp with which the document is provided are certified.
  • Depending on the country of use, the authenticity of this document is confirmed by certification with subsequent legalization or an apostille.
• An apostille is required for countries that have joined the Hague Convention of October 5, 1961 Abolishing the Requirement of Legalization for Foreign Public Documents.
  • You can find out which countries these are in detail on the website of the Federal Foreign Office, see link
  • Documents intended for other (non-joined) countries are legalized (authenticated). The legalization is then carried out by a consular officer at the diplomatic mission of the country in which the document is required.
  • Legalization is a confirmation of the authenticity of a foreign document by the consular officer of the state in which the document is to be used (legalizations are also granted by the District Court of Hamburg for countries that are not members of the Hague Convention).
  • The apostille is also a confirmation of the authenticity of a document, which, unlike legalization, is issued by an authority in the state in which the document was issued.