Apostilization of documents
Documents issued in the territory of one country and having legal force may be used in the territory of another country after proper registration. Currently, there are two types of such registration: apostille and consular legalization.
The apostille certifies the authenticity of the signature of the person who signed the document, his/her position, and, if necessary, the authenticity of the seal or stamp affixed to that document.
The signature, stamp and seal affixed to the Apostille itself are not required to be re-certified or legalized.
Consular legalization consists of determining and certifying the authenticity of signatures on documents and acts and the compliance of these documents and acts with the laws of the State where the consulate is located.
Legalization requires the approval of several institutions as a longer-term procedure.
Legalization:
- certification by the Consulate of foreign country where the document is intended for use;
- a legalized document may be used only in the territory of the state that formalized it.
The issuance of an apostille is a one-step procedure for the approval of a document by only one body, and this document can be submitted in all member states of the Hague Convention of October 5, 1961, "abolishing the requirement of legalization of foreign public documents."
Each member state of the Hague Convention, which "abolishes the requirement of legalization of foreign public documents," determines which documents shall be apostilled. In general, the following documents are apostiled:
- documents issued by state bodies;
- judicial documents;
- notarized documents (including notarized copies or translations of documents issued by a legal entity;
The Ministry of Justice has been designated as the competent authority to issue apostilles in relation to the following documents:
- documents issued by courts;
- documents of prosecutor's offices;
- documents of judicial authorities;
- notarized documents;
- civil status certificates.
In relation to other documents, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has been designated as the authority to issue apostilles.
Consular legalization functions are performed by the Consular Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the Republic of Azerbaijan and the consulates of the Republic of Azerbaijan in foreign countries.
Consular application must be submitted to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for legalization of the original document.
In order to legalize a copy or translation of a document, first of all, the authenticity of the translator's signature in its copy and translation shall be certified by a notary. The authenticity of the notary's signature and the fact that the seal belongs to that notary office is confirmed by the Ministry of Justice. After that, the document is legalized in the Consular Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and in the consular service of the state to be used in our territory.
Documents drawn up by diplomatic and consular agents, administrative documents directly related to customs and commercial operations shall not be apostilled.
Non-member states of the Convention abolishing the requirement of legalization of foreign public documents are subject to the legalization procedure.
After the documents are checked within 5 working days after their receipt by the Ministry of Justice, they are apostilled.
Improperly prepared documents are returned without apostille. The period for issuing an apostille may be extended for 5 days or more if additional verification of the documents submitted for the issuance of an apostille is required, as well as if the number of documents exceeds 10.
Apostilization or legalization of documents may be carried out in respect of the original document or its notarized copy or translation.
The document can be submitted to the Ministry of Justice as follows:
- directly by the document holder;
- through notary offices;
- Through "ASAN service" centers;
- by third parties.
It is not allowed to include any additional information, to cross out incomplete lines and other blanks in the documents submitted to be apostilled.
Documents consisting of several pages must be sewed, the pages must be numbered, signed by the official issuing the document and stamped.
The document must be formalized in order to give it an official character and legal force. Registration is carried out by signing, approving, registering and stamping the document.
The signature includes the title of the person who signed the document, his personal signature, name and surname. If the official who signs the document is temporarily absent, the document shall be signed by his / her deputy or acting person. In this case, the actual position, name and surname of the person who signed the document must be indicated. It is forbidden to sign the document by writing the word "instead" or underlining the title of the position.
Note: In accordance with the requirements of the legislation, it is prohibited to accept rubbed or crossed out documents, with unapproved attachments, the text of which cannot be read due to damage, or documents written in pencil.
The texts of notarized deals and documents must be written clearly and honestly, the dates and terms related to the text of the document must be written at least once in words, and the names of legal entities must be written without abbreviations indicating the address of their bodies.
The names, surnames and patronymics of individuals must be written in full, and their place of residence must be indicated.
If the documents expressed on several sheets are not numbered, not sewed, not signed by the official and not stamped by the department, enterprise and organization that issued the document, these documents will not be accepted.
According to article № 13-1 of the Law of the Republic of Azerbaijan "On State Duty", a state fee in the amount of 10 manat is provided for the apostilization of a document. According to article № 4.3 of the law, the fee is paid to the state budget through electronic payment systems, including e-payment and by transfer. The payer shall be provided with the original bank or postal receipt, electronic payment systems, including an extract from the relevant payment system when paying via the Internet, and a bank or postal document confirming the payment if it is transferred from the payer's account.
It should be noted that the "Electronic Services" portal on the official website of the Ministry of Justice provides for the possibility of electronic payment of the state fee for apostilization of documents ( http://exidmet.justice.gov.az/WebForms/OtherPayment.aspx ).
The list of member states of the Convention on Abolishing the Legalization of Foreign Public Documents is posted on the official website of the Hague Conference on International Private Law ( https://www.hcch.net/en/instruments/conventions/authorities1/?cid=41 ).
- Albania
- Andorra
- Antigua and Barbuda
- Argentina
- Australia
- Austria
- Azerbaijan
- Baham
- Bahrain
- Barbados
- Belarus
- Belgium
- Belize
- Bosnia and Herzegovina
- Botswana
- Brazil
- Brunei
- Bulgaria
- Burundi
- Cape Verde
- Chile
- China (Hong Kong)
- China (Macau)
- Colombia
- Cook Islands
- Costa Rica
- Croatia
- Cyprus
- Czech Republic
- Denmark
- Dominica
- Dominican Republic
- Ecuador
- El Salvador
- Estonia
- Fici
- Finland
- France
- Georgia
- Germany
- Greece
- Grenada
- Guatemala
- Honduras
- Hungary
- Iceland
- India
- Ireland
- Israel
- Italy
- Japan
- Kazakhstan
- Korea
- Kosovo
- Kyrgyzstan
- Latvia
- Lesotho
- Liberia
- Liechtenstein
- Lithuania
- Luxembourg
- Malawi
- Malta
- Marshall Islands
- Mauritius
- Mexico
- Monaco
- Mongolia
- Montenegro
- Morocco
- Namibia
- The Netherlands
- New Zealand
- Nicaragua
- Niue
- Norway
- Oman
- Panama
- Paraguay
- Peru
- Poland
- Portugal
- Moldova
- Romania
- Russia
- You Kits and Nevis
- St. Lucia
- St. Vincent and the Grenadines
- Samoa
- San Marino
- Sao Tome and Principe
- Serbia
- Seychelles
- Slovakia
- Slovenia
- South Africa
- Spain
- Suriname
- Swaziland
- Sweden
- Switzerland
- Tajikistan
- Macedonia
- Tonqa
- Trinidad and Tobago
- Turkey
- Ukraine
- Great Britain
- United States of America
- Uruguay
- Uzbekistan
- Vanuatu
- Venezuela
Note: Although the Federal Republic of Germany is a participant of the Convention on Abolishing the Requirement of the Legalization of Foreign Public Documents, the country applies legalization, but not apostille.
Address: Baku city, Azadlig avenue 72
Phone: (+994 12) 404-42-30, (+994 12) 404-42-81
In connection with the issuance of apostilled documents, their reception at the Registration and Notary General Department, as well as their delivery is carried out on working days from 15.00 to 17.00.