{"id":5758,"date":"2026-03-18T08:57:37","date_gmt":"2026-03-18T08:57:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/girolamo.vr-host.net\/services\/legalization-apostille\/"},"modified":"2026-05-10T21:40:50","modified_gmt":"2026-05-10T21:40:50","slug":"legalization-apostille","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/girolamotranslations.be\/en\/services\/legalization-apostille\/","title":{"rendered":"Legalization & Apostille"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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Legalisation & Apostille<\/h1>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Document legalisation and apostille in Belgium and internationally<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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In today\u2019s globalised world, it is often necessary to legalise or authenticate official documents so they are recognised by foreign authorities, institutions, employers, universities or business partners.<\/p>

These procedures confirm the authenticity of your documents and enable them to be used abroad.<\/p>

At Girolamo Translations, we guide our clients through every step of the legalisation and apostille process \u2014 for both personal and professional documents \u2014 whether in Belgium or internationally.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

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What are legalisation and apostille?<\/h3>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Legalisation
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Legalisation <\/b><\/span>is the official procedure used to certify the authenticity of a public document so that it is recognised in another country.<\/p>

When the destination country is not a signatory to the Apostille Convention (the Hague Convention of 1961), a full legalisation procedure is required. This often involves several successive steps before the document can be accepted by the foreign authorities.<\/p>

In Belgium, apostilles and legalisations are issued by the Federal Public Service Foreign Affairs. For countries that are not part of the Apostille Convention, the document must usually be legalised by the Belgian Ministry of Foreign Affairs before being presented to the consulate or embassy of the destination country.<\/p>

Please note that the competent authority responsible for issuing apostilles or performing legalisation varies from country to country (e.g. Ministry of Justice, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, regional authorities, courts, etc.).<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

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Apostille<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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An apostille<\/strong> is a simplified legalisation procedure established by the Hague Convention of 5 October 1961. It replaces the lengthy traditional chain of legalisations between signatory countries.<\/p>

The apostille is an official certificate attached directly to the document (or included as an annex). It certifies the authenticity of the signature, the authority of the signatory, and \u2014 where applicable \u2014 the seal or stamp on the document.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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\u2696\ufe0f Fundamental principle:<\/h3>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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The apostille or legalisation is always issued in the country where the original document was produced.<\/strong><\/p>

Therefore, a Belgian document intended for use abroad must be apostilled or legalised in Belgium.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

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List of countries signatory to the Apostille Convention<\/h3>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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The Apostille Convention currently has more than 120 signatory countries.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

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