Do I need a document legalisation or apostille?
- When documents issued in one country are used in another country, their authenticity must be confirmed. Therefore, documents must be legalized or certified with an apostille. The apostille is a certificate that confirms the authenticity of the document issued in Lithuania for use in another country.
- Whether you choose document legalisation or an apostille will depend on the country in which the document will be used.
- Documents must be legalized if they are to be used in countries that are not party to the 1961 Hague Convention and with which Lithuania has not signed a legal assistance treaty.
- Documents must be certified with an apostille if they will be used in the 1961 Hague Convention-acceding countries.
- Documents issued in Lithuania do not need to be legalised or have an apostille if they will be used in the countries with which Lithuania has signed legal assistance treaties (Estonia, Latvia, Poland, Ukraine, and Russia).
- All public documents issued in Lithuania to be used in countries acceding to the Hague Convention must be certified with an apostille.
- The apostille does not verify the content of the document; it only confirms that the undersigned has the legal right and authority to perform the appropriate action (to sign the document) and that the undersigned operates in that particular country.
- Once the document is certified with the apostille, the authenticity of the document without any further formalities is recognised in all countries that are parties to the Hague Convention.
- NB: When requesting a single-use document, inform the public servants that the document will later require an apostille. Not all state employees have sufficient competence to sign documents which will then be certified with an apostille.
Is it necessary for you to travel to have the documents legalised?
AIRV translation offices in Vilnius, Kaunas and Klaipėda offer document legalisation services. If you cannot go to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Lithuania in Vilnius, we will go for you!
Prices of document legalisation or apostille:
If you deliver the documents that require an apostille to our offices in Kaunas and Klaipėda, the total price for the service of obtaining the apostille is EUR 30 + EUR 15 for each apostille.
If you deliver the documents that require an apostille to our office in Vilnius, the total price for the service of obtaining the apostille is EUR 20 + EUR 15 for each apostille.
You can send documents requiring an apostille to us by post or via express courier services. We will send the legalised documents back to you. Service price: EUR 30 + EUR 15 per apostille.