Apostille and consular legalization of documents in Lithuania

Schmidt & Schmidt covers the full spectrum of legalization services for documents issued in Lithuania.

Lithuania joined the Hague Convention on the Simplified Authentication of Documents on 5 November 1996; the Convention entered into force on 19 July 1997.

The apostille, or the “Hague apostille” is a certificate that authenticates the origin of a public document (e.g., a birth, marriage or death certificate, a judgment, an extract of a register or a notarial attestation). It confirms the authenticity of the signature and the authority of an official who signed the public document.

Documents issued in Lithuania are certified with an apostille in accordance with the Hague Convention of 1961 are recognized in all Member States of the Hague Convention and do not require any other form of certification, such as consular legalization, which considerably reduces the costs and time required for the certification of documents. So far, more than 120 states have joined the Convention.

The apostille is not sufficient for use in the states that are not party to the Hague Convention. In this case, consular legalization applies to a public document.

Lithuanian civil status documents and certificates of no impediment for marriage issued in accordance with the CIEC Convention following the International multilingual model are exempt from legalization in any form. More.

Designated Competent Apostille Authorities in Lithuania

In Lithuania, the designated Competent Authorities for issuing apostilles include the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Lithuanian Chamber of Notaries.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs operates through its Consular Department located at in Vilnus. The cost for obtaining an apostille is €10.00 per Apostille, but if you choose to submit your documents through Lithuanian embassies abroad, the fee is €20.00.

The Lithuanian Chamber of Notaries, situated in Vilnius, Lithuania, also provides apostille services. The fee for obtaining an apostille through this channel is €15.00.

Starting from January 18, 2016, document approval certificates (Apostilles) have been issued by notaries. Additionally, it's important to note that the Consular Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Lithuania exclusively issues document approval certificates (Apostilles) for documents originating from the diplomatic missions and consular offices of the Republic of Lithuania.

The apostille in Lithuania is a square stamp in Lithuanian with the obligatory heading "Apostille" and a reference to the 1961 Hague Convention in French (Convention de La Haye du 5 octobre 1961). The apostille certificate’s sides will be at least 9 centimeters long.

Types of documents

Can be apostillized	Cannot be apostillized
Extracts from Lithuanian trade register Land register extract Documents issued or certified by a notary public Documents issued by courts Translations by court interpreters Official documents issued by state authorities Educational certificates from state and state-recognised institutions: School transcripts, university degree transcripts, overviews of subjects and grades, matriculation certificates, additional certificates from schools or universities as well as certificates. Powers of attorney, testaments, declarations Other government documents	Trade contracts Invoices Customs documents, diplomatic and consular documents ID Cards

Specific aspects and document requirements for the apostille in Lithuania

When considering the apostille process in Lithuania, specific aspects and document requirements should be noted. Apart from the cost, below you can find a few other aspects which to bear in mind:

Each document needs a separate apostille.
Only documents originating in the Republic of Lithuania are eligible for apostille and legalization.
If the document bears the coat of arms of the LSSR (Lithuanian Soviet Socialist Republic), renewal is required before apostille.
The decision to apostille or legalize a document should be verified with the intended receiving office.
The Apostille is provided in both Lithuanian and English if the document is translated into English. In cases of translation into another foreign language, the Apostille is presented in the language of the destination country.

It is vital to understand these specific aspects and comply with the document requirements when seeking an apostille in Lithuania.

The apostille is issued in a uniform format. In Lithuania, it has the form of a printed sticker with a handwritten signature of an official, an official seal, and a hologram.

In cases where apostilles are not recognized, holders of foreign documents will need to legalize them instead. However, If the country of destination of the document recognizes and issues apostilles, then legalization is unnecessary.

If you require new original documents, the information here will help you.

Legalization of Lithuanian educational documents for use abroad

In order for educational documents issued in Lithuania, such as school reports, university degree certificates, transcripts of records, enrollment certificates, and other certificates from schools or universities, to be valid and recognized abroad, they must undergo a process of certification through legalization or apostille.

The process of legalizing Lithuanian educational documents for international use involves submitting the documents directly to the Consular Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. While documents can also be sent via courier, please note that submissions by post are not accepted. It's important to be aware that documents sent via courier are processed based on the date of receipt.

When submitting documents for legalization, please ensure the following:

The document to be legalized (original or notarized copy) and a valid passport or an alternative identity document of the individual submitting the document for legalization. If documents are submitted via courier, include a notarized copy of a valid passport or identity document. A request in a free-form format, including details like the country where the legalized document will be utilized and the applicant’s contact information (email address and telephone number). A copy of a bank transfer receipt or payment confirmation for the document's legalization. The consular fee for legalizing a single document is 20 EUR.

Recognition of the authenticity of public documents within the EU

Documents from countries with which Lithuania has bilateral agreements for exemption from legalization are not required to undergo any form of legalization procedures. Some of these include:

Civil status certificates and certificates of marriageability, which are issued by one of the contracting states according to the model of the Convention of the International Commission (CIEC Convention) for Civil and Civil Status Affairs (CIEC), are exempt from any formality in Lithuania.

Contracting states of the Vienna CIEC Convention of 08.09.1976 (issuance of multilingual extracts from civil status registers: birth, marriage, and death certificate) are:

Austria, Germany, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Estonia, France, Italy, Cape Verde, Cyprus, Lithuania, Luxembourg , Macedonia, Moldova, Montenegro, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Switzerland, Serbia, Slovenia, Spain, Turkey.

Regulation on public documents (EU) 2016/1191 of 6 July 2016

Furthermore, Regulation (EU) 2016/1191 of 6 July 2016 on public documents simplifies the circulation of certain public documents that must be presented in an EU Member State and have been issued in another EU Member State, thus exempting public documents from the confirmation of authenticity with the Apostille with the aim of reducing administrative burden and costs for citizens.

Consular legalization of Lithuanian documents for use abroad

Consular legalization is the process of authenticating or certifying a legal document so a foreign country's legal system will recognize it as with full legal effect that is carried out by the diplomatic or consular mission of the country in which the document is to be used.

Consular legalization is more complex, time-consuming and costly than the simpler apostille procedure. Whereas apostille is usually issued within one step, consular legalization requires several pre-certifications before a public document can be certified at the embassy or consulate of the destination country.

It is a common requirement that the document has to be translated into the official language of the destination country before submission to the embassy. It is up to the diplomatic mission to decide about the authentication procedure.

The main differences between an apostille and consular legalization of documents

The common feature between apostille and consular legalization is that they authenticate an official document for presentation to institutions in another country. However, they have many differences.

	Apostille	Consular legalization
Legal effect	Can be used in all countries that are party to the Hague Convention on the Simplified Legalization of Documents.	Use between States one or both of which is not a member of the Hague Convention, or where one of the contracting States has protested the accession of the other.
Difficulty	Moderate. To obtain an apostille, contact the competent apostille authority of the state of origin of the document.	High. For consular legalization, various inland authorities and a diplomatic mission of the state of destination must be involved.
Pre-certification	Usually not required.	Is obligatory.
Attestation at the state of destination embassy in the state of origin of the document	No need to contact the Consulate of the country of destination.	Is the final step of legalization.

Apostille and consular legalization in all cities of Lithuania

Schmidt & Schmidt provides apostille and consular legalization services for public documents originating from all regions across Lithuania. We handle the entire process, from document review to obtaining the necessary certifications, ensuring that your documents are valid and recognized internationally. With our reliable services, you can confidently use your Lithuanian public documents abroad.

Procurement of documents from Lithuania

If the important documents are lost or damaged, or current copies of the documents are needed, the re-issue of the documents is required. It is not unusual for people outside Lithuania to encounter difficulties with obtaining new documents when abroad. Our consultants will help you procure new documents from Lithuania remotely, and we can arrange for your documents to be sent by courier anywhere in the world.

Certified translation of documents from Lithuania

Copies and transcripts of civil status documents can be translated into any language by a sworn translator in Lithuania or the translation can be done in the country of destination. We offer certified translations of civil status documents with further certification. The cost of the work is calculated according to the volume of the document in question.

Does the translation have to be apostillized?

Any foreign document issued in one country and used in another country must be legalized for use abroad. Therefore, the authenticity of a certified translation from Lithuania needs to be certified by an apostille. Consequently, many authorities may not accept certified translations from Lithuania if the translation has not been properly authenticated in Lithuania for use abroad. To avoid this confusion, translations should better be made in the state of the destination of the document.