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

Estonia joined the Hague Convention on the Simplified Authentication of Documents on 11 December 2000; the Convention entered into force on 30 September 2001.

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 Estonia 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.

Designated Competent Apostille Authorities in Estonia

In Estonia, notaries, overseen by the Ministry of Justice, have been appointed as the designated competent authority for issuing apostilles. The Ministry of Justice will usually provide contact information for all 100 Notaries. While the Ministry of Justice exercises supervisory control over Notaries, neither the Ministry itself nor any other Ministry will issue apostilles. The responsibility for maintaining the register described in Article 7 of the Convention has been entrusted to the Chamber of Notaries, following guidelines established by the Minister of Justice.

In addition, in December 2017 the Chamber of Notaries of Estonia introduced the issuance of e-Apostilles and unveiled a Category 2 e-Register as part of the electronic Apostille Program (e-APP) under the Hague Convention of 5 October 1961 Abolishing the Requirement of Legalisation for Foreign Public Documents (Apostille Convention). Through the new website, users can apply for both e-Apostilles and paper Apostilles and verify the authenticity of Apostilles recorded in the e-Register.

The apostille in Estonia is a square stamp in Estonian 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

Specific aspects and document requirements for the apostille in Estonia

The apostille process can vary depending on the sender and recipient country, but typically to obtain an apostille for a document in Estonia, you must go through the following steps:

• Obtaining the original document to be apostilled;
• Verification of the signature on the document by the authorized body;
• Issuance of an apostille on a document by an authorized body;
• Submission of the document together with the apostille in the recipient country

This process can be time-consuming, especially if it includes multiple documents and different countries. To ensure a smooth and accurate apostille process, it is recommended to seek guidance from specialists familiar with the requirements and procedures. Their expertise can help avoid delays and errors in obtaining documents apostille.

Document requirements that might apply:

• The document should bear the original stamp of the issuing authority, with the authority's name clearly visible.
• The document must include the signature and printed name of the individual who applied for the stamp.
• The position or official title of the person who stamped the document should also be indicated.

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

Since December 1, 2017, Estonia has introduced E-Apostilles through Notarite Koda. These digital apostilles simplify application, issuance, and validation processes for both paper and digital documents. Notaries digitally sign E-Apostilles, enabling real-time online verification by authorities in the recipient country. Recipients receive a link to verify the apostille's authenticity and view the document.

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.

Legalization of Estonian educational documents for use abroad

In Estonia, the Ministry of Education and Research holds the authority to legalize educational documents. The following original education-related documents should usually be legalized:

• Certificates, graduation certificates, and result reports.
• Diplomas and academic reports.
• Certificates of proficiency in Estonian.
• Documents issued by the Ministry of Education and Research and other relevant government authorities.

There's no distinction between documents from state and private educational institutions. Unified requirements apply to both, including those issued by institutions with education licenses (basic schools, upper secondary schools, vocational educational institutions), and those based on accredited curricula (professional higher education institutions, universities). The Ministry's official handling apostille proceedings verifies the presence of education licenses and accreditation of curricula.

Original education documents, such as diplomas, graduation certificates, and certificates, are apostilled by the Ministry of Education and Research. After apostille certification, citizens can request notarized copies from a notary public, which are then further certified by apostille at the Ministry of Justice (authorized for judicial documents, notarial acts, notarized copies, and translations).

In Estonia, the practice recommends apostilling original education documents first, followed by notarized copies certified at the Ministry of Justice.

Please note that the above process and requirements can be subject to change based on prevailing regulations and policies.

Recognition of the authenticity of public documents within the EU

Estonia has established legal assistance treaties with:

• Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Ukraine, and Russia, according to which certain documents are exempt from apostille certification.

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:

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

Documents originating from countries that adhere to the Convention Abolishing the Legalization of Documents in the Member States of the European Communities. This includes countries like France, Belgium, Estonia, Ireland, Italy, and Latvia. Public documents exchanged between Estonia and these countries are exempt from apostille certification.

Extracts of vital statistics data. Since July 2012, the agreement between Estonia and Finland has eliminated the need for apostilles for extracts of vital statistics data. This includes documents like birth certificates, death certificates, marriage certificates, divorce certificates, certificates of capacity to marry, change of name certificates, and population register extracts. These extracts, issued in English, are obtainable from county governments across Estonia. Starting January 1, 2018, all local government units of county centers will also issue these extracts.

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 Estonian 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 in Spain.

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.