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

Moldova joined the Hague Convention on the Simplified Authentication of Documents on 19 June 2006; the Convention entered into force on 16 March 2007.

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 Moldova 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.

However, Germany has objected to Moldova's accession, so the agreement does not apply between these countries.

Designated Competent Apostille Authorities in Moldova

In Moldova, the designated competent authorities for apostille certifications are the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and European Integration, and the Agency for Legal Information Technology Resources under the Ministry of Justice.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and European Integration, located in Chisinau, is responsible for handling apostilles related to administrative documents. They can be contacted via their general website or email.

The Ministry of Justice, on the other hand, oversees apostilles for all other public documents, like civil status, notarial certificates, judicial documents and documents issued by education institutions. The prices for obtaining apostille certificate might vary, but will generally start from 130 MDL (around € 6.65) for a three-day service or 100 MDL (about € 5.12) for a five-day service.

Along with a paper apostille, an e-apostille is also available in Moldova. The authenticity of e-apostilles can be verified online in an e-Register on the webpage of the issuing authority.

The apostille in Moldova is a square stamp in Moldovan or Romanian 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 Moldova

Moldova is among the 120 countries that recognize and issue apostilles in accordance with the Hague Convention of 5 October 1961. The apostille serves as a confirmation of the official status of a document.

The apostille process can vary depending on the sender and recipient country, but typically to obtain an apostille for a document in Moldova, 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 must be an original or a certified copy issued by the competent authority.
• The document should contain all relevant and accurate information.
• The document must be in the official language of the issuing country or translated into the official language of the country where the apostille is sought.
• The apostille must be affixed by the designated competent authority in accordance with regulations.

The apostille is issued in a uniform format. In Moldova, 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.

Legalization of Moldova educational documents for use abroad

For educational documents issued in Moldova, such as school reports, university degree certificates, transcripts of records, enrollment certificates, and other school or university certificates, to be recognized and valid abroad, they must undergo an authentication process through legalization.

Educational certificates from Moldova must bear the attestation from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. This is sometimes referred to as attestation, a process that ensures document's genuineness to the receiving institution or nation. For Moldova documents, this typically means undergoing multiple attestations from various governmental departments, both within Moldova and in the foreign nation where the document will be used.

Such an approach ensures that educational documents possess the necessary legal authority, allowing them to be recognized and used across various countries. While these are general procedures, the exact requirements may vary, so it is advisable to confirm the specific steps with the relevant authorities.

Recognition of the authenticity of public documents within the EU

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

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.

Contracting states of the Munich CIEC Convention of 05.09.1980 (issuance of multilingual certificates of marriageability) are:

• Germany, Greece, Italy, Luxembourg, Moldova, Netherlands, Portugal, Switzerland, Spain, and Turkey.

Multilingual documents (under CIEC Convention)

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 Moldova.

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 Moldova 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.

This procedure is required when the destination country does not recognize or accept the apostille certification. One needs to submit the original document, along with any required copies or supporting materials, to the respective consular office. The consular officials will review the document, verify its authenticity, and affix their seal or stamp to certify its validity.

The consular legalization process may require additional steps like obtaining translations of the document into the language of the destination country or providing additional supporting documentation as requested by the consular office.

It is up to the diplomatic mission to decide about the authentication procedure.
The specific requirements and procedures for consular legalization may vary depending on the regulations of the destination country.

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.