Procurement of documents in Greece

Schmidt & Schmidt provides services for the retrieval of civil status documents, as well as obtaining duplicates of lost or damaged documents in Greece with their subsequent legalization and translation.

If your personal documents are lost or damaged or you need to obtain current copies of documents it is necessary to request duplicates of documents. Often, those who have left Greece face difficulties in this procedure. Our service allows you to request documents in Greece remotely and we can carry out courier delivery of the document to anywhere in the world.

Validity of civil status documents in Greece

Civil status documents issued in Greece generally have a validity period of no more than 6 months, after which they must be replaced with new ones containing up-to-date data.

When to obtain duplicate documents in Greece

A duplicate birth certificate, marriage certificate, name change certificate, divorce certificate, criminal record certificate or death certificate may be required to register a marriage abroad, a newborn child, citizenship, inheritance, data verification for pension applications, opening bank accounts, employment and other bureaucratic issues.

What documents can be requested in Greece:

Birth certificate
Extract from birth certificate
Marriage certificate
Marriage certificate concluded in religious organizations
Divorce certificate
Death certificate
Extract from death certificate
Certificates of good conduct
Educational documents
Other civil status documents

Required documents for docuement procurement

Since civil status documents are personal documents containing personal data, they can only be requested by their owners or persons authorized by them. That is, first of all, to request documents, we will need a signed power of attorney from the owner of the document. Additionally:

Copy of passport
Birth data and name and surname change
Data on the place of registration of civil status records

Some Greek registry offices may refuse to request the document even with a power of attorney. In this case, the owner can order a new certificate online independently through the registry office website or by e-mail with subsequent delivery.

Responsible authorities

Greece has a centralized system for issuing documents. To request new documents, you need to contact a special KEP office, which are represented in all major cities of the country, with the exception of Corfu and Chios.
Educational documents are requested from the relevant educational institution. Educational documents can be issued as a copy certified by the educational institution.

Apostille and legalization of documents in Greece

Greece joined the Hague Convention of 5 October 1961 which allows for a simplified procedure for the legalization of documents through apostille.
You can order an apostille for copies and duplicates of documents from Greece from us. As a rule, certification of documents with an apostille takes about two weeks.

Deadlines for requesting documents in Greece

Requesting documents usually takes about two weeks, in some cases, depending on the processing time of the application by local authorities, the terms may differ.
Requesting certified copies of educational documents takes about two weeks. This period does not include the time required for legalization of documents and their translation.

Notarized translation of documents from Greece

Copies and duplicates of civil status documents can be translated into Russian or another language by a sworn translator in Greece or the translation can be done in the destination country. Schmidt and Schmidt provides services for the translation of civil status documents with their subsequent certification. The cost of work is calculated based on the volume of a specific document.