Draft:How to Apostille a document in South Africa?

If you’re in a situation where you must have essential documents notarised, authenticated, legalised or attested for use outside of South Africa, this article will assist you.

Notarisation is the process of a notary public verifying the authenticity of a signature on a document. Documents needing notarisation can include affidavits, power of attorney, and other legal documents. A notary will check your identification to confirm your identity and have you sign the document in their presence before notarising it. This helps prevent fraud and ensures the document's legitimacy.

An apostille is a simplified form of authentication used to verify the authenticity of documents in countries that are signatories to the Hague Convention. The Hague Convention is an international treaty that was signed in 1961. It aims to simplify the process of authenticating documents for use in other countries.

To obtain an apostille, you must submit the document to the Department of International Relations and Cooperation (DIRCO) if it’s an original Government-issued document, such as a birth/death/marriage/police clearance certificate or letter of no impediment. DIRCO will verify the signature on the document and issue an apostille certificate. The apostille certificate is a certificate attached by ribbon to the front of the document.

An apostille contains the following information: The name of the country that issued the apostille The name of the issuing authority The date of issuance The apostille number The apostille is valid in all countries that are signatories to the Hague Convention.

High Court apostilles are specifically required for non-government documents that have already been notarised. To obtain a High Court apostille, you must submit your notarised documents to the High Court; the High Court then verifies the notary’s signature. Once verified, the High Court will affix an apostille certificate to legalise the document for international use.

Authentication is the process of verifying the authenticity of a document. It’s a more comprehensive process than an apostille and is required for documents that will be used in countries that aren’t signatories to the Hague Convention. After completing the necessary authentication steps, the embassy will affix an official stamp to the document, indicating that it has been legalised for use in the respective country. This authentication process ensures that the document is recognised as genuine and valid for its intended purpose. The authentication and legalisation process can take several weeks or even months, so it’s important to start the process early to ensure that you have the documents you need when you need them.