The apostille certification (Apostille) serves to certify the authenticity of the signature, the capacity of the person who has signed, and the genuineness of the seal on the document. The apostille, however, does NOT certify the content of the document.
The apostille is a form of legalisation carried out by the state where the document was issued. When a document bears an apostille, it does not require additional legalisation in the states that have signed the Convention Abolishing the Requirement of Legalisation for Foreign Public Documents (the Hague Convention).
If the document was issued in a state that is not a party to the Hague Convention, it must undergo a longer and more expensive legalisation procedure. This procedure includes certification by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the issuing state, after which the Bulgarian diplomatic mission in that state must carry out the legalisation.
Some bilateral legal assistance treaties that the Republic of Bulgaria has signed provide for relaxed requirements – in these cases no apostille or other legalisation is needed. The only requirement is for the document to have a translation into the relevant language and certification of the translation, in order to be recognised.
Under Regulation 2016/1191, public documents issued by an EU Member State are recognised as authentic by the authorities in another EU state without the need for an apostille. Examples of such documents are a birth certificate, a criminal record certificate, a certificate of marital status, and others. EU citizens may request these documents on a multilingual standard form, which eliminates the need for translation. Every EU state recognises a certified translation of a public document, regardless of the state in which it was drawn up.
EU citizens are also entitled to use a relaxed regime for the recognition of a European Certificate of Succession, which allows heirs to prove their rights in other Member States. The certificate is issued in a standard multilingual format and does not require translation within the EU.
The authenticity of an affixed apostille can be checked in the public Electronic Register “Apostille” at: https://www.apostille.bg/.
Affixing an apostille to documents issued in Bulgaria
Documents issued in Bulgaria and intended for use abroad must be certified depending on whether the foreign state is a party to the Hague Convention or has a legal assistance treaty with Bulgaria. Some states are neither parties to the Convention nor have bilateral treaties with Bulgaria, which necessitates a different procedure.
Apostille certification by the Ministry of Justice
Documents issued by courts and notaries are certified with an apostille by the Ministry of Justice. Such documents are, for example, a criminal record certificate, court judgments and notarial deeds.
In the case of notarially certified powers of attorney for the disposal of immovable property, two apostilles are affixed, since the notary certifies both the content and the signature. Powers of attorney certified by mayors are not subject to apostille certification.
The Ministry of Justice also certifies with an apostille notarially certified copies of documents issued by medical establishments.
Apostille certification by the Ministry of Education
The Ministry of Education affixes an apostille to documents issued by educational institutions, such as schools and universities, as well as by vocational training institutions and scientific organisations. Examples of such documents are diplomas and their supplements, certificates of professional qualification, and certificates of competence.
For educational documents, an electronic apostille (e-Apostille) may also be affixed, which has the same legal value as the paper version. The electronic apostille is issued by the National Centre for Information and Documentation.
Apostille certification by the regional administrations
Documents issued by mayors and municipal administrations are certified with an apostille by the relevant regional administration. Such documents include certificates of heirs, of marital status and of birth.
Apostille certification by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs
The remaining types of documents that require an apostille are certified by the „Consular“ Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Certification of documents signed by private individuals is possible only if their signatures are notarially certified and the notary's signature is certified by the Ministry of Justice.
Documents from medical establishments, such as hospital discharge summaries and medical certificates, are also certified with an apostille by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Legalisation of foreign documents for use in Bulgaria
Documents issued in states that are parties to the Hague Convention are accepted in Bulgaria only with an apostille and do not require any additional legalisations.
If Bulgaria has a legal assistance treaty with the relevant state and that treaty provides for exemption from legalisation and other certifications, it is sufficient for the documents to be translated into Bulgarian and the translator's signature to be notarially certified. Such a relaxed regime is provided for by Bulgaria's legal assistance treaties with states such as Austria, France, Russia, Ukraine, Serbia, Romania, Poland, Hungary, the Czech Republic and others.
Should you need assistance in obtaining documents, as well as in translating and legalising them, contact us on telephone 0887550706, e-mail: [email protected]
