Documents, translations and Apostilles

Ask the office receiving your foreign document what it accepts before ordering translations, certified copies or authentication. The answer depends on the document, issuing country and procedure.

In short

• A translation, a certified copy and proof of authenticity serve different purposes. None is a recognition decision for a qualification.
• An Apostille replaces legalisation only where the relevant treaty applies. Some documents need neither; others follow country-specific verification.
• Certain public documents circulating between EU countries are exempt from an Apostille under Regulation 2016/1191. This does not cover every EU document or recognise its legal effects automatically.

Before paying

1. Ask the receiving office for its current checklist for your issuing country and procedure. Confirm whether it needs the original, a certified copy, an upload followed by an original, and a recently issued certificate. Ask how name spellings and changes should be shown.
2. Confirm the authentication route with that office and the relevant German mission. Do not buy both an Apostille and legalisation as a precaution. Having a stamp does not mean that the document meets the other requirements of your application.
3. Ask whether a multilingual certificate or an EU multilingual standard form attached to a covered public document avoids translation. These forms are translation aids, not standalone certificates.
4. If translation is necessary, confirm the accepted translator and whether stamps or authentication must also be translated. German sworn/authorised translators can be found in the justice administrations’ database. Foreign translations are not automatically unacceptable: the receiving office decides, subject to applicable EU rules.
5. Request an itemised quote covering pages, copies, postage and any additional service. Keep the office’s requirements, quote, receipt and a scan. Send originals only through the route the office requests and confirm their return.

If a document is rejected

Ask which requirement was not met before paying again. Check whether a missing attachment or corrected translation resolves it. If an appointment or application deadline is approaching, contact the office about the permitted submission route; ordering a document does not preserve a deadline.

Common mistakes

• Ordering every possible stamp before asking the office.
• Treating a translated diploma as qualification recognition.
• Assuming every document issued in the EU qualifies for the same exemption.