We have handled nearly all types of documents over the years. Generally, they can be divided into three groups:

A. Documents to be used in countries that are parties to the Hague Convention and have executed Legal Assistance Agreements with Bulgaria (Austria, France, Poland, Hungary Czech Republic, Slovakia, Russia, Ukraine)

B. Documents to be used in countries that are parties to the Hague Convention but have not executed Legal Assistance Agreements with Bulgaria (the rest of the European countries, USA, Japan, etc.)

C. Documents to be used in countries that are not parties to the Hague Convention and have not executed Legal Assistance Agreements with Bulgaria.

Group A documents:

You do not need an Apostille, if the document is to be used in a country of Group A.

Group B documents:

You need an Apostille. Apostilles in Bulgaria are issued by the Ministry of Justice for documents issued by the courts, the Ministry of Education and Science for educational documents and by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for all other documents.

What is an Apostille

An Apostille is a certificate confirming the authenticity of the signature affixed to the document, the capacity in which the official signing the document has acted, and where appropriate, the identity of the seal or stamp which the document bears. The process is called Legalisation.

Documents that may need an Apostille are:

• birth, marriage and death certificates
• extracts from commercial registers
• court rulings
• notarial deeds, notarial attestations of signatures, declarations, affidavits, powers of attorney

The countries to the Hague Convention of 1961 recognize the validity of the document to which the Apostille is affixed.

Most of the documents are translated in a foreign language. In this case the authenticity of the signature of the translator is certified by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Bulgaria.

Group C documents:

You need to present the document to the consular section of the mission representing that country.