How to have a document apostilled

Apostilles are issued within a maximum period of 48 hours.

For more information, please contact the secretariat of the Department of Justice  - (+377) 98 98 82 97 or 88 11 

Persons who are authorised to collect a document on the behalf of the applicant must take proof of identity and a mandate from the applicant.

The Hague Convention of 5^th October 1961 Abolishing the Requirement for Legalisation for Foreign Public Documents, which is known as the Apostille Convention, entered into force in Monaco on 1^st January 2003.

Under this Convention, an apostille, i.e. a certificate that authenticates the origin of a public document, may be attached to the document, subject to certain conditions (re. The ABCs of Apostilles issued by The Hague Conference on Private International Law) by the Department of Legal Affairs for:

• Documents that emanate from an authority or civil servant of the Principality of Monaco; including the Public Prosecutor, a court registrar or court bailiff
• Administrative documents
• Notarised documents, including official declarations such as statements; registration documents; visas with a specific expiry date and certifications of signature, affixed to a private deed

In accordance with the format specified by the Convention, the apostille states the name of the person who has signed the deed and the capacity in which he or she is acting, as well as the seal or stamp of the issuing authority. It is dated, signed, numbered and stamped.

All the apostilles are listed in a register that states the number, the date, the name of the authority, the title of the document, the signature of the person authorised to file the deed and the date of collection.

The following documents cannot be apostilled: documents issued by diplomatic or consular authorities or administrative documents relating to a trade or customs activity.

Apostilles can only be issued for public documents issued in Monaco that are intended to be used in another State that is a member of the Apostille Convention (re. the list of the states members of the Convention).

If the State in which you need to use your public document is not party to the Apostille Convention, you should contact the consulate or embassy in the country in which you need to use your public document, to find out the options that are open to you.

You must take the document to be apostilled to the "Palais de Justice".

If the document is not in French, it should include brief details of the title of the document, so it can be listed in the register established for this purpose.

A fee is payable for apostilles.  It must be paid when the apostilled document is collected from the  Department of Justice. This fee is currently 5 €  (SOn°  2.848 of 2 august 2010). The value is indicated on the stamp affixed to the apostille.