Attesting Ethiopian Documents (FAQs)

Ethiopia is not a member of the Apostille Convention and does not issue Apostille stamps. Documents legalized in Ethiopia need additional authentication by the embassy of the receiving country in Addis Ababa before they can be used.

For further information, see:
Ethiopia Attestation Services

For further information about legalizing document issued in Ethiopia, see:
Ethiopia Attestation Services

Documents Required for Germany
Ethiopian public documents cannot be legalised for use in Germany. The German Embassy may agree to carry out a document verification, but only upon a request issued by a German authority. Copies of Ethiopian public documents can only be authenticated if the authenticity of the original can be determined without a doubt, i. e. documents with security features such as drivers’ licenses or passports.
Verification of Ethiopian documents for use in Germany

Ethiopian documents that can be legalized at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs include:

• Ethipioan marriage and birth certificates
• Certificates of single status
• School Leaving Certificates
• Education diplomas and certificates
• Degree certificates from Ethiopian universities
• Medical certificates
• Criminal Record Certificates issued by the Ethiopian Federal Police
• Court document
• Trade and investment documents, including certificates of origin and export certificates
• Powers of attorney

To confirm whether your document is eligible for legalization in Ethiopia, Contact us and we’ll check your document free of charge. For further information about legalizing documents in Ethiopia and for assistance obtaining official copies of Ethiopian documents, see:
Certify documents issued in Ethiopia for use abroad

Document legalization (or attestation) is a procedure which authenticates a public Ethiopian document so that it can be submitted in another country for official or legal purposes - for example, if you need to submit an Ethiopian birth certificate to the authority or embassy of another country, it will often need to be legalized.

Legalzing a document in Ethiopia certifies the authenticity of the signature appearing on the document as that of an authorized public official in Ethiopia and confirms the capacity of that official.

Ethiopian document legalization is a two-step process:

• First the document will need to be legalized by Ethiopian authorities.
• Then the document will need to be legalized by the embassy of the recipient country (embassy in Ethiopia or non-resident embassy accredited to Ethiopia).

Note that Ethiopia is not issue Apostille Stamps, so Ethiopian documents cannot be legalized by Apostille.
See: Document legalization - Wikipedia

Isarey Certification Services provides a range of services in Ethiopia including document attestation and legalization services, notarization services, certified translation services and document retrieval services.

You can see reviews from past clients who have used our attestation and apostille services:

• ISAREY reviews on Trustpilot
• ISAREY reviews on Google

Ethiopian death, marriage and birth certificates are available from the Vital Events Statics Registration Agency in the district where the birth death or marriage took place. For assistance with obtaining certified copies of Ethiopian birth, death and marriage certificates, please Contact us.

Ethiopian Certificates of Good Conduct (police clearance certificate) can be obtained from the Ethiopian Federal Police (Forensic Investigation Department). Certificates are available to anyone residing in Ethiopia for more than six months. A set of fingerprints must be provided.

Isarey can obtain Ethiopian Criminal Record Certificates for clients requiring certificates authenticated and legalized for use abroad. Please Contact us for assistance.

Ethiopian Certificates of Good Conducts (Police Clearance Certificates) issued by the Ethiopian Federal Police Commission can be legalized at the Ethiopian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, then attested by the embassy of the requesting country in Addis Ababa.

Ethiopian University degree certificates, diplomas and transcripts can be legalized at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and then at the embassy of the recipient country in Addis Ababa. Documents from public universities must be certified by the office of the university registrar. Documents from private, non-government universities must be certified by the Ethiopian Higher Education Quality and Relevance Agency.