Frequently Asked Questions:
South Africa Apostille and Legalization Services
General Questions
- Can South African documents be legalized by Apostille?
- What types of documents can be legalized in South Africa for use abroad?
- How long does it take to obtain an apostille on a document in South Africa?
- What is a South African Apostille Stamp and why would I need one?
- What is document legalization in South Africa?
- What services does Isarey Certification Services provide in South Africa?
- Where can I see reviews of Isarey's South African Attestation and Apostille Services?
- What do South Africa Apostilles and legalizations look like?
Birth, death and marriage certificates
- How can I obtain an apostille for a South African birth, death or marriage certificate?
- What are the different types of birth certificate issued in South Africa?
Criminal record certificates
- How can I obtain my South African Criminal Record Certificate to use abroad?
- How can I obtain an apostille for a South African Police Clearance Certificate (PCC)?
- Where can I get my fingerprints taken for a South African Criminal Record certificate?
Academic documents
Answers
Can South African documents be legalized by Apostille?
Yes - South Africa is a member of the Apostille Convention.
South African documents can be legalized for use abroad with an Apostille Stamp when destined for other signatory countries without additional certification by the destination country.
When South African documents are required for non-apostille countries, such as 
United Arab Emirates - Taiwan - Malaysia - Thailand - Qatar they need additional authentication by the embassy of the destination country.
For further information about Apostille certification in South Africa, see:
South Africa Apostille Services
What types of documents can be legalized in South Africa for use abroad?
Official documents that can be legalized in South Africa with an Apostille stamp include birth, death, marriage certificates, divorce certificates, criminal record and police certificates, company registration and tax documents, court documents, university and academic diplomas, certificates signed by registered doctors etc., documents issued by government authorities. Other documents may require prior certification by a notary or other authority.
Documents required for submission to countries which have not acceded to the Apostille Convention will require additional attestation by the embassy of the recipient country.
To confirm whether your document is eligible for apostille authentication in South Africa, please Contact us and we’ll check your document free of charge. For further information about our South African apostille services and for assistance obtaining official copies of South African documents, see:
South Africa Apostille Services
How long does it take to obtain an apostille on a document in South Africa?
South African Apostilles on notarized true copies can be obtained from the High Court in 3 - 4 working days, Apostilles from the Department of International Relations and Cooperation (DIRCO) can take up to 8 weeks, but an expedited service (5 - 10 working days) is available. Degree certificates require addition verification by SAQA (allow an additional 2 - 4 weeks).
What is a South African Apostille Stamp and why would I need one?
A South African Apostille is a certificate that is affixed to a public document. It certifies the authenticity of the signature appearing on the document as that of an authorized public official in South Africa and confirms the capacity of that official.
South African Apostille stamps are often required when submitting a South African document, such as a birth certificate, to the authorities of a foreign country or to a foreign embassy in South Africa (for example, as part of a visa or citizenship application). Apostilles are recognised by the authorities and embassies of countries that are members of the Hague Apostille Convention
For more information on Apostilles, see:
The ABCs of Apostilles (PDF)
What is document legalization in South Africa?
Document legalization (or attestation) is a procedure which authenticates a public South African document so that it can be submitted in another country for official or legal purposes - for example, if you need to submit a South African birth certificate to the authority or embassy of another country, it will often need to be legalized.
Legalizing a document in South Africa certifies the authenticity of the signature appearing on the document as that of an authorized public official in South Africa and confirms the capacity of that official.
- Because South Africa is a member of the Apostille Convention, South African documents can be legalized by means of an Apostille Stamp when being submitted to countries that are also members of the Hague Apostille Convention
- If a South African document is required for a country that is not a member of the Apostille Convention, it will need to be legalized both by South African authorities and by the embassy of the recipient country (embassy in South Africa or non-resident embassy accredited to South Africa).
See: Document legalization - Wikipedia
What services does Isarey Certification Services provide in South Africa?
Isarey Certification Services provides a range of services in South Africa including Apostille and legalization services, notarization services, certified translation services and document retrieval services.
Where can I see reviews of Isarey's South African Attestation and Apostille Services?
You can see reviews from past clients who have used our attestation and apostille services:
What do South Africa Apostilles and legalizations look like?
South Africa Apostilles follow the standard format laid down in the Apostille Convention. Some examples of South African documents certified with Apostille stamps:
- South Africa Notarized True Copy with Apostille (PDF)
- Unabridged South African Marriage Certificate with Apostille (PDF)
- South Africa Police Certificate with Apostille (PDF)
- South Africa Certificate of no Impediment with Apostille (PDF)
- South Africa RTMC Driving Licence Confirmation (PDF)
- South Africa Marriage Certificate legalized by the United Arab Emirates (PDF)
- Unabridged South Africa Birth Certificate with Apostille (PDF)
- South Africa UMALUSI Certificate with Apostille (PDF)
- South Africa university degree with Apostille (PDF)
How can I obtain an apostille for a South African birth, death or marriage certificate?
There are two options for obtaining Apostille Stamps on South African Birth, Death and Marriage Certificates.
1. A notarized copy can be made from a good quality scan. Then an Apostille can be applied to the notarized copy by the High Court. This procedure takes around 3 business days but will not be accepted by countries that require the apostille to be applied to the original certificate.
2. An Apostille can be applied to original unabridged certificates by submitting them to the Department of International Relations and Cooperation (DIRCO). Processing by DIRCO takes 3-4 weeks.
However, not all certificates will be authenticated by DIRCO. If your certificate is abridged or not issued by the Department of Home Affairs (DHA), it may not be accepted by DIRCO. Likewise, DIRCO may not be able to verify the signatures of the issuing official on older certificates. For advice, please Contact us.
Isarey offers both options to apostille South African vital records.
We also obtain new and replacement certificates for clients based outside South Africa (Vault Copies and Unabridged Certificates issued by the DHA) for South African apostille authentication and attestation by foreign embassies including UAE, China and Qatar.
For further information about obtaining South African apostille stamps on Birth, Death and Marriage Certificates, see: South African vital records
What are the different types of birth certificate issued in South Africa?
There are 3 types of birth certificate issued in South Africa: Abridged Certificates, Unabridged Certificates and Vault Certificates.
- Abridged birth certificates contain limited information and are not generally valid for submission abroad.
- Unabridged birth certificates are the most commonly used certificate when submitting to authorities abroad in support of visa and residency applications and other procedures. Unabridged Birth Certificates are issued in South Africa by the Department of Home Affairs (DHA) and contain full information about the birth, including date and place of birth, full name of the child, as well as names and dates of birth of the parents.
- Vault Certificates (also provided by the South African Department of Home Affairs) contain the original registration made of the birth, filed as a paper copy in the vaults of the DHA. When a vault certificate is requested, the DHA will retrieve the original record from its vaults and make a certified copy. Vault copies are often required by Portugal and Italy when the certificate is being submitted as part of a citizenship application.
How can I obtain my South African Criminal Record Certificate to use abroad?
South African Police Clearance Certificates are issued by the Criminal Record and Crime Scene Management in Pretoria. This service is available to people who require confirmation of their criminal status for emigration purposes or for travel or employment abroad.
Applicants living abroad may forward the application and required documents (including a full set of fingerprints) directly for processing, but will need to arrange a representative or courier to collect the certificate when ready. Be careful to check that your name and other details on the issued certificate are correctly written
See Applying for a Police Clearance Certificate (PCC)
Isarey can also obtain South African Police Clearance Certificates on your behalf. We offer expedited applications and apostille authentication for use abroad.
SAPS Police Clearance Certificates
How can I obtain an apostille for a South African Police Clearance Certificate (PCC)?
There are two options for obtaining Apostille Stamps on Police Clearance Certificates issued by the South African Police Service.
1. A notarized copy can be made from a good quality scan. Then an Apostille can be applied to the notarized copy by the High Court. This procedure takes around 3 business days but will not be accepted by countries that require the apostille to be applied to the original PCC.
2. An Apostille can be applied to the original certificate by submitting it to the Department of International Relations and Cooperation (DIRCO). Processing by DIRCO takes 3-4 weeks.
South African Police Clearance Certificates can be obtained from SAPS and are available to South African nationals and foreign nationals: Applying for a Police Clearance Certificate (PCC)
can also obtain PCC background checks for clients based outside South Africa direct from the Criminal Records Centre (CRC) in Pretoria (5 – 10 business days) for South African apostille authentication and attestation by foreign embassies including China, Qatar and UAE.
Where can I get my fingerprints taken for a South African Criminal Record certificate?
To have your fingerprints taken outside South Africa, contact the local police force. For more information on having your fingerprints taken in different countries, see:
Getting your fingerprints taken
How can I obtain an apostille for my South African University Degree and Transcripts?
There are two methods to apostille and authenticate South African University Degrees and Transcripts. The first is to certify a notarized true copy (3 - 4 working days), the second to certify the original certificate at DIRCO (8 - 12 weeks).
A true copy can be obtained from a good quality scan. We will also need a confirmation email from the issuing university.
If an apostille is required certifying the original issue, the first step is to obtain a verification letter: SAQA Verifications Service.
Once the verification letter is issued, we can collect it for you and then submit it with a scan of your document to DIRCO for an apostille.
Additional procedures and criteria apply when certifying South African higher education documents for presentation in United Arab Emirates and Qatar.
For assistance, see: Certify South Africa Documents
How can I get a quote to certify my documents?
To receive a quote, you can upload your documents using our online quotation form or send us your documents by email. After reviewing your documents and requirements, we will get back to you with a quotation:
If you don’t have the documents available, just describe the documents you need to certify, and we will get back to you with an estimation of cost and delivery times.
Using our quotation form, your documents will be uploaded over a secure connection and immediately encrypted on our server. For added protection, you can upload password-protected files and provide us with the passwords separately:
PDF,
PERSONAL DATA: If your documents contain personal data belonging to people outside your household, please ensure that you are authorised to share this data before uploading your documents. If your documents contain sensitive personal data, such as biometric data, medical data or data on criminal convictions, please ensure that you indicate this when prompted, upon submitting your documents. For further information on our processing of personal data contained in uploaded documents, please see:
Privacy Policy (Customer Inquiries)
For further information on confidentiality in our handling of document content please see:
Confidentiality (Client Content)