South African birth certificates need to be legalised when presented for use in another country or proving your identity. Different document legalisation processes will be used depending on the country where the unabridged birth certificate will be used. (Apostille, Authentication, Embassy Attestation).

Take note that abridged birth certificates have been discontinued and that only unabridged birth certificates can be legalised for overseas use. You must always send us the original certificate. The apostille service for South African birth certificates takes about 3 -4 weeks. Some countries will accept a notarised and legalised copy of the birth certificate.



Replacement & Order Service for Unabridged Birth Certificates

Have you lost your birth certificate? We can order one on your behalf.

Click Here to get a no-obligation quotation to order an unabridged birth certificate & legalise for an overseas country.

What we will need:
Your ID Scan
Completed form - Filled in and scanned - Download the Form

Our Fee: R3500
Time estimate: 7 - 14 working days.

For overseas clients that need to validate the certificate's authenticity as having been produced in SA, we also offer an apostille/legalisation service, whereby an apostille is attached to the reverse of the certificate. We always recommend checking with whoever you present the certificate to identify if the apostille stamp is needed.

The Apostille Certificate (Apostille) is usually requested by foreign authorities and organisations so that the certificate can be used for official purposes outside of SA. This means the documents must be legalised correctly before travel and often within a specific period.