Document Legalisation Info & Articles #document authentication

When a document issued in South Africa is required to be used in another country which is also a signatory to the Apostille Convention, an Apostille Certificate will be issued either by the High Court or by the Department of International Relations (DIRCO). This will be the end of the Apostille process.

Some countries are not members of the Hague Apostille Convention. This means that an Apostiile will not be the appropriate process. The process used will be the Authentication process as set out in High Court Rule 63.

The Department of International Relations and Cooperation (DIRCO) is responsible for apostilling documents in South Africa, as it is the designated Competent Authority under the Hague Convention. The Convention simplifies the authentication process for public documents used in foreign countries, providing a special certificate called the Apostille,