Legalization of documents
The legalization of documents is the attachment of a stamped official certificate (an ‘apostille’) by the Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs or the Ministry of Educationand Science to the certified documents issued in the Republic of Bulgaria.
What documents are most often legalized for use abroad?
Municipal documents
These are the different documents issued by the relevant Municipality, including: birth certificates, marriage certificates, certificates of marital status, certificates of identity, certificates of family members, etc. In order to be legalized they need to be issued as a COPY by the respective municipal office of the city/town, and need to have a RECTANGULAR STAMP reading: ‘The Municipality of …….. hereby certifies the signature and stamp affixed to this document’.
Criminal record certificates
In order to be legalized, criminal record certificates must have two signatures, one of which is affixed by the Judge, and one by the Secretary / Court Registrar (or another official).
High school / University diplomas
A notarized copy of the original diploma serves as the document on which the apostille will be placed, and the signature of the holder must be affixed right under the photo in the document. If you are unable to visit a Notary Public to get a notarized copy of your diploma, we can do it for you.
School transfer certificates
10-8-6 business days in Sofia
Certificates of good standing (from the Registry Agency)
We need the original document bearing a rectangular stamp of the Registry Agency.
Declaration
All declarations need to be notarized in advance by a Notary Public.
Power of attorney
All powers of attorney need to be signed by the authorizer in the presence of a Notary Public and notarized by the latter.
Certificate from the National Revenue Agency (it does not have to be a report)
We need to know the purpose of the document. It can be legalized in 7-5-3 business days in Sofia.
Medical discharge summary, employment fitness certificates
We take this document to the Ministry of Health and then get it legalized in the same way as a municipal document.
Certificate from the Social Assistance Agency
We need the original document with all the necessary stamps from the issuing Agency.
What is an Apostille?
The apostille is a form of authentication of a document by the country where it was issued. If the document has been apostilled, it will not need any further authentication from the country where it was issued or any other countries which are part to the Convention (the Hague Convention of 5 October 1961). The purpose of the Hague Convention is to facilitate the circulation of public documents internationally.
Apostilles are not required for documents in circulation between Bulgaria and another country which have signed a mutual legal assistance treaty.
The form and content of the Apostille are mandatory for all countries which are parties to the Hague Convention.
What institutions issue apostilles abroad?
There are different institutions in the different countries that are responsible for the authentication of documents. For your convenience, we include a full list of addresses and contact information of those institutions in all countries which are parties to the Hague Convention.
Legalization of documents issued abroad
On 1 March 2018 a new system of rules came into effect concerning the legalization of the documents issued from foreign countries. The translated document is signed by the translator in the presence of a Notary Public, unlike before when the documents were presented for authentication by the Consular Office of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
