Legalization of documents - is a fulfillment of certain formal procedures to make the document legally binding on the territory of another state. Legalization is necessary for the possibility of providing a document issued on the territory of one State to the authorities of another State. In other words, the document that is not legalized will not be recognized on the territory of another state.

However sometimes, legalization of documents may not be required. This occurs if 2 states (where the document was issued and where it will be used) have a bilateral treaty abolishing legalization, as a rule, this is an agreement on legal assistance. In this case it is sufficient that the relevant document has been authenticated by the official seal of the State where it was issued, for example, certified by a notary. To make such a document legally binding on the territory of another State it is only required to translate this document into the official language of the state and to notarize the translation.

If, however, no treaty is concluded between the states it is necessary to pass through the procedure of legalization. There are two ways to legalize documents: consular legalization and apostille stamp. The way of legalization depends on the state for use on the territory of which the document is intended and the state where the document is issued. The usual procedure of legalization is the consular legalization. Each country can set its own peculiarities of legalization of documents. To clarify the procedure we recommend you to contact the consular service of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the State where legalization takes place. The process also differs with respect to the original or a copy of the document. For example, the process of legalization of documents in Belarus for use in another state is as follows:

1. The original documents are legalized by the Consular Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Belarus or in the consular offices of Belarus.

2. Copies of documents are certified by a notary, the authenticity of the signature of notary is certified by the Ministry of Justice of Belarus and then legalized by the Consular Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Belarus.

3. In both cases, after the legalization by the Consular Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs it is necessary to confirm the authenticity of the signature of the official who legalized documents. It can be done either in an embassy of the state the document will be used or in consular offices of Belarus abroad.

Another simplified procedure of legalization is apostilling. Apostille is a special square stamp placed on a document that does not require further authentication. Apostille is placed either at the end of the document on the free site or on a separate sheet, which then must be attached to the document. It is possible to certify originals or copies of documents by the apostille. In the latter case before placing the apostille the document must be notarized.

The advantage of the Apostille is not only a fast-track procedure of legalization, but also that after placing it the document takes effect in all states - members of the Hague Convention of 1961, abolishing the requirement of consular legalization, and establishing simplified procedure of legalization - stamping "apostille".