Individuals that wish to obtain a Hungarian Apostille for their documents will need to verify that the country they intend to use those documents in, is a signatory of the Apostille Convention (Convention de La Haye du 5 Octobre 1961). Documents issued in Hungary must be apostilled or legalized when they are to be used in a foreign country.
Hungary is a member country of the Hague Convention “Abolishing the Requirement of Consular Legalization for Foreign Public Documents of 1961”, which means that an Apostille stamp is used to legalise Hungarian documents for use abroad. Under the Hague Convention, member countries agree to facilitate the exchange and verification of documents; apostille certifications are required for all members of the Hague Convention.
What you need to know about the Hungary Apostille
Individuals that wish to temporarily or permanently immigrate or conduct in foreign business development will probably need to present Hungarian public documents to the foreign country in question. These documents may include university degrees, birth certificates, police records, marriage certificates, etc. The Apostille Seal (Apostille pecsét) is affixed to all public documents in the country of origin of the document, in order to legalize such documents.
The process of Apostille Certification can only be used in the country you wish to use the documents in is also a signee of the Hague Convention. In the event where the receiving country is not a part of the Apostille Convention, a range of other steps will need to be followed in order to authenticate and legalize your documents.
Do my documents need to be notarized before obtaining a Hungary Apostille?
In some cases, official Hungarian documents will have to be notarized before they can be Apostilled. In the case where the country you wish to use the documents in is also a member of the Hague Convention, the document will be certified by apostille by the Secretary of State of the issuing state.
Consular notarial services are rendered to Hungarian citizens that require Hungarian official (public) documents to be legalised for use abroad. When documents receive the Apostille seal, the have legal validity to be used outside of Hungary. The Hungarian Apostille Certification process, in short, refers to the process followed by which the signature and seal on a public document is verified.
Which documents have to be Apostilled?
Some documents that might require Apostille Certification include:
- Birth Certificate
- Marriage Certificate
- Death Certificate
- Notarial Deeds
- School Certificates, Academic Transcripts
- Academic documents, Diplomas
- Affidavits witnessed by a solicitor
- Corporate Extracts, Court of Registration Documents
- Power of Attorney witnessed by a solicitor/notary
- Criminal Record Checks
- Court Affidavits and Decrees
- Marital Status Certificates
- Police Letters and Certificates
- Last Will & Testament stamped by a court or executed by Public Notary
- No Impediment Certificate
- Medical Certificates
- Divorce Documents
- Vet Documents
- Certificates of Good Standing
- Solicitor signed documents
- Notary Public witnessed documents
What information can be found on a Hungary Apostille?
All Apostilles follow a prescribed format and include the following information:
- Country of issue
- Details of the person that signed the document
- Capacity in which the person has signed the document
- Details of any seals on the document
- Place and date of issue
- Issuing authority
- Apostille Certificate number
- Stamp of the issuing authority
- Signature of the representative of the issuing authority
