Legalising Dutch and foreign documents

How does the legalisation of documents work?

Dutch documents for use abroad

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Who is responsible for legalising documents?

The Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs is responsible for legalising Dutch documents for use abroad. The applicant must have arranged any prior legalisations that may be necessary. For example, a translation produced by a sworn translator must be legalised by the district court, then by the Ministry of Justice before finally being transmitted to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Once the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has legalised your document, you may go the embassy or consulate of the country where the document is to be used, for further legalisation. These are usually located in The Hague, Amsterdam, Rotterdam or Brussels.

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What documents are involved?

Some Dutch documents, for example certificates from the register of births, deaths and marriages and other documents issued by Dutch municipalities, can be legalised immediately by the Consular Service Centre of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Even so, a lot of documents have to undergo a wide range of procedures. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs can provide information regarding the legalisation chain required before a Dutch document can be used abroad.

Points to remember when submitting a Dutch document for legalisation:

• Find out whether the country you need the document for is signatory to a legalisation convention. If so, legalisation by Ministry of Foreign Affairs may not be necessary. For more on this, see the overview of legalisation conventions.
• Submit the signed, original Dutch document. Ensure the document was issued no more than one year previously.
• If you require legalisation of a copy of a Dutch document (a certified true copy), you must send the original as well.
• Where necessary, make sure prior legalisations by other Dutch authorities have been carried out.

This procedure is termed the ‘legalisation chain’.

If you require legalisation of a translation of a Dutch document, you must send the original as well. Ensure you observe the full legalisation chain for translations.

Any document drawn up in the Netherlands in a foreign language (apart from English, French or German) must be accompanied by a translation produced by a sworn translator.

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What is the procedure for legalising Dutch documents?

There are two ways to submit a document to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for legalisation:

1. In person
Personally submit the document to the Ministry’s Consular Service Centre.
This can also be done by a family member or friend.

The Consular Service Centre is open on weekdays from 9.00 to 12.30. Documents handed in before 11.30 can be collected the same day. You will normally have to wait about an hour. Documents handed in later than 11.30 can be collected as of 9.00 the next working day. Legalisation costs €10 per document. (The preferred method of payment is by debit card).

2. By post
You can also submit your document by post. Document(s) requiring legalisation, and your written request, should be sent to:
Ministry of Foreign Affairs
DCM/SO-CDC - Legalisations
Postbus 20061
2500 EB Den Haag

An order confirmation and reference number will be sent to the postal address provided in your written request, together with a statement of the costs (including the charge for return by registered post) and the bank account details. It is important that you quote the reference number when making payment. Once payment has been received, the legalised document(s) will be returned within 14 days, by registered post.

The charge for legalisation by post is €10 per document, excluding return postage. Documents that cannot be legalised will be returned. Charges of under €13 will not be refunded. Submitting and returning documents by post takes place at your own risk.

If you have any questions you can contact the Consular Service Centre between 9.00 and 12.30, Monday-Friday, on +31 (0)70 348 4844 or email to info.consulair@minbuza.nl.

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Foreign documents for use in the Netherlands

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Who is responsible for legalising documents?

The Dutch missions in other countries are responsible for legalising foreign documents for use in the Netherlands. But first the documents must have been legalised by the country’s own authorities, usually the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the country where the document was issued.

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What documents are involved?

If a Dutch authority asks for a recent legalised foreign document, it will usually be a certificate of birth, marriage or death. For Dutch nationals, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs can arrange foreign document requests and legalisation of foreign documents. Liaison services of this kind cannot, however, be provided in all countries.

What is the procedure for requesting or legalising foreign documents?
Write a letter to the Consular Service Centre at the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs asking for a document to be requested or legalised in a given country. The document must concern a Dutch national.

Enclose the following with your letter:

• a copy of your Dutch passport;
  a copy of the old document if requesting a recent, legalised document;
• your parents’ names in full, if requesting a copy of your birth certificate and the old document (or a copy) is no longer in your possession. In some countries it is not always possible to request a new copy without submitting a copy of the old document;
• the original of any document to be legalised. The document should not normally be more than one year old.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs charges a fee for requesting and legalising foreign documents on your behalf, varying from €36.25 to €131 per document.

Requesting and legalising documents can take several months. When requesting a document, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is dependent on local circumstances and cannot therefore guarantee that the document requested will be supplied. We regret that your fee cannot be refunded if the document requested is not available, since costs will nevertheless have been incurred.

Entering foreign documents in the register of birth, deaths and marriages in The Hague
Certificates of births, deaths and marriages issued by the authorities of another country and duly legalised may be entered in the register of births, deaths and marriages in The Hague. The person referred to in the document must be (or have been) a Dutch national or an A-status refugee.

Entering a foreign certificate in the register is not compulsory, but it does offer the advantage that the register can subsequently issue you with copies (afschriften) and extracts (uittreksels) on request. This means you no longer need to request the document abroad and have it legalised.

For further information on this subject, you can contact the Foreign Documents Department (Afdeling Landelijke Taken) of the municipality of The Hague on 14 070 or visit The Hague’s municipal website: www.denhaag.nl (information in Dutch only).

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Consular documents issued in other countries

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Certificates

Consular certificates are issued for Dutch nationals by a Dutch embassy or consulate abroad. Examples are certificates of birth, marriage or death. Only a few embassies and consulates are authorised to issue documents of this kind, and birth certificates are therefore not always available from a Dutch embassy or consulate. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs can arrange a request for a copy or extract of a consular certificate on behalf of Dutch nationals if the birth, marriage or death in question has been registered with one of the authorised Dutch embassies or consulates.

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Declarations

Examples include declarations of unmarried status or of place of residence, or proof of nationality. They are issued to Dutch nationals who live or have lived abroad and who require such documents for a Dutch authority.

If you wish to get married abroad, the foreign authorities often request a declaration of intention to marry issued by the Dutch embassy or consulate in the country where you wish to get married. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs can request consular declarations on behalf of Dutch nationals.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs charges a fee of €30 per document for requesting consular documents on your behalf. Requesting a consular document may take several weeks.

Since consular documents are issued by Dutch embassies or consulates, they are Dutch documents and need not be legalised for use in the Netherlands. Consular documents cannot be entered in the registry of births, deaths and marriages in The Hague.

For further information on consular documents please contact the Consular Service Centre at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

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Legalisation conventions

Some countries have entered into agreements streamlining the legalisation process. This means that certain documents from one of the contracting states may be used in another, with just a single form of legalisation or even none at all.

The best-known legalisation convention is the Convention abolishing the requirement of legalisation for foreign public documents, also known as the Hague Apostille Convention (5 October 1961). This convention does not completely abolish legalisation but reduces it to one single action: the addition of an apostille. A document bearing an apostille does not require any further legalisation by the embassy or consulate of the country in which it is to be used. Apostilles are issued in the Netherlands by district courts.

For further information about the legalisation conventions, please contact the Consular Service Centre at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

(Last updated: 14/12/2010)

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