Superlegalization

If you need to use a document in a country that is not a party to the Convention abolishing the requirement for legalization of foreign official documents of October 5, 1961 (the so-called Hague Convention), then an apostille will not be enough for you, and you will have to go through the super-legalization procedure.

Superlegalization is required in all countries that are not parties to the Convention.

Unlike apostillation, super-legalization requires two certificates. Therefore, super-legalization is more demanding than apostillation. The first certification is usually carried out by one or two national government bodies, such as a court or a ministry. In some countries, the certificate is entrusted to several government bodies, such as the Ministry of Education for diplomas and certificates and regional courts for notarization of signatures, etc. However, there are also countries where the certificate is entrusted to only one government body, for example in Great Britain. The second certification of the document is carried out by the embassy of the country of destination.

What is superlegalization?

Super legalization is a higher verification and certification of public documents that are used before a foreign state authority. A public document is a document on which there is an imprint of the seal of a Slovak body/institution or an official person and the official person’s signature. Higher verification does not verify the content or truthfulness of the content of a public document, expert opinion or translation.