What You Need to Know About Apostilisation of Documents of an Estonian Company

Exploring what is apostille, and in what case you need to take care of it.

apostillationThe notarised translation of documents (legalisation) of a company includes several specific formal procedures for making a document valid in another country. The fundamental rule of legalisation is that a sworn translator shall only perform it in an issuing or executing country.

The legalisation of documents issued in one country aims to make them valid and appropriate for state bodies of another country.

We offer sworn translation/apostilisation of the following documents:

  • Certificate of incorporation
  • Articles of association
  • List of shareholders/beneficiaries

Before sending documents by mail, we will email you the scanned documents of the company.

APOSTILLE

Apostille is an international certificate, comparable to notarisation in domestic law, suitable for presentation on the territory of countries that recognise this form of legalisation. Apostille stamp is placed on originals and copies of documents.

The Apostille is sufficient to confirm the document’s validity if the agreement is applied between two countries. It eliminates the need for double certification by the sending country and then by the receiving country.

Most European countries do not need an Apostille and only require sworn translations of corporate documents.

Public documents issued in:

  • Belgium
  • Ireland
  • Italy
  • France
  • Denmark
  • Russia
  • Latvia
  • Lithuania
  • Ukraine
  • Poland

are accepted in Estonia without an apostille and must be notarized/certified only.

Documents, issued by countries that are not listed above and who are members of the Hague convention 5 October 1961 (CONVENTION ABOLISHING THE REQUIREMENT OF LEGALISATION FOR FOREIGN PUBLIC DOCUMENTS), must be apostilled to use them in Estonia. Other countries must go through the process of legalisation.

The package of documents consisting of whether non-apostilled/apostilled documents with sworn translations in English will allow you to apply for opening an account with a foreign bank for your Estonian company or carry out transactions on behalf of the Estonian company in other countries.

Please visit the following page for more information.

LKS Consult OÜ offers full support on all stages of developing your business, and offer a variety of services, including accounting services in Estonia.