If you plan on using legal documents outside of South Africa, you’ll have to get them apostilled in order to ensure their validity. Before obtaining an Apostille Certificate for South African documents, you’ll need to verify that the country that will be receiving the document is a signatory to the Apostille Convention (Convention de La Haye du 5 Octobre 1961). Click here for the list of countries that require or use apostilles.

Any document issued in South Africa has to be apostilled or legalised when it is going to be used in a foreign country. South African diplomatic or consular representatives abroad are not permitted to issue Apostille Certificates, only Certificates of Authentication.