What is an Apostille/legalisation?
An Apostille/legalisation is a confirmation that a given document originates from an issuing Danish authority.
It is solely the Legalisation Office of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Denmark that can legalise Danish documents with an Apostille.
An Apostille is valid in all countries that have acceded to the Apostille Convention of 5 October 1961. A full list of countries where an Apostille is valid can be found here.
If your Danish documents are to be used in a country that has not acceded to the Apostille Convention, it is often required that they are additionally legalised by the receiving country’s representation in Denmark. If a country is not represented in Denmark, please contact the nearest relevant embassy. Kindly see here.
How do I get an Apostille on my document?
In order to get an Apostille on your document, it must be issued by a public Danish authority, such as the Danish National Police, the Agency of Family Law, Citizen Service Office, Church Office etc.
There are three types of documents that can be legalised at the Legalisation Office of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs:
1. Documents received through Digital Post must be forwarded directly to Legalisation via Digital Post. Find the guide here.
2. Documents with a certified Digital Signature can be uploaded to our webshop or forwarded directly to the Legalisation Office from Digital Post (borger.dk).
3. Documents with a physical/wet signature can be submitted in person or alternatively sent by physical mail or courier to Legalisation.
You must make a purchase for an Apostille and optional return postage in our webshop prior to submission, physical shipment, or digital forwarding of the document. You will receive a receipt of purchase by e-mail.
It is not possible to book an appointment in advance. If you visit in person with your document during opening hours, it will be legalised while you wait.
If you have more than seven documents, we generally cannot legalise them on the same day. You will be contacted when the documents are ready for collection.
If you send documents by physical mail, the processing time will be 5-7 working days after receipt. Please note that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is not responsible for shipping, and thus, refer to the relevant postal provider (e.g., PostNord) or courier.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs reserves the right, based on an individual assessment, to refuse documents for legalisation if it cannot be demonstrated without reasonable doubt that it is a Danish document or if there is any other reason to doubt whether the document falls within the scope of the Apostille Convention.
Additionally, the document must be computer-generated. Handwritten documents are not accepted.
What is a physical/wet signature?
A physical/wet signature refers to the document being physically signed with a pen by the issuing Danish authority.
A wet signature is therefore a "fresh", physical endorsement made by a living hand, and thus a scan, copy, or printed version of the document/signature is not accepted.
The signatory’s name, signature, and, if applicable, the authority's stamp must be clearly visible on the document. If we do not have the signatory in our system, we will contact the relevant authority to confirm the signature. The authority can advantageously send a signature confirmation directly to legalisering@um.dk.
What is Digital Post?
Digital Post is a digital platform where Danish authorities can send messages and documents securely to citizens.
If you have received your documents in Digital Post on borger.dk, you can forward the document directly for legalisation from Digital Post. A message from the authority may contain several documents in the same message. Documents forwarded by regular email are not accepted.
Please check with the receiving local authority if they accept that the document is not signed with a physical/wet signature by the issuing Danish authority. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs stamps and signs the legalisation/Apostille itself with a physical/wet signature, and attaches it to the back of the document. Therefore, the document cannot be sent back to you digitally.
Please follow this guide for forwarding digital post. Kindly include the purchase or legalisation number in your message to us.
What is Digital Signature?
Digital Signature is a digital certification of a document issued by a Danish authority. It is a digital certificate embedded in the PDF file. Not all Danish authorities issue digital documents with certified Digital Signature. Please note that documents received in Digital Post do not necessarily have certified Digital Signature.
Examples of documents with certified Digital Signature are: digital criminal records issued by the police, digital transcripts from the Central Business Register (CVR) issued by the Danish Business Authority, and digital marriage certificates issued by the Church Office.
Please contact the issuing authority regarding the issuance of documents with certified Digital Signature. You can check if the document is certified with a Digital Signature by seeing if a blue bar is visible at the top of the PDF file.
Documents with certified Digital Signature can be legalised with an E-Apostille. You can upload the document in the webshop during the purchase and download the E-Apostille directly in the browser window.
Please note that E-Apostilles are not signed and stamped by either the issuing Danish authority or the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. We refer to the receiving foreign authority regarding local requirements for Apostille endorsement/legalisation of Danish documents to be used in that country.
How do I check whether an Apostille is genuine?
In our E-Register, you can check if an Apostille is genuine and issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
You can only check Apostilles issued after 15 November 2017. To check Apostilles issued before that date, please contact us at legalisering@um.dk.
Are there any other rules within the EU?
Yes, under the EU Regulation (EU 2016/1191), a number of documents are exempt from the requirement of legalisation when presented to a public authority in another EU Member State.
The documents covered include those demonstrating civil status (such as birth, death, marriage, registered partnership, and adoption), documents showing residence, and a certificate of no criminal record.
Several documents are also exempt from the requirement of translation if accompanied by a language annex.
The following documents can be accompanied by a language annex issued by the issuing authority:
- Certificate of residence
- Baptismal certificate
- Birth and baptismal certificate
- Partnership certificate
- Person certificate
- Certificate of no criminal record
- Certificate of blessing
- Marriage certificate
- Certificate of marital status
For further information, please refer to the European e-Justice portal.
The full text of the Regulation on Legalisation (EU 2016/1191) can be read on EUR-Lex.
How do I get an Apostille on a document that is not issued by a Danish public authority?
Private documents or notarial acts, such as powers of attorney and similar documents, must be endorsed by a Notary Public. Subsequently, the notarised document can receive an Apostille.
Corporate documents that do not fall under notarial acts must have a cover letter prepared, certified by the relevant Chamber of Commerce, either by the Danish Chamber of Commerce or the Confederation of Danish Industry. Following this certification, the cover letter can receive an Apostille.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs reserves the right, based on an individual assessment, to reject the certified document if there is doubt about whether the document falls within the scope of the Apostille Convention. Additionally, the document must be computer-generated. Handwritten documents are not accepted.
How do I obtain an Apostille on a document issued by an EU-institution?
The document must be legalised by the competent authority in the country where the institution is located, provided that the authority has the specimen signatures of the institution.