Apostille | What is it? How to get apostille? | Portugal

What is the apostille?

It is a certification of authenticity of public documents: a formality by which a competent authority of the Portuguese State recognises and certifies the signature and the capacity in which the person signing the document has acted and, where appropriate, the identity of the seal or stamp.

What is the purpose?

The apostille is intended to certify the authenticity of public documents in the contracting/acceding countries of the Hague Convention Abolishing the Requirement of Legalisation for Foreign Public Documents (concluded at The Hague on 5 October 1961 under the auspices of the Hague Conference on Private International Law), thus ensuring full acceptance of the concerned documents in the contracting/acceding countries.

To which documents does it apply?

The apostille applies to public documents executed in the territory of a State Party to the Hague Convention Abolishing the Requirement of Legalisation for Foreign Public Documents, concluded at The Hague on 5 October 1961, and which are to be produced in the territory of another Contracting State to the said Convention.

Are deemed to be public documents the documents listed in article 1(a), (b), (c), (d) of the Convention. This definition applies to documents executed by the following public services:

• Town councils
• Notaries
• Civil registry offices
• Public schools
• Parish councils
• Ministries
• ​Courts

Recognizing/certifying/authenticating documents drawn up by lawyers and solicitors (cases in which a copy of the corresponding professional licence must be enclosed thereto),or executed by parish councils, by commerce and industry chambers and by the Portuguese postal service may also be apostilled (article 1 of Decree-Law No. 28/2000 of 13 March 2000); articles 5, 6 of Decree-Law No. 237/2001 of 30 August 2001; article 38 of Decree-Law No. 76-A/2006 of 29 March 2006).

Source: Ministério Público PT

How to get apostille?

If you need to legalize documents issued by Portuguese ministries, courts, registry offices and notaries, lawyers, solicitors, commerce and industry chambers, postal service, public schools, city councils and parish councils for use in the US, you must:

Obtain an Apostille seal from the Prosecutor General of the Republic or the District Deputy Prosecutor General of Porto, Coimbra, Évora or from the public prosecutors who lead the County District Prosecutors’ Offices of Madeira (seat in Funchal) and Açores (seat in Ponta Delgada).

Source: US Embassy

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