Pre-certification of German Public Documents for Use Abroad
Service description
Foreign authorities and courts often recognize a German public document only if its authenticity is officially verified. Public documents are defined as records and documents issued by a court, a government agency, or a “person vested with public authority,” such as a notary.
Authentication can be carried out through legalization or an apostille. The procedure to be used depends on the country in which the German public document is to be used (“destination country”). The legalization of the German public document is carried out by the diplomatic mission (embassy, consulate) of the “destination country” in Germany. Before legalization is possible, the documents must be progressively pre-certified and re-certified by various German authorities; in a few cases, they must also undergo final certification. Many countries have now acceded to the Hague Convention Abolishing the Requirement of Legalization for Foreign Public Documents (Apostille Convention), including the Federal Republic of Germany. For these countries, it is sufficient for the public document to be affixed with an apostille by a competent German authority—in Hesse, the regional councils (Regierungspräsidien). Here, too, preliminary certification must first take place locally. With the apostille, the German document is immediately recognized abroad. However, the Apostille Convention does not apply to the exchange of documents between two countries if one country has objected to the other country’s accession to the Apostille Convention. Further information can be found on the website of the Federal Foreign Office or in the Apostille Convention itself.
The Fulda District Committee is responsible for the preliminary certification of German public documents issued by a local government within the district, both prior to legalization and prior to the issuance of an apostille. The most common documents in this context are civil status records (e.g., birth, marriage, death, and civil partnership certificates, as well as certified registry extracts) and certificates of name change or name usage issued by the civil registry offices in the Fulda district, as well as certificates of residence and certified copies or photocopies of documents issued by the registration offices or citizen service centers in the Fulda district.
Procedure
A German public document intended for use abroad must be submitted as an original document to the Citizen Services Office at the Fulda District Office or sent by mail. This requires an application (see Applications/Forms) that states,
- that the document is to be certified for use abroad,
- in which “destination country” the document is to be used (required information; without it, processing is not possible) and
- to whom and to what address the document should be returned;
- In addition, please provide a phone number or email address in case we have any questions.
After we have completed the preliminary certification, we will send the document to the Kassel Regional Council. The Kassel Regional Council will then mail the finalized document back to you. The processing time is usually up to 14 days. Only in very urgent cases is it possible for you to be given the pre-certified document so that you can present it directly to the Kassel Regional Council. In this case, you must make an appointment.
Prerequisites
- An original public document bearing a handwritten signature and the seal or official stamp of the issuing authority, issued by a local government agency in the county
- This also includes certified copies (e.g., of passports, ID cards, disability cards, hunting and fishing licenses, private contracts, notices from the Social Security Office, and certificates) as well as official signature certifications (e.g., on certificates of life) that bear the aforementioned identifying features
The following are unsuitable:
- plain copies
- Official printouts without a signature
- Public documents intended solely for German authorities
(with a notation on the document specifying this purpose) - Documents that are no longer in their original condition
(e.g., subsequent notes, changes made with a correction roller or pen, deletions, broken seals, torn documents) - certified copies of civil registry documents
(the issuance of which is now generally prohibited) - private statements, contracts, documents
- foreign documents
The Fulda County is not responsible for:
- All public documents that were not issued in the Fulda district
- Court orders and judgments issued by the Local Court and Regional Court; documents issued by local courts or arbitration tribunals; notarial deeds; translations by certified translators (the Regional Court of Fulda or another Regional Court has jurisdiction over this)
- Certificates
of Good Conduct (the Federal Office of Justice and the Federal Foreign Office are responsible for these) - Documents and notices from other federal agencies
(the Federal Foreign Office is responsible for this) - Original school transcripts
(the State Board of Education is responsible for this) - Original copies of Fulda
University of Applied Sciences degree certificates (transcript, diploma, Diploma Supplement) (Fulda University of Applied Sciences is responsible for this) - Notices and certificates from the tax office
(the Fulda tax office is responsible for this) - Medical and clinical documents
(the district health department is responsible for this)
What fees apply?
The Kassel Regional Council charges a fee of 25.00 euros per document. The Fulda District does not charge any fees for preliminary certification.
Applications / Forms