ATTESTATION, AUTHENTICATION & APOSTILLE SERVICES
Authentication or Legalization (attestation) is the certification of the genuineness of the signature and seal of an official. Through this process, it is attested that the official has the authority to execute, issue or certify a document in one jurisdiction, so that it may be recognized in another jurisdiction. Authentication does not certify the genuineness, legality or credibility of the documents or their contents. The process of authentication aims at confirming for the authorities of a country that the signature and seal affixed to a document issued in another country, are authentic. This is accomplished by creating a chain of subsequent authentications, each by a progressively higher government authority, on the basis of deposited specimens of signatures. We can help you have your documents issued by Greek authorities (official documents, certificates, diplomas ets.) attested or apostilled. Ask us for more information. Click HERE in order to check the Members of the Hague Convention "APOSTILLE". For Documents that can get "APOSTILLE" check below.
Hague Conference on Private International Law
The Apostille Convention only applies if both the State in whose territory the public document was executed (the "State of execution") and the State in whose territory the public document is to be produced (the "State of destination") are State Parties (i.e., Contracting States for which the Convention is actually in force).
The designated Competent Authorities in Greece for apostille stamp are:
- The Regions for all documents issued by the offices of the Regional Self Government.
- The Decentralized Administrations , for all documents issued by:
The public civil services of the Regions that do not fall under the competence of the Regional Self Governement;
Legal Entities of Public Law;
First degree Local Governement Organizations;
The Registry Offices.
- For judicial documents, the First Instance Court of the region where the issuing authority is seated.
The Convention applies only to public documents. These are documents emanating from an authority or official connected with a court or tribunal of the State (including documents issued by an administrative, constitutional or ecclesiastical court or tribunal, a public prosecutor, a clerk or a process-server); administrative documents; notarial acts; and official certificates which are placed on documents signed by persons in their private capacity, such as official certificates recording the registration of a document or the fact that it was in existence on a certain date and official and notarial authentications of signatures. The main examples of public documents for which Apostilles are issued in practice include birth, marriage and death certificates; extracts from commercial registers and other registers; patents; court rulings; notarial acts and notarial attestations of signatures; academic diplomas issued by public institutions. Diplomas issued by private institutions may not be apostillised directly; a "private" diploma may, however, bear an official certificate issued by a notary, Solicitor, Agency or any other person or authority competent under the law of the State of origin of the diploma to authenticate the signature on the diploma. This official certificate is a public document under the Convention and thus may be apostillised. In such a case the Apostille does not relate to the diploma itself; instead it certifies the authenticity of the certificate on or accompanying the diploma. Finally, the Convention neither applies to documents executed by diplomatic or consular agents nor to administrative documents dealing directly with commercial or customs operations (e.g., certificates of origin or import or export licenses)