Apostille, legalisation and multilingual extracts: what a file actually requires

The short answer

It all depends on which country issued the document. If that country is party to Vienna Convention no. 16 of 8 September 1976, the original multilingual extract issued no more than 2 years before filing is enough: no apostille and no translation are needed. If the country is not party to the convention, you need the certificate and the extract with an apostille (or consular legalisation) and a certified translation into Romanian.

Countries party to Vienna Convention no. 16

Austria, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Cape Verde, Croatia, Estonia, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Moldova, Montenegro, the Netherlands, North Macedonia, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Serbia, Slovenia, Spain, Switzerland, Turkey.

For applicants with Bessarabian roots the key one here is Moldova. If your records were issued by Moldovan authorities, the right thing to ask for at the registry office or at Agenția Servicii Publice is an “extras multilingv” under Convention no. 16. The ANC accepts such a document as it is.

If the document was issued by a country outside the convention

Ukraine, Russia, Kazakhstan, Israel or the USA, for example. The sequence is:

1. Obtain the certificate and, separately, the extract from the register entry — both no more than two years old on the filing date.
2. Have an apostille affixed, if the country is party to the 1961 Hague Convention. If not, go through consular legalisation: certification by the foreign ministry of the issuing country and then at the Romanian consulate or the Romanian foreign ministry.
3. Have a translation into Romanian done by a translator authorised by the Romanian Ministry of Justice, with the translator’s signature notarised.
4. In some cases the translation itself is apostilled too — check for the issuing country.

The order of steps that saves money

• First establish what you actually hold: a certificate, an extract or a copy. An apostille goes on the original, and redoing it costs more than one request made in advance.
• Check the issue date of the extracts: a document obtained more than two years ago will have to be ordered again — apostilling it is pointless.
• Order Moldovan documents in multilingual form straight away. One request instead of three procedures.
• Do the translations at the very end, once the set is complete: if an extract has to be ordered later, you will be paying for a fresh translation yourself.

Where people get it wrong

• They apostille a multilingual extract. A pointless procedure and wasted money.
• They use an “ordinary” translator. The Romanian side accepts translations by a translator authorised by the Romanian Ministry of Justice, with the signature notarised.
• They apostille a notarised copy instead of the original. A common and costly mistake.
• They think an apostille confirms the content. It confirms only the signature, the capacity of the signatory and the seal — not the facts in the document.

What we take on

We determine for each document exactly what is needed: a multilingual extract, an apostille or consular legalisation. We order documents in the right form, obtain the apostilles and arrange translations by translators authorised by the Romanian Ministry of Justice, with notarisation. A legalisation plan worked out once saves both money and a month or two of redoing things.

Frequently asked questions

How long is an apostille valid? The apostille itself has no expiry, but the document imposes a limit: the extract must be no more than two years old on the filing date.

Where are apostilles issued in Moldova and Ukraine? In Moldova through Agenția Servicii Publice; in Ukraine at the authority responsible for the type of document (the Ministry of Justice for civil status records).

Does Romania require an apostille on documents from EU countries? For civil status records from EU countries and countries with which Romania has bilateral treaties on mutual recognition of documents, legalisation is not required.