Apostille and legalisation
If you have official documents or certificates that are to be used in a country other than the one that issued them, you'll often need to verify the origin of the document through an apostille or legalisation.
An apostille or legalisation confirms that the signature of a public official on a document is genuine, and that the person holds the authority and position stated in the document. The stamp does not confirm that the content of the document is correct.
The difference between apostille and legalisation
Apostille and legalisation serve the same purpose, but apostille is a simplified process established by the Hague Convention of 1961.
An apostille must be used for documents exchanged between countries that are parties to the convention.
See an overview of the countries that are part of the convention
In the overview, you'll find contact details for the authorities authorised to issue apostilles under the column "Auth.".
Legalisation must be used if one or both of the countries involved are not parties to the Hague Convention.
Documents from abroad for use in Norway
If you have documents from abroad that are to be used in Norway, they must often be apostilled or legalised.
See an overview of countries that can issue apostilles
If the document is from a country that cannot issue apostilles, it'll usually need to be legalised instead.
Legalisation must be carried out by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the country where the document was issued, and the legalisation must be confirmed by a Norwegian foreign service mission accredited to that country.
Documents from Norway for use abroad
Certificates intended for use in the Nordic countries do not require an apostille.
If you have documents from Norway that are to be used outside the Nordic region, they'll often need to be apostilled or legalised. You must check with the authorities in the country where the document is to be used to find out what's required.
Norway is a party to the Hague Convention and can therefore issue apostilles. If the receiving country also uses apostilles, you can contact the County Governor to obtain one.
Before a Norwegian document can be apostilled or legalised, you must check that it bears the coat of arms stamp. If it does not, you must contact a notarius publicus (District Court) to have the document notarised before it can be apostilled or legalised.
If the document is to be used in a country that does not accept apostilles, you must contact the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to have it legalised.
About notarisation by a notarius publicus
A notarisation is an official confirmation of a document, or confirmation that the document is a true copy. The confirmation is issued by a notarius publicus, a public official authorised to carry out certain legal acts.
Norwegian foreign missions (acting as notarius publicus) can only confirm true copies of documents issued by Norwegian authorities.
True copies of foreign documents must be confirmed by the authorities in the country where the document was issued, usually by a notarius publicus.