Applying for an apostille
Standesamt certificates abroad · The interior administration of the federal state is responsible, not the Standesamt
The apostille is a simplified form of certification for using German certificates abroad. It is based on the Hague Convention of 5 October 1961 and, under Article 3 of the Convention, confirms the authenticity of the signature, the capacity in which the signatory acted and, where applicable, the authenticity of the seal or stamp. It does not, however, say anything about the truth of the content of the certificate. The Convention currently has 130 contracting states (as of July 2026); Algeria (in force since 9 July 2026) and Vietnam (in force from 11 September 2026) have most recently joined.
The most common misunderstanding with this procedure concerns competence: the Standesamt (registry office) issues your certificate but does not itself issue an apostille — and for civil status documents, the Landgericht is not responsible in any federal state either. Apostilles are issued exclusively by the bodies designated by the Federation and the federal states under Article 6 of the Convention: for birth, marriage and death certificates, the interior administration of the federal state (Bezirksregierung, Regierungspräsidium, Regierung or Landesamt); for court and notarial documents, the president of the relevant court; and for documents from federal authorities, the Federal Office for Foreign Affairs (Bundesamt für Auswärtige Angelegenheiten, BfAA). The full overview can be found in the section Competent authority.
Before you even submit an application, it is worth doing a preliminary check: for civil status documents that you use within the European Union, neither a legalisation nor an apostille has been required since 16 February 2019 under Regulation (EU) 2016/1191. Read the section Do you need an apostille at all? first — in case of doubt, it will save you €19 to €40 in fees and several weeks of waiting.
