Updated 13 November 2026 · Author: Evgenii Salamatin, founder of Parallax

What the service covers

We help identify the documents needed for your application and coordinate their issue, apostille or legalisation, translation and delivery. We first confirm whether we can support your issuing-country and destination-country combination, which steps a representative can take, and where your personal involvement is required.

  • Police certificates, civil-status records and archival documents.
  • Checking the recipient’s requirements: original or copy, translation language and certification, and how recently the document must have been issued.
  • Coordinating requests to the competent authority in the issuing country.
  • Arranging translation and delivery through a method available for your case.

What an apostille certifies

An apostille authenticates a document’s signature, the signatory’s official capacity and its seal or stamp. It does not certify that the contents are true, or guarantee acceptance of the document for your application.

The 1961 Hague Convention replaces consular legalisation with an apostille for the public documents it covers, where the Convention applies between the issuing and receiving countries. The apostille is issued by a designated competent authority in the document’s country of origin.

When an apostille is needed

Before ordering, we check the issuing country, destination and document type. Legislation or an international agreement may remove the authentication requirement. The Convention also excludes certain documents, including those issued by diplomatic or consular agents. Neither “every foreign document needs an apostille” nor “a translation is always enough” is a reliable general rule.

For residence, study, employment, marriage or a bank account, first obtain the receiving authority’s or organisation’s requirements. These determine the document package; a generic international checklist cannot replace them.

Police certificates

Confirm exactly which certificate the recipient accepts: full or limited, electronic or paper, from which countries and covering which period. Check the maximum accepted age of the certificate before ordering so that it does not need to be issued again.

Issuing procedures vary by country. As one specific example, Ukraine’s Diia service allows an online request for a criminal-record extract and a choice of type and purpose. Its published timeframe is ten working days, or up to thirty calendar days if additional checks are needed. Those figures do not apply to other countries or include the whole translation and delivery process.

How we work

  1. You provide the application purpose and the receiving organisation’s requirements.
  2. We agree the document list, translation format, authentication procedure and price.
  3. We check whether representation is permitted and what authorisation is needed.
  4. We coordinate document issue and authentication.
  5. We arrange the agreed translation and delivery.

Timing is assessed for your specific case: document issue, authentication, translation and shipping are separate stages. Appointment availability, additional checks and delivery can affect the total time.

Price

From €65 per document for the package: document retrieval, apostille and notarised translation. Availability and the final quote depend on the issuing country, number of documents, urgency, translation language and delivery method. This starting price is not a worldwide flat fee. We agree the scope and total before you order.

Services we do not offer

  • We do not produce forged documents or apostilles.
  • We do not offer unofficial shortcuts through official procedures.
  • We do not claim that authentication replaces the recipient’s requirements for the document itself.

Frequently asked questions

We first check whether the particular service permits online requests or a representative, what authorisation is required, and whether personal attendance is mandatory. A power of attorney does not replace mandatory personal attendance.

No. It depends on the document, the issuing and receiving countries, applicable agreements and the recipient’s requirements. Confirm the document list before ordering authentication.

Do not apply another country’s or procedure’s timeframe. Before ordering, ask the recipient how recently the certificate must have been issued and in what form it must be submitted.

Yes. HCCH states that an e-Apostille cannot be rejected solely because it is electronic. Use the competent authority’s verification method. A scan of a paper document is not, by itself, an e-Apostille.

Check with the recipient before commissioning it. Requirements for the language, translator and certification depend on the procedure. An apostille on the original does not automatically settle whether its translation will be accepted.

Send us the document details and the recipient’s requirements. We first check whether the existing document is suitable and which authority is competent. A replacement certificate is requested only if needed and agreed with you.

The starting package is €65 per document for retrieval, an apostille and a notarised translation, where that combination is available. The final scope, delivery and total depend on the specific case and are agreed before you order.

Official sources