Apostille of a Slovak Birth Certificate

An Apostille is a square stamp printed directly onto the back of the original birth certificate. It contains several standardized details (e.g., country name, name and capacity of the person who signed the document, seal/stamp of the authority, date, apostille number, and signature of the issuing official).

Foreign authorities often refuse to accept civil registry documents older than 3 to 6 months. Furthermore, some old birth certificate formats (e.g., dating back to Czechoslovakia/ČSSR) can no longer be officially apostilled. In such cases, a new duplicate (extract) of the birth certificate must first be requested from the registry office and only then apostilled. We can handle this step for you based on a power of attorney. We will draft the power of attorney; you only need to notarize your signature and deliver it to us. This allows us to deliver the complete service express within a few days, including the official translation.

The header of the apostille is always in French: “Apostille (Convention de La Haye du 5 octobre 1961)”. In Slovakia, the details within the apostille are filled out in Slovak (or combined with English for selected authorities). For this reason, after the document is apostilled, an official translation is completed, which also translates the text of the apostille itself into the target country’s language.

The price varies depending on the place of issuance. If the document was issued by a registry office in Bratislava, the processing time is 1 working day. If issued outside Bratislava, processing can take up to 2 weeks. However, even in this case, we can expedite the process—contact us and we will find the most suitable solution.

The standard statutory processing time for authorities is 30 days, but we manage most legalisations within 1–2 days, depending on where the birth certificate was issued. We propose the fastest possible approach tailored to each client’s specific situation. Processing speed depends on several factors.

Yes, the apostille certificate is attached exclusively to the original birth certificate or its official duplicate.

You can deliver documents to us by post or in person. Every working day from 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM.

An official translation usually costs €35 per standard page, including VAT (we are VAT registered). For a birth certificate, the apostille clause itself must also be translated.

This is a common mistake. An official translation cannot be done in advance from a plain birth certificate. Foreign authorities require that not only the birth certificate itself, but also the apostille and its text are translated into the target language.

An apostille clause or superlegalization does not have an expiration date. However, you should check in the destination country how old the document itself can be. In most cases, they accept documents that are no older than 6 months from their date of issuance – sometimes even a maximum of 90 days.

Yes, send us a scan of the document by email and we will send you a price quote.

We only need a power of attorney if we are requesting a new duplicate from the registry office on the client’s behalf. If you provide us with the original or official duplicate of the birth certificate, no power of attorney is required for this process.

You can pick up the apostilled / superlegalized document in person at our law firm, or we will deliver it to you by post free of charge. Courier delivery within Slovakia costs €30; international delivery will be quoted individually upon request.

The competent authority depends on the type and origin of the specific document. Unlike in other countries, an apostille in Slovakia is not issued by a single universal authority, but is distributed among several institutions (e.g., the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs of the SR, Ministry of Education, Ministry of Health, General Prosecutor’s Office, regional courts, or district offices for civil status documents).

Leave the entire process to us – instead of finding the right office, buying duty stamps, and waiting at government offices, we will fully handle the entire apostille process and official translations for you. Most authorities have a statutory period of 30 days, but we complete most tasks within a few days, sometimes even while you wait. The local civil registry office (matrika) that issued your birth certificate does not issue apostilles. Apostillisation of civil registry documents is carried out by the District Office (Department of General Interior Administration) with jurisdiction according to the region where the issuing registry office is located.

A document cannot be apostilled in the following cases:

• Destination country is not a member of the Hague Convention: In this case, superlegalization (consular authentication via the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs of the SR and the embassy of the given country) is required.

• Document is damaged, illegible, or old: The date of issuance is monitored mainly for civil status documents (birth certificates, marriage certificates, death certificates), criminal record extracts, or corporate documents such as extracts from the business register.

• It is a private document without verification: An apostille can only be placed on a public document or a private document with an officially notarized signature.

• Commercial and customs documents / diplomatic documents: These have a special verification process.

If you are unsure whether your document can be apostilled, contact us – we will assess your document free of charge.