Certification and legalization of documents for Estonia
Follow the certification requirements below, the levels of which depend on where the documents are signed or issued
Legalisation-free countries
only notary certification required
If your documents are from countries listed below, then notary certification of the documents is sufficient (i.e. apostille and legalisation is not required).
Belgium
Ireland
Italy
France
Denmark
Latvia
Lithuania
Ukraine
Poland
Apostille countries
notary certification and apostille required
If your documents are from member countries of the Hague Apostille Convention, you need to have them certified by a notary and then obtain an apostille. The document must be apostilled in the country where it was issued.
There are approximately 120 contracting party states to this Hague Apostille Convention. When a document has been apostilled, its authenticity is recognised in all other countries that have ratified the Hague Apostille Convention without any additional formalities."
List of countries that have accepted to the Convention: https://www.hcch.net/en/instruments/conventions/authorities1/?cid=41
Legalisation countries
notary certification and 2-level legalisation is needed
Public documents, intended for use in Estonia, that have been issued in a country that is not a member of the Hague Apostille Convention, must be legalised at the foreign ministry and/or foreign mission of the foreign country or territory where the document is issued and then at the foreign mission of the Republic of Estonia or at the consular department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Foreign documents issued in certain country or territory require additional legalisation in a foreign mission before they can be submitted to the consular department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The list below is not exhaustive and subject to change:
Bangladesh – Embassy of Bangladesh in Copenhagen
Nigeria – Nigerian Embassy
Iraq – Embassy of Iraq in Helsinki
Cameroon – Cameroon Embassy
Taiwan – Taipei Mission in Riga
Côte d’Ivoire – Embassy of Côte d’Ivoire in Copenhagen
Vietnam – Embassy of Vietnam in Helsinki
Kuwait – Embassy of Kuwait in Berlin
Gambia - Gambia High Commission in London
Requirements for foreign company documents
For performing notarial acts at an Estonian notary, a foreign legal entity must provide the following certified document(s) containing information:
Required registry documents
Registry Extract or Registration Certificate
Registry extract or registration certificate, or equivalent document that proves the company's legal capacity.
The document must be issued by a competent authority and must not be older than 3 months before submission.
Mandatory Content of the Registry Extract
Legal form of the company
Registration code
Address
Registration date
Full names, date of birth or ID code of the board members or other persons with representation rights
Depending on the country, the registry extract may also contain shareholder information.
Beneficial Owner Information
If the foreign country has an obligation to register beneficial owners and if a beneficial owners register exists in that country then a registry extract concerning UBOs (Ultimate Beneficial Owners) must also be submitted.
If a beneficial owners register does not exist, then a UBO questionnaire must be submitted by a board member, which confirms the accuracy of the UBO information.
Registry extract and UBO registry extract must be certified with an apostille or legalized, depending on the foreign country. If the document is not in English, then a translation into English or Estonian by a sworn translator is required.
Document languages
Only English- or Russian-language documents are accepted without translation for Estonian notaries.
If the Business Register requires documents, then an official translation (by the sworn translator) into Estonian must be done before submitting.
Corporate documents can't be older than 3 months, to be valid in Estonia.
List of countries, the notaries of which are accepted in Estonia
The following information is related only to powers of attorney and other documents signed by the client. Foreign legal entity registry documents and criminal records are still accepted from every country.
Accepted countries
Remote services can be applied, in case you certify the power of attorney and passport copy in a country from the following list. The list includes countries, the notaries of which are accepted in Estonia:
Albania;
Andorra;
Armenia;
Australia, excluding Christmas Island, Cocos Islands and Norfolk Island;
Austria;
Belarus;
Belgium;
Bolivia;
Bosnia ja Herzegovina;
Brazil;
Bulgaria;
Canada (including Quebec province notary);
Chili;
Columbia;
Costa Rica;
Croatia;
Czech Republic;
Cyprus;
Denmark;
Dominican Republic;
Ecuador;
Finland;
France;
Georgia;
Germany;
Greece;
Guatemala;
Honduras;
Hong Kong (Xianggang);
Hungary;
Iceland;
India;
Ireland;
Israel;
Italy;
Japan;
Latvia;
Liechtenstein;
Lithuania;
Luxemburg;
Macedonia;
Malta;
Mauritius;
Mexico;
Monaco;
Mongolia;
Montenegro;
Morocco;
Netherlands;
New Zealand, excluding Cook Islands, Niue and Tokelau;
Nicaragua;
Norway;
Panama;
Paraguay;
People’s Republic of China, excluding Macau;
Peru;
Poland;
Portugal;
Puerto Rico;
Republic of Korea;
Romania;
Russian Federation;
Salvador;
San Marino;
Singapore;
Slovakia;
Slovenia;
South African Republic;
Spain;
Sweden;
Switzerland;
Turkey;
Ukraine;
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (including London city scrivener notary), excluding Anguilla, Bermuda, British Virgin Islands, Gibraltar, Cayman Islands, Montserrat, Saint Helena, Turks and Caicos, Channel Islands (Guernsey, Jersey), Isle of Man and Pitcairn Islands;
United States of America (including Louisiana State notary public), excluding United States Virgin Islands and Northern Mariana Islands;
Uruguay;
Uzbekistan;
Vatican (Holy See);
Venezuela.
Not accepted countries
The notaries of countries, which are not mentioned in the left list, are not accepted in Estonia. The list includes, but is not limited to:
Malaysia
Indonesia
Vietnam
Egypt
Pakistan
United Arab Emirates
Kazakhstan
Serbia
Jordan
Lebanon
In case you are located in a country, the notaries of which are not included in the above list, you have two options:
You travel to a country from the list of accepted notaries
You travel to Estonia for a day (we can provide a business visa invitation letter, if required)