Apostille and legalisation

Public documents and certificates are often required abroad. However, before a document can be used in a country other than the country that issued it, the document's origin must generally be approved.

Apostille

An apostille stamp confirms that a public official's signature on a document is genuine and that the person concerned actually has the authority and position stated on the document. However, the stamp does not confirm that the contents of the document are accurate.

The Hague Convention of 1961 made this stamp scheme possible. In the list of the countries that have acceded to the convention, you will find contact information for the authorities that are authorised to apply an apostille.

In Norway, it is the county governor who can apply an apostille to documents. The county governor must be informed of which country the document would be used in.

Legalisation

Documents and certificates from countries that have not acceded to the Hague Convention of 1961 must be legalised. Contact the foreign authority in the country concerned.

The legislation of Norwegian documents is carried out by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs must be informed of which country the document should be used in.

Will the police certificate of conduct be in English or Norwegian?

It is the purpose of the police certificate of conduct that determines whether you can get the certificate in English.

• Police certificate of conduct for purposes intended for use in Norway are only available in Norwegian.

• Police certificate of conduct for purposes intended for use by foreign authorities (police certificate of conduct for use abroad) can be obtained in English.

• Note! If the police certificate of conduct indicates criminal penalties, these will always be written in Norwegian, even if the rest of the police certificate of conduct is in English.

If you apply digitally, you can choose a language in the application form in the web portal. If it is possible to get the certificate in English, you will get it listed as an option.

If you apply by post, you must tick the desired language in the application form. You will still get the police certificate of conduct in Norwegian if it is intended to be used in Norway.

We do not translate the police certificate of conduct into other languages. If you need the police certificate of conduct translated into another language, you must contact an approved translation company yourself and have the certificate translated.

Guidelines/brochures | Date: 06/02/2024

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Norwegian documents that are to be submitted to authorities abroad can be legalised by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

NB! Foreign documents must be legalised in the country where they were issued.

What is legalisation?

Legalisation means that the Ministry confirms that the signature and stamp on a Norwegian document are genuine, and that the document has been signed by a public official who is authorised to do so.

Legalisation does not entail any validation of the accuracy of the content of the document.

The normal legalisation process:

1. The document is certified by a notary public (usually the district court),

2. It is then legalised by the Ministry.

3. It will normally also need to be certified by the embassy/consulate in Oslo that represents the country in which the document is to be used.

The persons who may be authorised to act as notary public are set out in section 1 of the Act relating to notaries public and section 2 of the appurtenant regulations  (forskrift om notarius publicus - only in Norwegian).  

What documents can be legalised?

• All original documents that have been stamped and signed by a notary public or copies that have been certified by a notary public.

• Documents that have been signed and stamped by a County Governor.

• Police certificates with original stamp and signature in paper version.

• The Ministry can certify the signature on documents from chambers of commerce.

• The Ministry can certify the signature on documents that are issued by foreign embassies and consulates in Norway, and only if the documents are to be used in Norway.

• Original transcripts from the tax authorities that have been signed and officially stamped (lion stamp). 
  Remember to indicate the country in which the document is to be used.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs legalises documents for use in all countries that are not party to the Hague Apostille Convention. (See Convention of 5 October 1961 Abolishing the Requirement of Legalisation for Foreign Public Documents for an up-to-date list of countries that are party to the Hague Apostille Convention.)

Apostille

It is the local County Governor who has the authority to issue apostille stamps. For more information, please go to https://www.statsforvalteren.no/en/. The County Governor can also legalise documents that are to be used in countries that are party to the Hague Apostille Convention.

Up-to-date list of countries that are party to the Hague Apostille Convention.

Documents to be used in Nordic countries do not need an apostille stamp. These documents only need to be certified by a notary republic.

My document needs to be translated before it can be legalised. Can the Ministry do the translation?
No, the Ministry does not translate documents for the general public.

If a translation of the document is required by the country in which it is to be used, this must be done by a government-authorised translator. The translation, together with a copy of the original document, must be certified by a notary public before it can be legalised by the Ministry or a County Governor.

You can find a government authorised translator in Translatørportalen.

Can the Ministry tell me whether my document needs to be legalised?
No, you need to check this with the embassy/consulate in Norway that represents the country in question.

Practical information

Legalisation by the Ministry is free of charge.

There are two ways of getting a document legalised by the Ministry:

1. You can submit your document in person during the legalisation office’s opening hours (see below).

2. You can send your document by post.

If you come to the legalisation office in person, the principle of ‘first come, first served’ applies. We legalise documents on an ongoing basis as they come in. It is not possible to make an appointment in advance. If you have more than 10 documents to legalise, you may be asked to return the next day or to have the documents sent to you by post.

It is not possible to make an appointment in advance.

Documents that are sent in by post will be returned by post. It is not possible to send documents for legalisation by recorded delivery; they must be sent in the ordinary post. Remember to indicate the country in which the document is to be used, and enclose a stamped, addressed envelope. The address of the legalisation office is given below. NB! To be able to receive your documents per post, you must register your name and address at Posten. You must also mark your mailbox with your name.

You should allow up to 10 working days for the return of your document(s). You will need to allow more time if you have not provided sufficient information about the country concerned or your full contact details. 

Documents that are sent with no return address, or that are returned to the Ministry (address unknown), or that are not picked up will be destroyed after six months.

Visitors’ address: 
Kronprinsens gate 10, Oslo.

Opening hours:
The legalisation office opening hours will be 09.00-12.00 on Tuesdays. The legalisation office is closed Tuesday 24 and 31 December 2024.

Postal address: 
Utenriksdepartementet 
Legalisering 
Seksjon for konsulære saker 
Postboks 8114-Dep. 
0032 Oslo

 E-mail: legalisering@mfa.no

The legalisation office does not have a telephone service.

How to get a police certificate – Norway

Norway Criminal Records Certificate (Politiattest)

挪威无犯罪：
代理服务费：2500RMB（如有变化，以顾问咨询为准）

其他第三方费用：无
周期：约3周左右。不包含国际快递邮寄到收件地址的时间。（周期受各种情况限制，不能控制，不能加急，仅做预估，不能作为保证。如果特别紧急，请放弃找我们代理。）
材料：护照等

三、海牙认证/使馆认证：（服务费实行总包制，如需可提供电子增值税普通发票）

海牙认证总包费用为3500元人民币，使馆认证总包费用为4000元人民币（特殊国家除外，以咨询为准）。总包费用包含了政府外事机构、使馆机构等第三方机构的费用、认证文件快递回国的国际快递费用。部分国家认证需要国际快递邮寄申请人本人原始签字表格和材料的，或者材料有疑问，需要补交相关证明材料的，需要自付自己邮寄原始签字表格和材料或者补充材料的国际快递费用。海牙认证和使馆认证工作一般不会同时进行，需要二选其一。

各国无犯罪证明、海牙认证、使馆认证代理服务协议：

Police-Certificate-Service-Order-Form：

http://www.newnewdoc.com/index.php?page=Police-Certificate-Service-Order-Form

标准化业务咨询通道如下：微信为newnewlandvisa（可直接微信扫描添加）