Apostille Poland 🇵🇱

Stamp Apostille Poland

What is a Polish apostille?

Polish apostilleis a stamp, the form, content and purpose of which are determined by the Apostille Convention of 1961. The Polish apostille contains information in both English and in the official Polish language.

Poland has joined the Hague Apostille Convention  November 19, 2004. Apostillebecame effective from August 26, 2005

The Convention, by decision of the Polish authorities does not apply to documents issued by Russian authorities in Crimea and Sevastopol, as well as documents issued by the authorities of the Donetsk and Lugansk self-proclaimed republics. /p>

Apostille in Poland is affixed in two languages: Polish and English, regardless of whether the document is translated into English, another language, or not.

What does a Polish Apostille look like?

Photo of Polish apostille:

Apostille Poland

Text of the Polish apostille

Georgian
Translation into Russian
Georgian

(Convention de La Haye du 5 October 1961) 

1. Państwo / Country: Rzeczpospolita Polska

 Niniejszy dokument urzędowy / This public document 

2. Podpisany został przez /has been signed by: ___________________________

 3. Działającego w charakterze / acting in the capacity of: ________________

4. Zaopatrzony jest w pieczęć / bears the seal/stamp of ________________

Sąd Okręgowy w Warszawie Poświadczony / Certified

5. w/at: __________________

6. dnia / the __________________

7. przez / by: Ministerstwo Spraw Zagranicznych

8. No. ____________________ 

9. Piekzęć / Stempel /Seal/stamp 

10. Podpis / signature  

Translation into Russian

(Hague Convention of October 5, 1961)

1. Country: Poland

This official document

2. Signed: __________________ (by whom, last name, first name) 

3. Acting as: _________________ (position)

4. Print:

Certified by seal

5. Place: _______________ (city)

6. Date: __________________

7. Organization: ______________________________

(approx. BUSINESS LAWYERS SRL: Ministry of Foreign Affairs Poland)

8. No. ____________________ 

9. Seal / stamp

(note BUSINESS LAWYERS SRL: Seal of the authority authorized to certify apostilles)

Why do you need an apostille if documents from Poland have the seal and signature of an official?

Regulation (EU) 2016/1191 of the European Parliament states that an apostille from Poland is not needed for EU countries. However, for other pages For those who are not members of the EU, but are included in the Hague Convention, an apostille is required.

Many officials work in ministries and departments, government bodies, archives and registry offices of Poland. 

There are many signatures and they also change. To ensure the originality and truthfulness of the document, and to avoid forgeries, you need to check whether the official’s signature matches the samples of his signature. And did he sign this document? 

With so many documents and so many officials, it is very difficult to do this. This is especially difficult for those officials who accept your documents abroad. 

That is why a system of confirming all signatures and seals by several persons arose – to facilitate the work of foreign officials. This also reduces processing times abroad as well as waiting times for applicants. In such a system, it is easier for local officials responsible for Apostille to check signatures, seals, and the documents themselves (their forms and contents). 

Employees who have access to the internal database of signatures, seals and sample documents also end up in a special register with their signatures. But this register is limited to a dozen signatures, samples of which are transferred to other partner countries or are easily verified by them in other ways.

There are two proceduresfor such confirmation. The first procedure – the most reliable – is legalization of documents. When the documents are signed by the issuing official, then the document is certified by an employee of the ministry (usually the Ministry of Foreign Affairs), then the last signature is checked and certified by the consulate of the country where the documents need to be submitted. Verification is carried out on the basis of the current database (list) of signatures – along a chain of three departments (institutions, government bodies). 

Second procedure  is based on greater trust and bypasses one department, usually the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. In this case we are talking about an apostille. Apostille is a special stamp of a standard form that greatly simplifies the procedure for recognizing documents from one state on the territory of another.

Can I get an apostille at the Polish consulate?

According to the Hague Apostille Convention, the Apostille stamp for Polish documents cannot be obtained at the Georgian Consulate. And this does not depend on the country where the consulate is located, be it Moldova, Germany, Greece, Georgia, and so on.

Where can I place (receive) an Apostille in Poland?

1. Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Ministerstwo Spraw Zagranicznych)

Documents that can be apostilled:
Certificates and certificates, including documents on civil status: birth certificate, marriage certificate, divorce certificate, death certificate, certificate of change of surname, certificate of no criminal record, certificate of civil status (about that the person is not married), as well as translations of documents certified by a notary and translator.

2. National Agency for Academic Exchanges (Narodowa Agencja Wymiany Akademickiej; NAWA)

Documents that can be apostilled:
educational diplomas with attachments, copies of diplomas, certificates of diplomas and certificates, duplicates of diplomas and certificates of education, certificates of education, doctoral and postdoctoral diplomas, as well as their duplicates and copies.< /p>

3. Ministry of Culture, National Heritage and Sports (Ministerstwo Kultury, Dziedzictwa Narodowego i Sportu)

Documents that can be apostilled:
certificates, diplomas, certificates of art schools, documents issued by schools, except those mentioned above.

4. Ministry of Education and Science (Ministerstwo Edukacji i Nauki) 

Documents that can be apostilled:
certificates of schools and vocational schools, as well as schools, vocational schools and school counseling centers at diplomatic missions, consular offices and military missions of the Republic of Poland.

5. Heads of schools (kurator oświaty)

Documents that can be apostilled:
certificates of promotion and school completion certificates,
other documents issued by schools, institutions of further education and institutions of practical education, in addition to those mentioned above, intended for legal transactions with foreign states.

6. Directors of regional examination commissions (Okręgowa Komisja Egzaminacyjna)

Documents that can be apostilled:
certificates of primary and secondary education at the level of external examinations, certificates of secondary education, supplements to certificates of secondary education, certificates confirming professional qualifications, diplomas and certificates issued by regional examination commissions.< /p>

Is there an electronic apostille in Poland – E-apostille?

Electronic Apostille allows you to certify birth and marriage certificates, medical documents, court orders and other documents for use abroad. 

Using the electronic apostille register, any interested person can check the apostille of a document visually and the scanned document.

However, in Poland there is no online apostille verification system yet.