Through what is known as The Hague Apostille, any country that is party to the 12th Hague Convention Abolishing the Requirement for Legalisation for Foreign Public Documents of 5 October 1961 (the Apostille Convention) recognises the legal status of a public document issued by another signatory country.
The single legalisation procedure - known as an apostille - consists in placing on the public document itself or on an extension to said document an apostille or note that certifies the authenticity of the signature of public documents issued by a state which is party to the convention and gives them equal legal status in other signatory countries. Countries that are signatories to the Apostille Convention therefore recognise the authenticity of documents that have been issued in other countries and carry an apostille stamp.
The Hague Apostille abolishes the requirement for diplomatic and consular legalisation of public documents issued in a signatory state of the convention and which are required to be considered valid in another signatory state. The documents issued in one Convention country that have been certified by an apostille must be recognised in any other Convention country without requiring any other type of authentication.
2. DOCUMENTS TO WHICH IT APPLIES: PUBLIC DOCUMENTS
The apostille may be affixed to:
- Documents issued by an authority or public servant linked to any jurisdiction of the State, including the Public Ministry or a secretary, official or judicial agent.
- Administrative documents.
- Official certifications that have been affixed to private documents, such as the registration certification for a document, the certification of the certainty of a date and official and notarised authentication of signatures on private documents.
However, it is not affixed to:
- Documents issued by diplomatic or consular officials.
- Documents directly related to a business or customs transaction.
3. WHO CAN REQUEST OR SUBMIT IT?
a) THE HAGUE APOSTILLE APPLICATION
The Hague Apostille may be applied for by any person with a public document whose authenticity requires certification.
In the case of apostilles in electronic format, after the individual has made the application to the relevant Competent Authority, he or she may download the apostille through the Ministry of Justice's electronic office.
b) COMPETENT AUTHORITIES
"The technical framework is currently being put in place; this will enable apostilles to be issued as provided for in Royal Decree 1471/2011, of 24 October, establishing which civil servants and competent authorities have the power to carry out the single legalisation procedure, or issue the apostille, as set out in the 12th Hague Convention Abolishing the Requirement for Legalisation for Foreign Public Documents of 5 October 1961. Until said measures are fully implemented, and depending on the nature of the public document in question, in Spain you can go to the "apostille-issuing authorities", as provided for in the following regulations:
Depending on the nature of the public document, there are three "Apostille Authorities" in Spain, whose responsibility for each particular case is established in accordance with the following rules:
1. To apostille documents issued by judicial authorities: the competent apostille authority is the Secretary of the Supreme Court of Justice of the relevant Autonomous Region.
Thus, the Secretary of the Supreme Court of Justice may affix the apostille to documents such as judicial decrees, judgements and other rulings from any judicial authority, at any level (Courts, Provincial Courts, High Courts of Justice) and all branches of jurisdiction (civil, penal, social, contentious-administrative, etc.).
In addition, the Secretaries of the Supreme Courts of Justice are also the competent authority for affixing the apostille to administrative documents issued by the bodies within its own Autonomous Region, with the exception of official academic documents and those issued by the Local Bodies of the Autonomous Region.
Secretaries of the Supreme Courts of Justice:
- Andalusia: Pza. Nueva. 18071. Granada. Tel. 958 00 26 12.-958 00 27 34.
- Ceuta: Edif. Ceuta-Center. C/ Padilla S/N. 2ª Plta. 51071 Ceuta. Tel. 856 20 07 48.
- Melilla: Edif. V Centenario. Torre Norte 13ª Plta. 52001 Melilla. 952 69 89 64
- Aragon: C/ Coso, 1. 50071. Zaragoza. Tel. 976 20 83 92.
- Asturias: Plaza Porlier, 3. 33071. Oviedo. Tel. 985 98 84 06.
- Balearic Islands: Plaça des Mercat, 12. 07071. Palma de Mallorca. Tel. 971 72 33 69.
- Canary Islands: Pza. San Agustín, 6 Vegueta. 35071. Las Palmas de Gran Canaria. Tel. 928 32 50 00.
- Cantabria: Avda. Pedro San Martín, s/n. 39071. Santander. Tel. 942 35 71 18.
- Castile-La Mancha: C/ San Agustín, 1. 02071. Albacete. Tel. 967 59 65 09.
- Castile - León: C/ San Juan, 2. 09071. Burgos. 947 25 96 62/63.
- Catalonia: Pº. Lluís Companys, 14-16. 08071. Barcelona. Tel. 900 90 12 34.
- Valencia: C/ Palacio de Justicia, s/n. 46071. Valencia. Tel. 963 87 69 22.
- Extremadura: C/ Peña s/n. 10071. Cáceres. Tel. 927 62 02 05.
- Galicia: Pza. Galicia, s/n. 15071. La Coruña. Tel. 981 18 22 98.
- La Rioja: C/ Víctor Pradera, 2. 26001. Logroño. Tel. 941 29 64 00/01.
- Madrid: General Castaños, 1. 28071. Madrid. Tel. 91 493 49 34.
- Murcia: Pº Ronda de Garay, 5. 30003. Murcia. Tel. 968 22 91 02/30.
- Navarre: C/ San Roque, 4. 31071. Pamplona. Tel. 848 42 40 58/60.
- Basque Country: C/ Barroeta Aldamar, 10. 48001. Bilbao. Tel. 944 01 66 53.
2. Notarised documents and private documents whose signatures have been authenticated by a Notary:
The apostille authority shall be the Dean of the respective Notary Association or a member of the Board of Directors.
3. In order to apostille documents from the central bodies of the Central State Administration: The competent apostille authority is the Head of the Legalisations Section of the Office of the Undersecretary of the Ministry of Justice.
The application may be submitted in person or by post, in the latter case to the following address: Sección de Legalizaciones del Ministerio de Justicia (Oficina Central de Atención al Ciudadano- Plaza de Jacinto Benavente nº 3. 28071. Madrid)
The Central State Administration is formed by the bodies that have competence across the entire Spanish state. This includes the Ministries of ministerial departments and the Public Organisations and Bodies attached to same, and only those documents issued by these bodies should be apostilled by the Ministry of Justice in Madrid.
4. In order to apostille the public documents from peripheral bodies of the Central State Administration (Government Delegations and Subdelegations in the Autonomous Regions and Provinces and the Regional and Provincial Offices of the Ministries and Organisations), as well as the public documents from all other Public Authorities (Autonomous Regions and Local Bodies):
Citizens may choose to contact any of the Competent Authorities mentioned in sections 1 and 2, namely: either the Secretary of the Supreme Court of Justice or the Dean of the relevant College of Notaries.
(SOURCE: Spanish Ministry of Justice Website. Full text)
