Apostille

An apostille is a certificate issued by a competent authority of a state on public certificates confirming that the official certificate is original and issued by the competent authority.

Also: an apostille certificate is issued for the purpose of obtaining verification by the competent authority for notarized certificates and confirmation that the notary who signed the document is a notary licensed under the laws of the country that issued the apostille .

What are public documents ?

​These are documents issued by an authority from the state authorities, such as – documents from the Ministry of the Interior: birth certificate, registration summary, marriage certificates,
Certificates from the Ministry of Education: matriculation certificate, other study certificates

תעודות ממשרד החינוך : תעודת בגרות, תעודות לימודים אחרות .

The process of verifying public documents includes their notarization. 
The notarized certificate itself is also a public document that requires additional verification in order to obtain official status in a foreign country. 
International verification of this specific notarized certificate is within the jurisdiction of the Courts Secretariat.
Verification is done by the court secretariat by means of a certificate that conforms to the law agreed between Israel and the foreign destination country.

How are public documents verified ?

Israeli public documents are verified according to international conventions and agreements .(such as the Hague Convention)  .

The Verification Branch of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is responsible for verifying only Israeli public documents issued by government ministries and government authorities in the State of Israel.

Institutions or authorities in foreign countries usually require Israelis to refer Israelis to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for verification of Israeli public documents .

Common public documents required for foreign countries :

Certificates and study permits, work visas, income certificates, marital status, marriage or divorce certificates and more. 
Charges apply 

There are 2 categories :

1. Countries that maintain relations with Israel – documents of the Hague Convention – will be authenticated with an apostille 

Public documents of the State of Israel intended or required for countries that are signatories to the Hague Convention, and in fact those countries that maintain diplomatic relations with Israel, will be authenticated with an apostille stamp. 

Which are the signatories to the Hague Convention ?

Click here for a list of countries that are signatories to the Hague Convention. 

No additional verification by the consul of the representative office of the country to which the document is intended is required.
 A fee must be paid for each certificate

2. Countries that do not have relations with Israel / countries that are not signatories to the Hague Convention - documents will be authenticated with a stamp that is not an apostille. .
Public documents of the State of Israel intended or required
for countries that do not maintain diplomatic relations with Israel or that are not signatories to the Hague Convention must be verified with a stamp that is not an apostille stamp as follows: Public documents issued by government ministries will be verified by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs After verification by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, additional verification of the representative office of the country to which the document is intended will be required. No fee is required. Please note: Without the signature of the relevant representative of the country in Israel, the document will not be accepted by the authorities of that country. 
Notarized certificates will be verified by the court administration

What is an electronic notarized certificate and how is it verified in a digital apostyl ?

Over the past two years, theMinister of Justice has promoted innovation and technology in the field of notarized and apostille certificates, and today it is possible to obtain a digital apostille on some public certificates and notary certificates, provided that they were made from the outset in the form of electronic files only.

Digital service has not yet been provided to all public certificates, so some public certificates still have to receive a manual apostille on paper documents.

In any case, it is necessary to verify before purchasing the digital apostille service, i.e. as an electronically signed file only, whether the relevant authority in the destination country receives documents in electronic format.

What public certificates can be stamped with an electronic apostille ?

• • Inheritance or probate order
  • An inheritance order or probate order can be ordered in an apostille authenticated digital copy.
  • More information on the Registrar of Inheritance Affairs website.
    
    
• Company Incorporation Certificate and Company Name Change Certificate with Apostille
  • The service allows anyone to order a digital copy of certificates of incorporation and change of name certificates of companies registered in the Companies Register with an apostille stamp.
  • Charges apply
  • Go to order certificates
    
    
• • Electronically signed notarized certificates
  • This service is provided only to notaries.
  • The service allows notaries to authenticate electronically signed notarized certificates with an apostille.  
    
    
• • Certificates and certificates from the Trademark Department of the Patent Office are authenticated with an apostille stamp
  • An application may be submitted for issuance of the following certificates verified with an apostille stamp: certified certificate of registration, trademark draft, preferred document, certificate according to regulation 84 of the registered mark or certificate according to regulation 84 of the application.
  • Go to order certificates 
    
    
• • Production of a taboo statement signed with an apostille stamp from the land registers
  • o This service allows ordering a taboo draft signed with an apostille stamp from the land registers.
  • Go to Order Draft
    
    

The above list includes only public certificates on which an apostille can be obtained in electronic format. 
Of course, there are many other public documents that can receive an apostille stamp, but this is done manually, not electronically, at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.