Attesting South African Documents (FAQs)

Yes - South Africa is a member of the Apostille Convention.

South African documents can be legalized for use abroad with an Apostille Stamp when destined for other signatory countries without additional certification by the destination country.

When South African documents are required for non-apostille countries, such as United Arab Emirates - Taiwan - Malaysia - Thailand - Zambia - Qatar they need additional authentication by the embassy of the destination country.

For further information see:
South Africa Apostille Services

Official documents that can be legalized in South Africa with an Apostille stamp include birth, death, marriage certificates, divorce certificates, criminal record and police certificates, company registration and tax documents, court documents, university and academic diplomas, certificates signed by registered doctors etc., documents issued by government authorities. Other documents may require prior certification by a notary or other authority.

Documents required for submission to countries which have not acceded to the Apostille Convention will require additional attestation by the embassy of the recipient country.

To confirm whether your document is eligible for apostille authentication in South Africa, please contact us and we’ll check your document free of charge. For further information about our South African apostille services and for assistance obtaining official copies of South African documents, see:
South Africa Apostille Services

There are two options for obtaining Apostille Stamps on South African Birth, Death and Marriage Certificates.

1. A notarized copy can be made from a good quality scan. Then an Apostille can be applied to the notarized copy by the High Court. This procedure takes around 3 business days but will not be accepted by countries that require the apostille to be applied to the original certificate.
2. An Apostille can be applied to original unabridged certificates by submitting them to the Department of International Relations and Cooperation (DIRCO). Processing by DIRCO takes 3-4 weeks.
However, not all certificates will be authenticated by DIRCO. If your certificate is abridged or not issued by the Department of Home Affairs (DHA), it may not be accepted by DIRCO. Likewise, DIRCO may not be able to verify the signatures of the issuing official on older certificates. For advice, please contact us.

Isarey offers both options to apostille South African vital records.

We also obtain new and replacement certificates for clients based outside South Africa (Vault Copies and Unabridged Certificates issued by the DHA) for South African apostille authentication and attestation by foreign embassies including UAE, China and Qatar.

For further information about obtaining South African apostille stamps on Birth, Death and Marriage Certificates, see: South African vital records

South African Police Clearance Certificates are issued by the Criminal Record and Crime Scene Management in Pretoria. This service is available to people who require confirmation of their criminal status for emigration purposes or for travel or employment abroad.

Applicants living abroad may forward the application and required documents (including a full set of fingerprints) directly for processing, but will need to arrange a representative or courier to collect the certificate when ready. Be careful to check that your name and other details on the issued certificate are correctly written
See Applying for a Police Clearance Certificate (PCC)

Isarey can also obtain South African Police Clearance certiifcates on your behalf. We offer expedited applications and apostille authentication for use abroad.
SAPS Police Clearance Certificates

South African Apostilles on notarized true copies can be obtained from the High Court in 3 - 4 working days, Apostilles from the Department of International Relations and Cooperation (DIRCO) can take up to 8 weeks, but an expedited service (5 - 10 working days) is available. Degree certificates require addition verification by SAQA (allow an additional 2 - 4 weeks).

For further information about authenticating documents issued in South Africa, please see:
South Africa Apostille Services

There are two options for obtaining Apostille Stamps on Police Clearance Certificates issued by the South African Police Service.

1. A notarized copy can be made from a good quality scan. Then an Apostille can be applied to the notarized copy by the High Court. This procedure takes around 3 business days but will not be accepted by countries that require the apostille to be applied to the original PCC.
2. An Apostille can be applied to the original certificate by submitting it to the Department of International Relations and Cooperation (DIRCO). Processing by DIRCO takes 3-4 weeks.

Isarey offers both options to apostille South African criminal record checks.

South African Police Clearance Certificates can be obtained from SAPS and are available to South African nationals and foreign nationals:
Applying for a Police Clearance Certificate (PCC)

We also obtain PCC background checks for clients based outside South Africa direct from the Criminal Records Centre (CRC) in Pretoria (5 – 10 business days) for South African apostille authentication and attestation by foreign embassies including China, Qatar and UAE.

See: SAPS Police Clearance Certificates

There are two methods to apostille and authenticate South African University Degrees and Transcripts. The first is to certify a notarized true copy (3 - 4 working days), the second to certify the original certificate at DIRCO (8 - 12 weeks).

A true copy can be obtained from a good quality scan. We will also need a confirmation email from the issuing university.

If an apostille is required certifying the original issue, the first step is to obtain a verification letter: SAQA Verifications Service.

Once the verification letter is issued, we can collect it for you and then submit it with a scan of your document to DIRCO for an apostille.

Additional procedures and criteria apply when certifying South African higher education documents for presentation in United Arab Emirates and Qatar.

For assistance, see: Certify South Africa Documents

You can see reviews from past clients who have used our attestation and apostille services:

• ISAREY reviews on Trustpilot
• ISAREY reviews on Google

To have your fingerprints taken outside South Africa, contact the local police force. For more information on having your fingerprints taken in different countries, see:
Getting your fingerprints taken

There are 3 types of birth certificate issued in South Africa: Abridged Certificates, Unabridged Certificates and Vault Certificates.

• Abridged birth certificates contain limited information and are not generally valid for submission abroad.
• Unabridged birth certificates are the most commonly used certificate when submitting to authorities abroad in support of visa and residency applications and other procedures. Unabridged Birth Certificates are issued in South Africa by the Department of Home Affairs (DHA) and contain full information about the birth, including date and place of birth, full name of the child, as well as names and dates of birth of the parents.
• Vault Certificates (also provided by the South African Department of Home Affairs) contain the original registration made of the birth, filed as a paper copy in the vaults of the DHA. When a vault certificate is requested, the DHA will retrieve the original record from its vaults and make a certified copy. Vault copies are often required by Portugal and Italy when the certificate is being submitted as part of a citizenship application.

For further information, see:
South African vital records