Frequently Asked Questions about Icelandic Apostille services
General Questions
- Can Icelandic documents be legalized by Apostille?
- What types of documents can be legalized in Iceland for use abroad?
- How long does it take to obtain an apostille on a document in Iceland?
- Where can I see reviews of Isarey's Icelandic Attestation and Apostille Services?
- How can I legalize an Icelandic document for use in the United Arab Emirates?
- How can I legalize an Icelandic document for use in Vietnam?
- How can I legalize an Icelandic document for use in Qatar?
- How can I legalize an Icelandic document for use in Taiwan?
- What is an Icelandic Apostille Stamp and why would I need one?
- What is document legalization in Iceland?
Birth, death and marriage certificates
- How can I obtain a copy of an Icelandic birth, marriage or death certificate?
- How can I obtain an apostille for an Icelandic birth, death or marriage certificate?
- I need an apostille for my Icelandic birth, death or marriage certificate - do I need to provide an original certificate?
Criminal record certificates
- How can I obtain an Apostille on an Icelandic criminal record certificate?
- I need an apostille for my Icelandic criminal record certificate - do I need to provide an original certificate?
- How can I obtain my Icelandic Criminal Record Certificate to use abroad?
Academic documents
- How can I legalize an Icelandic degree certificate for submission to Qatar?
- How can I legalize an Icelandic degree certificate for submission to the United Arab Emirates?
- How can I legalize an Icelandic degree certificate for submission to Vietnam?
- How can I legalize an Icelandic degree certificate for submission to Taiwan?
- How can I legalize an Icelandic degree certificate for submission to Saudi Arabia?
- How can I obtain an apostille for my Icelandic University Degree and Transcripts?
Answers
Can Icelandic documents be legalized by Apostille?
Yes - Iceland is a member of the Apostille Convention.
Icelandic 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 Icelandic documents are required for non-apostille countries, such as United Arab Emirates -
Taiwan -
Malaysia -
Thailand -
Qatar they need additional authentication by the embassy of the destination country.
For further information see:
Iceland Apostille Services
What types of documents can be legalized in Iceland for use abroad?
Iceland Apostille Stamps from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs can be obtained for official documents including:
- Icelandic birth, death and marriage certificates (paper certificates only)
- Marital Status and History Certificates
- Criminal Record Certificates (paper certificates only)
- Documents issued by Iceland Revenue and Customs and the Icelandic Medicines Agency
- University diplomas and transcripts
- Other documents notarised by a District Commissioner (notarius publicus)
To confirm whether your document is eligible for apostille authentication in Iceland, please contact us and we’ll check your document free of charge. For further information about our Icelandic apostille services and for assistance obtaining official copies of Icelandic documents, see:
Iceland Apostille Services
How long does it take to obtain an apostille on a document in Iceland?
Iceland Apostilles are normally obtained from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 2-3 working days
Where can I see reviews of Isarey's Icelandic Attestation and Apostille Services?
You can see reviews from past clients who have used our attestation and apostille services:
How can I legalize an Icelandic document for use in the United Arab Emirates?
Icelandic documents required for submission to the authorities of the United Arab Emirates must be legalized in Iceland by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and then by the UAE embassy in London.
How can I legalize an Icelandic document for use in Vietnam?
Icelandic documents required for submission to the authorities of Vietnam must be legalized in Iceland by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and then by the Vietnamese embassy in Copenhagen.
How can I legalize an Icelandic document for use in Qatar?
Icelandic documents required for submission to the authorities of Qatar must be legalized in Iceland by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and then by the Qatari embassy in London.
How can I legalize an Icelandic document for use in Taiwan?
Icelandic documents required for submission to the authorities of Taiwan must be legalized in Iceland by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and then by the Taipei Representative Office in Denmark.
What is an Icelandic Apostille Stamp and why would I need one?
An Icelandic Apostille is a certificate that is affixed to a public document. It certifies the authenticity of the signature appearing on the document as that of an authorized public official in Iceland and confirms the capacity of that official.
Icelandic Apostille stamps are often required when submitting an Icelandic document, such as a birth certificate, to the authorities of a foreign country or to a foreign embassy in Iceland (for example, as part of a visa or citizenship application). Apostilles are recognised by the authorities and embassies of countries that are members of the Hague Apostille Convention
For more information on Apostilles, see:
The ABCs of Apostilles (PDF)
What is document legalization in Iceland?
Document legalization (or attestation) is a procedure which authenticates a public Icelandic document so that it can be submitted in another country for official or legal purposes - for example, if you need to submit an Icelandic birth certificate to the authority or embassy of another country, it will often need to be legalized.
Legalzing a document in Iceland certifies the authenticity of the signature appearing on the document as that of an authorized public official in Iceland and confirms the capacity of that official.
- Because Iceland is a member of the Apostille Convention, Icelandic documents can be legalized by means of an Apostille Stamp when being submitted to countries that are members of the
Hague Apostille Convention
See: What is an Icelandic Apostille Stamp? - If an Icelandic is required for a country that is not a member of the Apostille Convention, it will need to be legalized both by Icelandic authorities and by the embassy of the recipient country (embassy in Iceland or non-resident embassy accredited to Iceland).
See: Document legalization - Wikipedia
How can I obtain a copy of an Icelandic birth, marriage or death certificate?
Iceland birth, death and marriage certificates can be obtained from Registers Iceland
Certificates can be ordered online with an IceKey (Íslykill) or digital certificate. Paper certificates (required for an Apostille from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs) will be mailed to your legal registered address or made available for collection from the office of Registers Iceland in Reykjavík.
A marriage certificate is not issued when a marriage has been terminated due to e.g. divorce or death of a spouse. In such cases, a Certificate of Marital History has to be ordered.
How can I obtain an apostille for an Icelandic birth, death or marriage certificate?
Iceland birth, death and marriage certificates be can be authenticated with an Apostille Stamp from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. A paper certificate is required from Registers Iceland
I need an apostille for my Icelandic birth, death or marriage certificate - do I need to provide an original certificate?
Yes - an original paper certificate is required from Registers Iceland
How can I obtain an Apostille on an Icelandic criminal record certificate?
Apostilles can be obtained for Iceland Criminal Record Certificates from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. An original paper certificate is required, issued by an office of a District Commissioner
I need an apostille for my Icelandic criminal record certificate - do I need to provide an original certificate?
Yes - an original paper certificate is required from the District Commissioner
How can I obtain my Icelandic Criminal Record Certificate to use abroad?
Iceland Criminal Record Certificates can be obtained in person from any office of the District Commissioner
To obtain an Apostille Stamp, a paper certificate is required (printed digital certificates are not valid for legalization).
If you need assistance obtaining your criminal record certificate from Iceland, please contact us
How can I legalize an Icelandic degree certificate for submission to Qatar?
University degrees and transcripts required for submission to the authorities of Qatar must be notarised by a District Commissioner (notarius publicus), then legalized by the Icelandic Ministry of Foreign Affairs and finally attested by the Qatari embassy in London. The embassy will require transcripts and a cover letter from the university, which must be legalized separately.
How can I legalize an Icelandic degree certificate for submission to the United Arab Emirates?
University degrees and transcripts required for submission to the authorities of the United Arab Emirates must be notarised by a District Commissioner (notarius publicus), then legalized by the Icelandic Ministry of Foreign Affairs and finally attested by the UAE embassy in London.
How can I legalize an Icelandic degree certificate for submission to Vietnam?
University degrees and transcripts required for submission to the authorities of Vietnam must be notarised by a District Commissioner (notarius publicus), then legalized by the Icelandic Ministry of Foreign Affairs and finally attested by the Vietnamese embassy in Copenhagen (Denmark).
How can I legalize an Icelandic degree certificate for submission to Taiwan?
University degrees and transcripts required for submission to the authorities of Taiwan must be notarised by a District Commissioner (notarius publicus), then legalized by the Icelandic Ministry of Foreign Affairs and finally attested by the Taipei Representative Office in Denmark.
How can I legalize an Icelandic degree certificate for submission to Saudi Arabia?
University degrees and transcripts required for submission to the authorities of Saudi Arabia must be notarised by a District Commissioner (notarius publicus), then legalized with an Apostille Stamp from the Icelandic Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Since Saudi Arabia joined the Apostille Convention, attestation by the Saudi Embassy and Cultural Bureau is no longer required.
How can I obtain an apostille for my Icelandic University Degree and Transcripts?
Apostilles in Iceland can be obtained for Icelandic university diplomas, transcripts and supplements from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Diplomas and certificates must be previously notarised by a District Commissioner (notarius publicus).
To receive a quote, you can upload your documents using our online quotation form or send us your documents by email. After reviewing your documents and requirements, we will get back to you with a quotation:
If you don’t have the documents available, just describe the documents you need to certify, and we will get back to you with an estimation of cost and delivery times.
Using our quotation form, your documents will be uploaded over a secure connection and immediately encrypted on our server. For added protection, you can upload password-protected files (PDF, Office Documents,
RAR folders) and provide us with the passwords separately.
PERSONAL DATA: If your documents contain personal data belonging to people outside your household, please ensure that you are authorised to share this data before uploading your documents. If your documents contain sensitive personal data, such as biometric data, medical data or data on criminal convictions, please ensure that you indicate this when prompted, upon submitting your documents. For further information on our processing of personal data contained in uploaded documents, please see:
Privacy Policy (Customer Inquiries)
For further information on confidentiality in our handling of document content please see:
Confidentiality (Client Content)