Legalization of documents and Apostille certification

Service fee 

20 EUR per document

Purpose of legalization and Apostille

Legalization or Apostille certification is required to ensure that official documents issued in one country are valid and recognised in another. Legalization confirms the authenticity of the signature, the position of the signatory, and the seal on the document. It is performed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Lithuania and Lithuanian diplomatic missions or consular offices. Apostille Certification confirms the authenticity of the signature, the position of the signatory, and the seal on the document by means of an Apostille. Apostilles are issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Lithuania and Lithuanian notaries.

Individuals abroad may submit an application for Apostille certification of documents issued by Lithuanian institutions to the Embassy, which will forward the documents to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Lithuania.

Documents eligible for legalization or Apostille:

• documents issued by state or municipal institutions or officials
• documents issued by prosecutors, court officials, or persons enforcing court decisions
• administrative documents
• notarial acts
• official certifications of documents signed by private individuals
• notarised copies of official documents

Documents must be legible and properly prepared. If a document consists of multiple pages, they must be bound together. Each document is certified separately (e.g., a diploma and its supplement count as two documents).

Documents not eligible:

Documents issued before 11 March 1990 bearing LSSR (Lithuanian SSR) insignia cannot be legalized or Apostilled. They must be replaced with new documents.

Legalization of documents issued in Finland

Documents issued by Finnish authorities and submitted in Lithuania must be certified with an Apostille. Lithuania and Finland are parties to the 1961 Hague Convention, therefore documents issued in Finland and certified with an Apostille do not require additional legalisation. In Finland, Apostilles are issued by DVV notaries.

Legalization of documents issued in Lithuania

Documents issued in Lithuania must be certified with an Apostille before being submitted in Finland, unless the receiving institution specifies otherwise. Since 18 January 2016, Apostille certification in Lithuania is performed by notaries. The Consular Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs no longer accepts direct applications from citizens.

Documents may be submitted:

• directly to Lithuanian notaries
• through the Lithuanian Embassy in Helsinki to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Lithuania

Documents issued in the countries not party to the 1961 Hague Convention

Documents must undergo double legalization, namely,

firstly, legalization by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs or diplomatic mission of the issuing country

secondly, legalization by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Lithuania or a Lithuanian diplomatic mission

The list of Convention member states is available online.

Documents from countries not accredited to the Embassy of Lithuanian in Helsinki

The Embassy of Lithuania in Finland may accept documents issued by non‑accredited countries only if

• the foreign citizen legally resides in Finland
• the person submits documents belonging to themselves or their immediate family (spouse, parents, children, adopted children)
• the document in question has already been legalised by the issuing country’s diplomatic mission operating in Finland

Documents not accepted at the Embassy of Lithuania in Helsinki

Documents issued in countries with which Lithuania has no diplomatic relations: Bhutan, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Papua New Guinea, South Sudan, Equatorial Guinea. Such documents must be submitted directly to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Lithuania.

Appointment Registration

Individuals must register in advance for an appointment at the Embassy. When registering for “Legalization of a document issued in Lithuania” or “Document legalization service”, the applicant must upload a copy of the document to be legalized. Accepted formats: jpg, gif, heic, pdf

Translation of documents into Lithuanian / Finnish

Please note that all official documents issued by Lithuanian institutions must bear an Apostille in order to be valid in Finland. Apostilles on Lithuanian documents (birth certificates, marriage certificates, diplomas, certificates, etc.) are issued by Lithuanian notaries (or by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs when documents are submitted through a diplomatic mission).

Documents submitted to Finnish institutions must be translated into Finnish, Swedish, or English. In Finland, only translations performed by authorised translators are accepted.

When translating Lithuanian documents into Finnish in Lithuania, it is essential that the original document is certified with the Apostille before submitting it to a translation agency. The agency will prepare a notarised copy, translate it, attach the translation to the copy, and the notary will certify the translator’s signature. The same notary must certify both the copy and the translation.

Procedure for translating a document in Lithuania and submitting the translation for certification:

1. make certify the original document with the Apostille

2. submit the original document with the Apostille  to a translation agency, which will prepare a notarised copy

3. the document (copy) is translated and the translation is attached to the copy

4. the same notary certifies the authenticity of the translation (translator’s signature)