How to legalise a foreign document in NL

Dutch authorities will not accept most foreign certificates as they are. Legalisation is the process that makes them usable here. Netherlands Worldwide states that it confirms three things: that the document was issued by an official authority, that the signature, seal or stamp on it is genuine, and that its format is correct. It does not confirm that the content of the document is correct. That distinction matters, because legalisation is about authenticity, not about whether a Dutch body will accept what the document says. Deciding whether a foreign qualification counts here is a separate process with its own guide.

Find out exactly which document the Dutch authority wants, in what form, and whether it will accept a copy or needs the original. Ask whether it must have been issued recently, because some authorities refuse a birth certificate issued years ago. Then note the country that issued it, because that single fact decides the whole route. Nothing below is a universal procedure: Netherlands Worldwide publishes instructions per country and they genuinely differ, including whether a translation is needed and who is allowed to make it.

Work through these in order. The first one that fits is your route, and the wrong assumption here costs both money and weeks.

• A public document from another EU country, within the scope of the EU regulation

  Regulation (EU) 2016/1191 has applied since 16 February 2019. Article 4 exempts the public documents it covers, and their certified copies, from all forms of legalisation and similar formality. The scope in Article 2 is a closed list of facts the document must primarily establish: birth, a person being alive, death, name, marriage including capacity to marry and marital status, divorce, registered partnership and its dissolution, parenthood, adoption, domicile or residence, nationality, and absence of a criminal record. Read that list literally. A diploma or a professional certificate is not on it, so an EU diploma is not automatically exempt.

• A document from Aruba, Curacao, St Maarten, Bonaire, Saba or St Eustatius

  Netherlands Worldwide states that a document from any of these can be used on all of those islands and in the Netherlands without being legalised. There is no apostille step and no legalisation chain.

• A document from a country in the Apostille Convention

  One step in the country of issue. Netherlands Worldwide describes the apostille as a simplified form of legalisation: an authority in the issuing country attaches a stamp or sticker, and the document is then valid in every country party to the Convention. Which authority issues it differs by country, and sometimes by document: for a United States Certificate of Naturalization, for example, Netherlands Worldwide directs you to the State Department in Washington DC rather than to a state authority.

• A document from a country outside the Apostille Convention

  Two or more steps. Netherlands Worldwide describes the pattern as country A first confirming the document's authenticity with a stamp, then country B verifying and legalising it. In practice that usually means a ministry in the issuing country followed by the Dutch embassy or consulate there. Do not guess the sequence: open the page for your own country, because the chain, the order and the offices involved are country-specific.

1. 1

   Ask the Dutch authority exactly what it needs

   Legalisation is not a single standard, it is whatever makes your document acceptable to the body that asked for it. A municipality registering a marriage, the IND assessing a family application and a court all set their own expectations about the original, the age of the certificate and the translation. Getting this in writing at the start is what stops you paying twice.

   Do this: Ask the authority, in writing, which document it needs, whether it wants the original, how recent it must be, and whether it will accept a translation made abroad.

   Documents needed

   • The request or letter you received
   • A note of the reference number of your case

   Processing time

   15 minutes, plus however long the authority takes to answer

   Common mistake: People start at the foreign ministry and work backwards. Start with the Dutch authority, because it is the one that decides whether what you produce is enough.

   Official source

   Netherlands Worldwide · Legalisation of documents, overview
2. 2

   Check whether the EU regulation already exempts it

   Regulation (EU) 2016/1191 has applied since 16 February 2019. Article 4 exempts the public documents it covers, and their certified copies, from all forms of legalisation and similar formality. Article 2 sets the scope by the fact the document primarily establishes: birth, a person being alive, death, name, marriage including capacity to marry and marital status, divorce, registered partnership and its dissolution, parenthood, adoption, domicile or residence, nationality, and absence of a criminal record. The regulation does not apply to documents issued by authorities of a third country, and Article 2(4) says it does not deal with the recognition of legal effects relating to the content.

   Do this: Match your document against the Article 2 list. If it is on the list and was issued by an EU member state authority, no apostille or legalisation is needed.

   Documents needed

   • The document itself, so you can see what fact it establishes

   Processing time

   10 minutes

   Common mistake: A diploma or professional certificate is not on the Article 2 list, so it is not covered by this exemption even when it comes from an EU country.

   Official source

   EUR-Lex · Regulation (EU) 2016/1191, Articles 2 and 4
3. 3

   Look up the route for the country that issued it

   Netherlands Worldwide publishes instructions per country and they genuinely differ, so this is the step that decides everything that follows. Select the country or region where the document was issued and read that page rather than a general description of legalisation. For a document from Aruba, Curacao, St Maarten, Bonaire, Saba or St Eustatius, Netherlands Worldwide states that it can be used in the Netherlands without being legalised at all.

   Do this: Open the Netherlands Worldwide country list, select the country that issued the document, and write down the exact sequence of offices it names.

   Documents needed

   • The country and, where relevant, the state or region of issue

   Processing time

   20 minutes

   Common mistake: Do not copy a procedure from a page about a different country. The chain, the order and the offices involved are country-specific, and so is the translation rule.

   Official source

   Netherlands Worldwide · Legalisation of foreign documents for use in the Netherlands, by country
4. 4

   Get the apostille, or work through the legalisation chain

   In a country party to the Apostille Convention, an authority there attaches an apostille and the document is then valid in every country party to the Convention. Where no apostille route applies, Netherlands Worldwide describes the pattern as country A confirming the document's authenticity with a stamp, then country B verifying and legalising it, which in practice usually means a ministry in the issuing country followed by the Dutch embassy or consulate. Which authority issues an apostille varies: for a United States Certificate of Naturalization the request goes to the State Department in Washington DC rather than to a state authority.

   Do this: Follow the sequence your country page sets out, keeping every stamp and receipt, and do not skip an office because another country does not use it.

   Documents needed

   • The original document
   • Payment for each office in the chain
   • Any power of attorney, if someone acts for you

   Cost

   Fees are set by the country of issue and vary by country and document

   Processing time

   Days for an apostille; weeks for a full chain, plus appointment waiting times

   Common mistake: Some countries require the translation to travel through the chain with the original. Check the order before you pay a translator.

   Official source

   Netherlands Worldwide · What legalisation is, and how an apostille differs from a full chain
5. 5

   Arrange a sworn translation if the language requires one

   Where a translation is needed, Netherlands Worldwide's country pages require it to be into Dutch, English, French or German and to be made by a sworn translator. A document already in English does not have to be translated. Where the translation is made in the Netherlands it does not itself have to be legalised; where it is made abroad it usually travels through the chain with the original. Some countries name who may translate: for a document from China, Netherlands Worldwide states the translation into English must be made by a notary there and legalised together with the original.

   Do this: Check your country page for the translation rule, then commission a sworn translator, asking for a written quote before you commit.

   Documents needed

   • The legalised original, or the original if the translation goes first
   • The translator's confirmation that they are sworn

   Cost

   Sworn translation rates vary by language, length and turnaround

   Processing time

   Usually a few working days, longer for rarer languages

   Common mistake: A translation by a bilingual friend, or a machine translation, will be refused. The requirement is a sworn translator.

   Official source

   Netherlands Worldwide · An example country page, showing the sworn translation and language rule
6. 6

   Hand it in, and have the municipality record it

   Once the document is legalised and translated it goes to the authority that asked for it. Where it records something about you personally, such as a birth or a marriage abroad, the municipality where you are registered is what enters it in the Personal Records Database. Netherlands Worldwide notes that after a foreign document has been registered with your municipality you can ask the municipality of The Hague to convert it into a Dutch document, and that conversion is a separate thing from being registered in the database.

   Do this: Give the legalised document to the authority that requested it, and take it to your municipality if it records a personal event that should appear in your record.

   Documents needed

   • The legalised original
   • The sworn translation
   • Your ID

   Cost

   Municipalities set their own charges for certified copies

   Processing time

   Same day at the counter in most municipalities

   Common mistake: Hand over copies and keep the legalised original. Replacing it means going back to the country of issue and starting the chain again.

   Official source

   Netherlands Worldwide · Converting a foreign official document into a Dutch one

• The original document, issued by the authority that holds the record
• The name of the country and, where it matters, the region or state that issued it
• A note of which Dutch authority is asking for it and what they said they need
• Your passport or residence document, for identification when you hand it in
• A sworn translation, if the document is not in Dutch, English, French or German

• An apostille or legalisation is paid for in the country that issues it, and the amounts are set there, so they vary widely by country and by document.
• Legalisation by the Consular Service Centre (CDC) of a document issued by a foreign embassy or consulate in the Netherlands costs €10 per document (2026).
• A sworn translation is charged by the translator. Rates vary by language pair, length and turnaround, so ask for a written quote before you commit.
• Courier and postage costs, and any agency you use to walk the document through a foreign ministry, are separate again.

The Dutch side is usually quick and the foreign side usually is not. Netherlands Worldwide states that where the CDC legalises a document sent by post, it sends the legalised document within 21 days of receiving payment, and that at the counter the average waiting time is about an hour, with documents handed in before 11:30 collectable the same day. An apostille abroad is often days. A full chain through a foreign ministry and a Dutch embassy is realistically weeks, and some countries add an appointment queue on top.

Requirements depend on your situation. Check the latest requirements with the relevant authority.

• Assuming that a document from an EU country never needs an apostille. Regulation (EU) 2016/1191 covers a closed list of facts, and a diploma or professional certificate is not on it.
• Assuming the opposite, and paying for an apostille on a document the regulation already exempts. Article 4 exempts covered documents and their certified copies from all forms of legalisation and similar formality.
• Treating legalisation as recognition. It confirms the issuing authority, the signature, seal or stamp and the format. Netherlands Worldwide is explicit that it does not confirm that the content of the document is correct, and Article 2(4) of the regulation says it does not deal with the legal effects of that content either.
• Reading one country's procedure and applying it to another. For a document from India, Netherlands Worldwide says a Hindi document must be translated into Dutch, English, French or German by a sworn translator; for a document from China it says the translation into English must be done by a notary in China and legalised together with the original.
• Having the document translated first and legalised afterwards, when the country requires the translation to travel with the original through the chain. Check the order on your own country's page before paying a translator.
• Getting the document legalised but not checking how recent it has to be. Some Dutch authorities set their own limit on the age of the certificate, and a correctly legalised document that is too old still gets refused.

• Take the legalised document to the municipality where you are registered if it records something about you personally, because the municipality is what enters a foreign document in the Personal Records Database (BRP).
• Keep the legalised original and give out copies. Replacing one means going back to the country of issue and starting again.
• If the document is a diploma or another qualification, the separate question is whether it is recognised here, which is a credential evaluation rather than a legalisation.
• Note in your own records which authority you gave it to and on what date, because a second Dutch body will often ask for the same document later.