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Getting an Apostille or Consular Legalisation in Portugal

Researched and written with AI tools from official sources. How we make our guides

How to get an apostille on a Portuguese document for €10.20, where to go, when you need consular legalisation instead, and when EU rules mean you need neither.

The Portugal Brief 9 min read

Getting an Apostille or Consular Legalisation in Portugal

Last verified: October 2026.

Who this is for

  • You need a Portuguese document, such as a birth certificate or diploma, accepted in another country.
  • A Portuguese office has asked for an apostille on a document from your home country.
  • You are an EU or non-EU citizen, living in Portugal or abroad.

Not for you if: you only need a document translated. Read Getting a Certified Translation in Portugal instead.

An apostille is a certificate that confirms the signature and seal on a public document. It lets the document be used in any of the 130 countries in the Hague Apostille Convention. In Portugal, the Ministério Público (the public prosecution service) issues apostilles on Portuguese documents. Each one costs €10.20. You can apply in person or by post, and at the Lisbon office in person only by appointment. For a country outside the Convention, you need consular legalisation instead. Between EU countries, many civil status documents need neither.

Apostille or legalisation: which you need

The answer depends on two things: where the document comes from, and where you will use it.

Your situationWhat you need
Portuguese document for use in a Convention countryAn apostille from the Ministério Público in Portugal
Portuguese document for use in a country outside the ConventionLegalisation; ask that country's embassy in Portugal
Foreign document from a Convention country, for use in PortugalAn apostille from the issuing country
Foreign document from a country outside the Convention, for use in PortugalLegalisation by the Portuguese embassy or consulate in that country
Civil status document moving between EU countriesUsually neither (see below)

Which countries are in the Convention. The Hague Conference keeps the official list. In October 2026 it showed 130 contracting parties. Some changes worth knowing:

  • China joined from 7 November 2023, and Canada from 11 January 2024.
  • Viet Nam joined from 11 September 2026. Thailand will join from 28 February 2027.
  • Brazil, Cabo Verde, São Tomé and Príncipe, the United Kingdom, and the United States are members.
  • Angola, Mozambique, and Guinea-Bissau were not on the list. Documents from or for these countries still need legalisation.

Check the list for your country before you pay for anything. A few members object to some newer members, and then the apostille does not work between those two countries.

Within the EU: often no apostille at all

If your document was issued in one EU country and you use it in another, EU rules can remove the apostille. The receiving authority must accept the document as authentic without one. The rule covers public documents on:

  • birth, death, name, and the fact that someone is alive;
  • marriage, divorce, registered partnership, and their dissolution;
  • parenthood and adoption;
  • residence and nationality;
  • absence of a criminal record, and voting rights in local and European elections.

This covers the document's authenticity only. It does not oblige the other country to recognise its legal effects. You can also ask the issuing authority for a multilingual standard form, which replaces a translation.

Diplomas, contracts, and court judgments fall outside this rule.

Foreign documents for use in Portugal

The general rule. Portuguese registry offices and notaries can accept a foreign document without legalisation. They can ask for it if they have well-founded doubts about the document's authenticity.

In practice, many offices ask anyway. AIMA, the immigration agency, asks for an apostille or legalisation on every foreign document for family reunification. Consulates ask for criminal record certificates with an apostille or legalisation for visas. The nationality registry asks for the same on a foreign birth certificate. Always follow the checklist of the office you are dealing with. See Visas and Residency in Portugal and Getting Portuguese Citizenship by Naturalisation.

Where to get it. You get the apostille in the country that issued the document, from that country's competent authority. Portugal cannot apostille a foreign document. In the United Kingdom, for example, the FCDO's legalisation office issues apostilles.

Countries outside the Convention. Ask the Portuguese embassy or consulate in the issuing country to legalise the document. Each embassy sets its own procedure. The embassy in Riyadh, for example, legalises only Yemeni documents, after the Yemeni foreign ministry has legalised them, for €30 each.

International model certificates. Some consulates accept birth, marriage, and death certificates in the international multilingual model without any legalisation, if the issuing country signed the 1976 Vienna Convention on these extracts. Ask the office that will receive the document.

Then translate. If the document is not in Portuguese, get the apostille first, then the translation. The translation should cover the apostille too.

Portuguese documents: what can get an apostille

The Ministério Público puts apostilles on Portuguese public documents. These include documents from:

  • ministries and courts;
  • registry offices (conservatórias) and notaries;
  • câmaras municipais and juntas de freguesia;
  • public schools and universities.

Some documents need a step first.

  • Private schools. A document from a private basic or secondary school must first be authenticated by the Direção-Geral dos Estabelecimentos Escolares. A document from a private university must first be authenticated by the Direção-Geral do Ensino Superior.
  • Private documents, such as contracts or translations. These can get an apostille once a lawyer, solicitador, notary, parish council, chamber of commerce, or CTT post office has recognised, certified, or authenticated them. For a lawyer or solicitador, bring a plain copy of their professional card. See Using a Notary and Certifying Documents in Portugal.

What cannot get an apostille. Documents made by diplomats or consuls, and administrative documents directly linked to a commercial or customs operation. These need legalisation.

Electronic documents. If the public document is electronic, for example digitally signed or carrying an access code, the apostille is also electronic. You request it online through the Ministério Público's e-APP platform.

Where to go

The Lisbon office takes documents from any public body in Portugal. The other offices mainly take documents from bodies in their own judicial district. They can accept others if they have what they need to check the signature.

OfficeAddressHours
LisbonCampus de Justiça, Av. D. João II, 1.08.01, Edifício E, 1990-097 Lisboa09:30 to 12:30 and 13:30 to 16:00, by appointment only
PortoPalácio da Justiça, Campo Mártires da Pátria, 4049-099 Porto09:30 to 12:30 and 13:30 to 16:00
Guimarães (Braga district)Tribunal da Relação de Guimarães, Largo João Franco 248, 4800-413 Guimarães09:30 to 12:30 and 13:30 to 16:00
CoimbraPalácio da Justiça, Rua da Sofia, 3004-501 CoimbraTuesday to Friday, 09:00 to 12:30 and 13:30 to 16:00
ÉvoraPalácio Barahona, Rua da República 141/143, 7004-501 Évora09:30 to 12:30 and 13:30 to 16:00
FunchalPalácio da Justiça, R. Marquês do Funchal, 9004-548 Funchal09:30 to 12:30 and 13:30 to 16:00
Ponta DelgadaPalácio da Justiça, Rua Conselheiro Luís Bettencourt, 9500-058 Ponta Delgada09:00 to 12:30 and 13:30 to 16:00

Porto and Guimarães also take appointments. Contact details for each office are on the Ministério Público's apostille page.

How to apply, step by step

  1. Get the document from the issuing office first. The apostille confirms the signature on it, so the document must be final.
  2. Add any step needed first, such as a lawyer's certification of a translation or a private school's authentication.
  3. Check the destination country is in the Convention.
  4. Book, if needed. For Lisbon, book an appointment on the e-APP platform. In a proven emergency, email [email protected] to ask for an urgent slot.
  5. Fill in the request form. You, or anyone holding the document, can apply. You can apply at the counter or send the request by post.
  6. Pay €10.20 per apostille. You get a receipt. Show it when you collect the document.
  7. Check the apostille. It should name the person who signed the document and their role.

What it costs and how to pay

Each apostille costs €10.20, one tenth of the court fee unit. Checking an apostille already issued costs the same.

It is free if you prove economic insufficiency. Proof can include your latest IRS tax return and assessment, recent VAT returns and receipts if you are self-employed, proof of benefits paid from abroad, or a job centre registration if you are unemployed.

Payment methods differ by office:

  • Porto and Guimarães: cash, cheque to IGCP, or bank transfer.
  • Coimbra: cheque, bank transfer, cash, or Multibanco card.
  • Funchal: cash, postal order, or cheque.
  • Évora and Ponta Delgada: bank transfer only.

The bank details for transfers are on the Ministério Público's apostille page.

Legalisation for countries outside the Convention

A Portuguese document going abroad. Contact the embassy or consulate in Portugal of the country where you will use it. It will tell you which Portuguese recognitions it needs before it legalises the document, and its fee.

A foreign document coming to Portugal. Ask the Portuguese embassy or consulate in the issuing country. Most first require the issuing country's foreign ministry to legalise it. Fees are set in the consular fee table and vary by post.

Legalisation usually takes longer than an apostille. Allow several weeks; no official processing time is published.

Common problems

The document is from a private school. It needs the education authority's authentication before the apostille.

You translated before the apostille. The translation will not cover the apostille. Translate after, or add a translation of the apostille page.

The destination country objects to Portugal's apostilles, or the reverse. This is rare, but it happens between some newer members. Check the Hague Conference's list.

You have more documents than expected. One apostille covers one document. Count your documents and budget €10.20 for each.

This guide is general information, not legal advice. Rules and fees change; check the official source before you act.

Sources

This guide is written from official sources and, where relevant, organisations' own websites.

Last verified October 2026. Rules and fees change; check the official source before acting.

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