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What are Apostille, Legalization, Authentication?

Application Procedure / Required Documents

You can see the perfect guide of Apostille and Legalization in Japanese page.

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What are Apostille and Legalization?

Both Apostille and Legalization are the processes where government authenticates that a public document was written by who put signature and stamp on it.

There are 2 ways to authenticate public document to be submitted to foreign institute, Apostille and Legalization. Submitter of public documents select Apostille or Legalization considering whether the country to receive the document is a member of Treaty of The Hague or not.

More specifically:
　when the country to receive the document is a member of Treaty of The Hague, submitter has to select Apostille; and
　when the country to receive the document is NOT a member of Treaty of The Hague, submitter has to select Legalization.

ハーグ条約の有無による認証分類(英)

In Japan, authentication is not frequently required because Japan has the system of registration of seal impression. This is that, in Japan, when a document has the seal of the issuer on it, it can be officially recognized that the document has been issued by the owner of the seal.

On the other hand, system of registration of seal impression is not so popular in many countries. Therefore, authentication of document is widely adopted in many countries to identify issuer of the document and the owner of the seal/signature put on the document.

Extra Info.

Treaty of The Hague is a name of cluster of plural treaties. Treaty of The Hague includes “Convention Abolishing the Requirement of Legalisation for Foreign Public Documents”, which allows the member countries of the treaty to authenticate public documents with an easy process called Apostille.
You can check the list of the member countries of Treaty of The Hague in the WEB site of Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan.

External Link: [Reference] Signatory countries (regions) of the Convention Abolishing the Requirement of Legalisation for Foreign Public Documents (Hague Convention)

Documents to be authenticated with Apostille / Legalization

Documents that have gone through the process of Apostille or Legalization are sometimes required on some procedures, such as marriage, visa extension/issue, and company foundation, by foreign public institutes. The examples of the documents that are required to be authenticated by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan are as follows.

Certificate of residence / Certificate of full registry records / Family register / Certificate of no impediment to marriage / Certificate of all present matters / Police certificate ・ Certificate of criminal record ・ Certificate of no criminal record / Graduation certificate and Transcript of university / Graduation certificate of vocational school / Driver’s license / Copy of passport / Certificate of acceptance of notification of marriage / Power of attorney / Abstract of family register / Certificate of partial historical matters / Certificate of partial present matters / Certificate of representative matters / Certificate of all removed matters / Certificate of partial removed matters / Certificate of acceptance of notification of birth / Certificate of acceptance of divorce report / Certificate of medical examination (health) / Annuity (pension) certificate / Article of incorporation / Certificate of non-taxation / Tax return / Certificate of seal impression / Copy of birth certificate / Copy of marriage certificate / Copy of divorce report / Copy of death report / Certificate of free sale issued by Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries / Certificate of free sale issued by Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare / Certificate of origin / Certificate of income and withholding tax / Single status certificate / Certificate of list of heir-at-law / Certificate of residence / Minutes of meeting of board of directors / Certified copy of register

Application procedure of Apostille / Documents to be submitted

Application procedure of Apostille differs according to the type of the document to be authenticated in the following way.

  • Official document:
    Apply for Apostille at Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan

  • Private document:
    Apply for authentication of private document at notary public’s office
    ➡ Apply for certificate of seal impression of notary at District Legal Affairs Bureau where the notary belongs to
    ➡ Apply for Apostille at Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan

After the application for Apostille is successfully accepted, the document is returned to the applicant with the tag stapled on it. Below image is the sample of the tag.

アポスティーユ付箋(英)

As a side note, the meaning of “authentication of private document” and “certificate of seal impression of notary” are as follows.

  • Authentication of private document:
    The system where a notary certifies that the signer and the writer of the document is same person.

  • Certificate of seal impression of notary:
    The system where District Legal Affairs Bureau certifies that the “authentication of private document” has been made by the incumbent notary with his/her authority, and that the seal impression is genuine one.

Considering that only private document must go through “authentication of private document” and “certificate of seal impression of notary”, we can say that the procedure of Apostille of private document is a little more complex than the official document.

Extra Info.

Those who live out of Japan cannot apply for Apostille to Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan.
In this case, representative (agent) in Japan must make an application on behalf of the applicant.

Required documents for Apostille

  • Document to be authenticated(original issued within the latest 3 months)
  • Application sheet(available at the application window in Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan)
  • Identification document(official ID document with photo such as driver’s license, My Number Card, passport, and residence card)
  • Power of attorney(in case the application by representative(agent))
  • Return envelope such as Letter Pack(return address shall be written on by the applicant)

In addition to the above listed documents, following ones must be also submitted in case:

  • document to be authenticated is private document; and additionally
  • applicant is NOT the person who has prepared the document.
  • Document proving the title of the preparer of the document(copy of company register or certificate of registered matters)
  • Certificate of seal impression of the representative of company
  • Certificate of qualification, prepared by representative of company, with his/her registered seal impression
  • Certificate of seal impression of signer
  • Identification document of applicant (representative/agent) (official ID document with photo such as driver’s license, My Number Card, passport, and residence card)
  • Power of attorney

As a side note, the above list includes some documents that dose not have to be submitted according to the character of the document to be authenticated. It is better to get advice from specialist in case you have question on the documents to be submitted.

Application procedure of Legalization / Documents to be submitted

Application procedure of Legalization differs according to the type of the document to be authenticated, just as in the case of Apostille, in the following way.

  • Official document:
    Apply for authentication at Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan
    ➡ Apply for Legalization at diplomatic establishment located in Japan (embassy / consulate)

  • Private document:
    Apply for authentication of private document at notary public’s office
    ➡ Apply for certificate of seal impression of notary at District Legal Affairs Bureau where the notary belongs to
    ➡ Apply for authentication at Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan
    ➡ Apply for Legalization at diplomatic establishment located in Japan (embassy / consulate)

Considering that only private document must go through “authentication of private document” and “certificate of seal impression of notary”, we can say that the procedure of Apostille of private document is a little more complex than the official document, just as in the case of Apostille.

Required documents for Legalization

List of documents to be submitted for Legalization differs according to the legalizing country.

Detailed manners of Legalization are shown in the WEB site of diplomatic establishment of each country. As an example, you can check the detailed information on Legalization of America from the below link.

External Link: U.S. EMBASSY & CONSULATES IN JAPAN / NOTARIALS

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