There are often questions about how to legalise documents issued in other countries in Brazil so that they are valid in Brazilian territory. To begin this process, it is necessary to check whether the country issuing the document is a signatory to the Hague Convention, like Brazil. If it is, the holder of the document must have it apostilled in the country of origin.

Apostille consists of obtaining a certificate of authenticity for a public document, issued by countries that have signed the Hague Convention. This certificate attests to the origin of the document. It is important to note that only public or private documents previously recognised by a notary or competent public authority – which have public faith – can be apostilled.

According to Article 1 of the Hague Convention, public documents are:

1. Documents of public authorities or agents linked to any jurisdiction of the State, including documents of the Public Prosecutor’s Office, of a judicial registrar or of a bailiff;
2. Administrative documents;
3. Notarial acts;
4. Official statements in documents of a private nature, such as registration certificates or acknowledgement of signatures.

In Brazil, foreign documents, even if apostilled, need to be translated by a sworn translator in order to have legal effect. This translation can only be carried out in Brazil, in accordance with articles 192 of the Code of Civil Procedure, 236 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, Decree 13.609/1943 and article 216-C of the Internal Regulations of the Superior Court of Justice.

In order to check the validity of the apostille made abroad, it is necessary to access the ‘Implementation Framework’ provided by the Hague Convention. This document lists the competent authorities of the countries that have implemented the validation components of the apostille, as required by the Hague Convention.

If the document was issued by a country that is not a signatory to the Hague Convention, it must be legalised by the Brazilian Consular Offices abroad in order to be valid in Brazil. Consular legalisation is done at Brazilian Embassies or Consulates, for a fee. Information on Brazil’s consular offices abroad can be found here.

This process involves having the document notarised or authenticated by an official from the foreign public office. After consular legalisation, the document must be translated into Portuguese using a sworn translation, as required by articles 192 of the Code of Civil Procedure, 236 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, Decree 13.609/1943 and article 216-C of the Internal Regulations of the Superior Court of Justice.