Certifications & Apostilles

The Cantonal Chancellery certifies original public documents of the Canton of Zurich, thus validating them for their use abroad. Please continue for more information about how to submit a certification request and what the prerequisites therefor are.

Submit certification request

Table of contents

Services

We affix supplementary certifications to public documents of the Canton of Zurich if documents are to be used abroad. This includes:

  • Civil status documents
  • Notarized certifications
  • Certifications by a «Stadtammannamt» or a «Gemeindeammannamt»
  • Confirmations of place of residence
  • Court decisions
  • Excerpts of Commercial Register, certified by the Commercial Registry Office of the Canton of Zurich
  • Diplomas and certificates, confirmed by the Department of Education of the Canton of Zurich
  • Vehicle registration certificates, stamped and signed by the Road Traffic Office of the Canton of Zurich
  • Decisions passed by the Children and Adult Protection Authority (CAPA)
  • Any other public document bearing the original signatures of cantonal, city or municipal authorities

What kind of documents do you need?

Please inquire with the respective authority or office abroad which asks you to submit documents. The requirements may vary depending on the legal transaction, country, region, and addressee.

Languages

Apostilles are available in German, English, French, Italian, Spanish, and Portuguese. Legalizations are available in German English, French, Spanish, and Portuguese.

Glossary

Certification

Certification is the umbrella term used to designate an official confirmation or authentication, e.g. of a specific issue, a registry excerpt, or the signature of a private individual.

Supplementary certification = our type of certification

Supplementary certification is the term used for the certification of the original signature of a public officer on a public document. A supplementary certification is often required if you wish to validate a document for its use abroad. Depending on the country of destination, we affix the respective supplementary certification in the form of an Apostille or a Legalization to an original public document of the Canton of Zurich.

Apostille

The Apostille is the type of supplementary certification used for the signatory states of the Hague Apostille Convention.

Legalization

The Legalization is the type of supplementary certification used for states that are not signatories of the Hague Apostille Convention. An additional seal or stamp is usually required from the respective consular representation in Switzerland.

Special cases

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A copy certified by a Public Notary, a City Clerk or a Municipal Clerk solely confirms that such copy corresponds to the document designated by the client as the original document. However, it does not confirm the authenticity of the original. The same applies if we affix a supplementary certification to a certified copy. We do not confirm the authenticity of the original document. This is why copies of such documents are not always accepted abroad even though they bear our supplementary certification.
The authenticity of a public document, or rather of the original public signature, can therefore only be certified on the original document.
Please ask the respective office or authority abroad to which you need to submit documents about the required certifications.

The signatures of the Zurich or Winterthur Chambers of Commerce are seen as public signatures on certificates of origin, Carnet ATA or on CITES documents only. 

All other documents with stamp and signature of the Chambers of Commerce can't be certified by us. 

The Chambers of Commerce are no public certification offices for private and company documents in the Canton of Zurich. Please see below for further information.

We only certify divorce judgements which have been declared final and legally binding by the court or which bear a seal/stamp proving validity. In case of any other court decision, we recommend that you contact the foreign authorities requiring the respective document. They will be able to tell you whether it is necessary to prove the legal validity of a document.
Our supplementary certification only confirms the authenticity of the court signature. However, it does not confirm the legal effect of the document.
Please note that we cannot always certify court decisions immediately. In some cases, further inquiries are necessary. Please plan well ahead.

Apprenticeship certificates as well as diplomas and school reports of the public schools or other recognized educational institutions of the Canton of Zurich cannot be directly certified by the Cantonal Chancellery. First, such documents must be reviewed and confirmed by the Cantonal Department of Education. Only then can we certify the respective documents.

The Swiss Federal Chancellery is in charge of documents issued by the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich (ETH Zürich).

Meetings only upon arrangement in advance:

Vocational qualifications, Federal Vocational Education and Training Diploma (VET)

In-company vocational training


+41 43 259 77 00

Universities

Office of Universities / Secretariat


+41 43 259 23 48

Intermediate and Vocational Training Schools

Office of Intermediate and Vocational Training Schools / Secretariat


+41 43 259 78 36

Elementary Education

Office of Elementary Education / Secretariat

info@vsa.zh.ch
+41 43 259 53 55

Each canton only certifies public documents of its own canton. The Swiss Federal Chancellery certifies documents of federal authorities.

Foreign public documents must be furnished with a supplementary certification affixed by the issuing country. On the website of the Hague Apostille Convention, you will find a list of the respective offices in each country.

We do not certify signatures provided by consulates or embassies in Switzerland. Depending on the situation, the Swiss Federal Chancellery may be able to affix a supplementary certification to such signatures.

We only certify the signatures of the Cantonal Medical Service or the Veterinary Office. If you need medical certificates or veterinary documents for a foreign country, the aforementioned offices will first review and confirm the original signature of the respective medical doctor (excluding psychotherapists) or veterinarian of the Canton of Zurich. Subsequently, we can affix a supplementary certification to your documents.

Department of Health

Cantonal Medical Service


+41 43 259 24 05

Department of Health

Veterinary Office


+41 43 259 41 41

Notary Offices as well as City or Municipal Clerk’s Offices issue various types of certifications for private individuals and companies, confirming different contents. Please ask the respective office or authority abroad which requires documents from you to tell you more about the necessary type of certification required for your specific legal transaction.
Subsequently, we will certify the signatures of the respective Public Notary or City/Municipal Clerk of the Canton of Zurich.

Translations do not represent official documents in the Canton of Zurich.

The requirements with regard to translations may vary from country to country; they may even vary from office to office within a country, depending on the legal transaction, local laws and practice. Please inquire with the respective office to which you must submit documents about the respective requirements. In particular, please ask the respective office

  • where/by whom you may have a document translated
  • whether and how such translation must be certified
  • and whether you are required to provide a supplementary certification to the original and the translation.

Please note that the contents of a translation will not be certified by the public certification offices of the Canton of Zurich (Notary Office, City/Municipal Clerk’s Office) nor by the Cantonal Chancellery.

In some cases, foreign offices or authorities may require the translator to vouch for the contents with his/her signature and to have his/her signature certified. If this is the case, the translator may have his/her signature certified at any of the public certification offices mentioned above.

Please note that other cantons or countries may have different rules and regulations.

Contact

Staatskanzlei - Beglaubigungen

Address

Neumühlequai 8 8090 Zürich
Route (Google)


Öffnungszeiten Schalter & Telefon Neumühlequai 8:


8.00 bis 12.00 Uhr und
13.15 bis 16.00 Uhr

Keine Terminvereinbarung nötig!

Phone

+41 43 259 21 19

Email

beglaubigungen@ds.zh.ch