(1)  The honorary consulate is authorized to certify that a copy is a true copy of the original document or of a previously certified copy.

(2)  When certifying a copy, the honorary consul must carefully compare the copy with the original. The copy to be certified as a true copy of the original must correspond exactly to the original document in wording, spelling, punctuation, abbreviations, word order, sentence structure, etc. However, its external form does not have to match exactly the form of the original, e.g. a portrait-oriented original can have a landscape-oriented true copy.

(3)  When certifying a hand-written copy, the honorary consul must cross out the blank lines of the copy.

(4) A copy of a document can be certified only if it is undamaged and complete, and if it fully corresponds to the original in its structure and content. However, copies can be made in a scale smaller or larger than the original.

(5)  If the copy to be certified is a copy of a document containing a registered trademark in the form of a graphic symbol (logo), the honorary consul can only certify a copy that has not been enlarged or reduced in scale in relation to the original. Please note that in such case, only a photocopy and not a hand-written copy can be certified.

(6)  If the copy to be certified contains all pages of the original (or of the previously certified copy), the certified copy is then considered a full copy of the original. 

(7) If the copy to be certified contains only some pages of the original (or of the previously certified copy), the certified copy is considered a partial copy of the original. This fact has to be stated in the honorary consul’s certificate, together with the number of pages of the original and the numbers of pages included in the copy. 

(8)   The honorary consul must not certify a copy:

a)  of an identity card, military identity card, passport and other proof of identity, savings book, cheque, lottery ticket, betting slip, plot plan and technical drawing;

b)  if the copy does not correspond to the original (or to the previously certified copy);

(9)   To certify that the copy is a true copy of the original, the honorary consul affixes a certificate stating:

a)  whether the presented document is the original (top copy) or a previously certified copy and how many pages it has;

b)  whether the copy is a full or a partial copy of the original;

c)  whether the original contains any defects, changes, additions, insertions or deletions which could affect its authenticity;

d)  whether any corrections were made to the presented copy in order to correspond to the original;

e)  that the copy is a true copy of the original.