Authentication of Czech documents to be used abroad
Similarly to foreign public documents intended for recognition in the Czech Republic, Czech public documents must also undergo higher authentication for their use abroad. If the document is to be recognized by a state that is a signatory to the Hague Apostille Convention, a simplified form of authentication—an apostille—is sufficient. In other cases, it is necessary to carry out the so‑called super-legalization of the Czech document.
The purpose of higher authentication is to confirm that a document was issued or certified by a specific judicial or administrative authority of the Czech Republic, or signed before such an authority. It therefore verifies the authenticity of the official stamp and signature on the document, not the content of the document itself.
The authorities authorized in the Czech Republic to issue an apostille or higher authentication (prior final super-legalization) are:
a) for documents issued or certified by courts, including documents drawn up or certified by notaries and judicial enforcement officers:
Ministry of Justice of the Czech Republic – International Civil Department;
b) for other documents issued or certified by public administration authorities or other bodies:
Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic – Consular Department, Legalization Unit (further information is available on the website of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic).
If a Czech document is to be used in a country that is not a signatory to the Apostille Convention (Convention Abolishing the Requirement of Legalisation for Foreign Public Documents, concluded in The Hague on 5 October 1961, published under No. 45/1999 Coll.), the document must, after higher authentication by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic, be super-legalized by the embassy of the relevant state.