Switzerland Apostille Service

Certify documents issued in Switzerland for official use in Europe and abroad.

Certify documents issued in Switzerland for international use
Apostille stamps in Switzerland can be obtained for federal and cantonal documents such as marriage, death and birth certificates, Criminal records extracts, degree certificates from Swiss universities and extracts from the commercial registry.

Swiss Apostilles are obtained from the Federal Chancellery in Berne or from Cantonal Authorities, depending on the document. Swiss documents for non-apostille countries are legalized by the Federal Chancellery and attested by the recipient embassy

  • We offer expedited apostille and legalization services in Switzerland. Apostilles in Switzerland are generally obtained in 2 - 7 business days
  • We assist in obtaining official copies of Swiss birth, death and marriage certificates and Commerical registry extracts.
  • We work with all major embassies in Bern to attest Swiss documents, including the embassies of the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Vietnam and the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office

Right arrowFAQs - Switzerland Apostille Services

Right arrowGet a Quotation to Apostille Swiss Documents

Right arrowCertify international documents for use in Switzerland

Swiss Documents that can be authenticated with Apostille Stamps

  • Apostille stamps and consular legalization of Swiss birth, death and marriage certificates

    Civil Status Certificates

    We obtain Apostilles for all Swiss birth, death and marriage certificates. Apostilles can be applied to original certificates issued by Swiss Cantons or to a notarized copy (which can often be made from a good-quality scan).
    If you need assistance obtaining original copies of Swiss birth, death and marriage certificates, please contact us
  • Apostille Swiss police certificates issued by the Federal Office of Justice

    Criminal Record Extracts

    Swiss police checks issued by the Federal Office of Justice (Register of Criminal Records) can be authenticated with an Apostille from the Federal Chancellery. A paper certificate is required if the Apostille or legalization is required on the original certificate. Otherwise, we can make a notarized copy of a digital certificate.
  • Authenticate and Apostille Swiss university degrees and diplomas

    Swiss University Diplomas

    Apostilles on Swiss university diplomas, transcripts and other academic certificates and qualifications can be obtained by making a notarized true copy. This can usually be done from a good quality scan. Apostilles can also be applied to original certificates if required by the recipient authority. Original academic documents must be certified by the competent education department in the Canton where the academic institution is based before receiving an Apostille from the Canton.

    Degrees required for the United Aran Emirates, Taiwan and other countries that do not accept Apostilles, require additional legalization by the Federal Chancellory and attestation by the embassy of the recipient country.
  • Apostille powers of attorney in Switzerland

    Notarized documents

    Private documents, such as powers of attorneys, contracts, affidavits and translations, can be certified with an Apostille in Switzerland following certification by a Swiss notary
  • Apostille Swiss commerical registry extracts.

    Corporate documents

    Apostilles can be obtained for certified extracts from Swiss commercial registers, including certified articles of association. We can obtain certified extracts from Cantonal commercial registries for apostille stamping and legalization.
  • Trade documents

    Apostille Swiss certificates of origin, certificates of free sale, commercial invoices, product health certificates, GMP certificates and other trade documents
  • Apostille certified copies of Swiss passports

    Swiss ID Documents

    Copies of Swiss passports and ID documents can be authenticated with Apostilles after certification by a Swiss notary.

Isarey provides document attestation services in Switzerland to private, corporate and institutional clients worldwide. To find out about certifying Swiss documents for use in Europe and abroad, use our online quotation form or email us a scan or description of the documents you need to certify. We will get back to you directly with a quotation and details of how to proceed:

6 steps to certify document issued in Switzerland

  1. Upload the documents you need attested or send them to us by email.
  2. Our experts will pre-check your documents to ensure that they are eligible for Apostille certification or consular legalization in the country where they are issued, and we’ll assist you locally in preparing them if required.
  3. We’ll send you a quotation with the total cost of the process (final price including all fees, certified translation when required and courier costs) and an estimation of how long the process will take to complete.
  4. We’ll arrange a secure courier to collect your original documents (where electronic versions are not sufficient).
  5. As soon as we receive your documents, we will confirm your order and proceed with the attestation process. Where appropriate, we will arrange certified copies for the attestation process so that we can return your originals directly.
  6. We return the attested documents to you by secure international courier.

Legalize Swiss Documents

Swiss documents can be legalized for cross-border use by means of Apostille Certification or Consular Legalization

Apostille Certification

An Apostille Stamp is a simplified procedure of international attestation. When affixed to documents, Apostilles are directly recognised by the authorities of over 120 countries (Signatories of the Hague Convention Abolishing the Requirement of Legalisation for Foreign Public Documents Hague Apostille ConventionExternal link (opens in new tab)) as certifying the document’s validity, without requiring additional certification.

Since Switzerland is a signatory to the convention, Isarey can assist by obtaining Apostille Certification for Swiss documents so that they are valid for official use in other signatory countries, including: NL NetherlandsNetherlands - ES SpainSpain - IT ItalyItaly - PT PortugalPortugal - GR GreeceGreece - CY CyprusCyprus - FR FranceFrance - GB United KingdomUnited Kingdom - SA Saudi ArabiaSaudi Arabia - US United StatesUnited States - DE GermanyGermany - CN ChinaChina

See additional notes below

Consular Legalization
Consular Legalization is required when a document from Switzerland is to be used in a non-signatory country. In this case, following authentication by authorities in Switzerland, the document must be certified a second time in Switzerland by the embassy representing the country where the document is to be used.

Countries which do not recognise Apostille certification and require consular legalization include: QA QatarQatar - KW KuwaitKuwait - AE United Arab EmiratesUnited Arab Emirates - TW TaiwanTaiwan - VN VietnamVietnam

Civil status certificates (multilingual extracts from the civil status registers)
Swiss birth, marriage and death certificates) issued in accordance with the conventions of the International Commission on Civil and Civil Status should not require Apostille Stamps when being submitted to one of the following countries:

Austria, Belgium, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cape Verde, Estonia, France, Germany, Italy, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Moldova, Montenegro, Netherlands, Poland, Romania, Serbia, Slovenia, Spain, Turkey.

Multilingual certificates of no impediment to marriage
Swiss certificates of no impediment to marriage are exempt from any formality for submission to the following countries (Munich CIEC Convention):
Germany, Greece, Italy, Luxembourg, Moldova, Netherlands, Austria, Portugal, Spain, Turkey

Certified Translation

Where Swiss documents are to be used abroad and where the receiving country has a different official language, certified translation may also be required. Isarey takes care of any certified translations required as part of the document attestation process, ensuring that translations are carried out and certified in accordance with local regulations.

Note that a certified translation on its own only provides assurance that the translation itself is accurate and true; it does not confirm the authenticity of the original document. The original document must be legalized for a certified translation to carry equivalent legal weight.

Switzerland Document Resources

External resources and news about Swiss documents, apostilles and certification procedures.

CH
Switzerland Document Resources
Birth, Death, Marriage Certificates
Civil registry office search (in French)
Civil registry office search (in French)
Right arrowwww.e-service.admin.ch

Find a Swiss civil registry office to apply for birth, death and marriage certificates

FAQs - Digitial civil status extracts (in French)
FAQs - Digitial civil status extracts (in French)
Right arrowwww.bj.admin.ch

Frequently asked questions about digital Swiss marriage, death and birth certificates

Geneva - order a birth, death or marriage certificate
Geneva - order a birth, death or marriage certificate
Right arrowwww.geneve.ch

Request a civil status certificate for births, deaths and marriages occurring in Geneva

Order a birth, death or marriage certificate - Zurich (in German)
Right arrowwww.stadt-zuerich.ch

Online service to order civil status certificates from Zurich

Order civil registry documents online - Bern
Order civil registry documents online - Bern
Right arrowwww.zivilstand.sid.be.ch

Order birth, death and marriage certificates online - Canton of Bern

Corporate documents
Index of Swiss Commercial Registers
Index of Swiss Commercial Registers
Right arrowregindex.ch

Registries of commerce of Switzerland - obtain an extract from the Commercial Register for Swiss companies

Criminal Record Certificates
Request for an extract from the debt enforcement register
Right arrowwww.easygov.swiss

Certificate to prove that you pay your bills and have no outstanding debts in Switzerland

Get your fingerprints taken in Switzerland
Right arrowch.usembassy.gov

Fingerprints may be taken at one of the offices listed

Swiss Criminal records extracts
Right arrowwww.e-service.admin.ch

An extract from the Swiss Register of Criminal Records can only be ordered on the website of the Federal Office of Justice. Any person may order their own extract (on submission of an identity document and signature). Swiss Criminal record certificates are available on paper or as digital certificates. Both paper and digital extracts can be authenticated with Apostille stamps (digital extracts as notarized copies).

Government Admin
Foreign Representations in Switzerland
Right arrowwww.eda.admin.ch

Visas and other consular services needed abroad are issued or provided by the representations in Switzerland of the destination country.

The above links are provided as a convenience and for informational purposes only; Isarey bears no responsibility for the accuracy, content or policies of external websites.

Get a Quotation for your Documents

We price each certification process individually, depending on the type and quantity of documents to be attested, the country of issue, the country of use and intended purpose, urgency, whether certified translations are required as part of the process and courier costs.

To receive a quote, you can upload your documents using our online quotation form or send us your documents by email. After reviewing your documents and requirements, we will get back to you with a quotation:

If you don’t have the documents available, just describe the documents you need to certify, and we will get back to you with an estimation of cost and delivery times.

Using our quotation form, your documents will be uploaded over a secure connection and immediately encrypted on our server. For added protection, you can upload password-protected files (PDFExternal link (opens in new tab), Microsoft Office 365: Save a password protected document to prevent unauthorized people from opening it. Office DocumentsExternal link (opens in new tab), WinRAR Encryption Frequently asked question (FAQ) RAR foldersExternal link (opens in new tab)) and provide us with the passwords separately.

PERSONAL DATA: If your documents contain personal data belonging to people outside your household, please ensure that you are authorised to share this data before uploading your documents. If your documents contain sensitive personal data, such as biometric data, medical data or data on criminal convictions, please ensure that you indicate this when prompted, upon submitting your documents. For further information on our processing of personal data contained in uploaded documents, please see:
Privacy Policy (Customer Inquiries)

For further information on confidentiality in our handling of document content please see:
Confidentiality (Client Content)

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