Since 1 January 2010, apostilles in Estonia are issued by notaries. Before that the task was split between several ministries and the office you needed depended on the type of document. That is no longer the case: any notary can apostille any Estonian public document.
An apostille confirms that the official who signed a document held the authority to do so. It says nothing about the content, and it does not replace a translation — in most cases the receiving country wants both.
An apostille is always issued in the country where the document was made. An Estonian birth certificate is apostilled in Estonia; a Ukrainian diploma is apostilled in Ukraine. This cannot be done the other way round, and it is the single most common misunderstanding we see.
The fee is set by law and is the same at every notary’s office in Estonia: 27.71 € including VAT per document. The notary issues the apostille within five working days of accepting the application. There is no paid express option — the deadline is statutory.
One restriction applies: a notary cannot apostille a document that the same notary has certified. In that case you go to a different notary, including one from the same office. The current list of notaries is published by the Chamber of Notaries at notar.ee.
Estonia has legal assistance treaties with Lithuania, Latvia, Ukraine and Poland, and documents from those countries are accepted without an apostille.
Under EU Regulation 2016/1191, documents proving birth, marriage, residence, citizenship and the absence of a criminal record do not need an apostille when submitted in another EU member state. Many of them can also be issued with a multilingual standard form, in which case a translation is not required either.
Before ordering anything, ask the institution that will receive the document whether an apostille is needed. It is a short question that regularly saves a fee and a week.
Apostille first, translation second. The apostille carries text of its own, and that text belongs in the translation. If the translation is made first, it has to be redone. The translation itself must be certified by a sworn translator — notaries have not certified translations in Estonia since 2020.
Can I apostille a foreign document in Estonia?
No. The apostille is issued by the country that produced the document.
Does the apostille go on the original or on a copy?
Usually on the original. For documents intended for one-time use, such as a criminal record extract, only the original is apostilled.
Is an apostille enough on its own?
Rarely. Most Estonian institutions also require a translation certified by a sworn translator.
What about countries outside the Hague Convention?
Consular legalisation applies instead, which is a longer procedure through the embassy of the destination country.
Need a document apostilled and translated? Send us the scan and tell us where you are filing it — we will say what is required.
Sworn translation in Estonia: what it is and when you need it
In Estonia only a sworn translator can certify a translation — notaries stopped in 2020. When you need one, how to check the register, and what it costs.
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