Having Luxembourg documents legally certified for use abroad
Last update
The application for the submission of documents to be legalised can be made by companies exclusively via the online procedure accessible under 'Online Services and forms' below.
The physical deposit of the documents can be done either by a courier service or directly in the drop box provided for this purpose in the waiting room of the BPVL.
The physical collection of documents can only be done:
- for courier services: exclusively by using the collection lockers provided at the BPVL;
- for private individuals: by appointment, which can be requested using the link sent by email with the confirmation of the procedure.
The legalisation service of the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs, Defence, Development Cooperation and Foreign Trade (MAEE) issues legalisations and apostilles of signatures from Luxembourg public authorities on documents intended for public authorities of a foreign country.
Who is concerned?
Any person who needs to have a document issued in Luxembourg legally certified for submission to a foreign authority can use this procedure.
Documents concerned
For documents issued in Luxembourg and which are intended to be used with public authorities of a foreign country that is a Member State of the European Union, the Regulation (EU) 2016/1191 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 6 July 2016 on promoting the free movement of citizens by simplifying the requirements for presenting certain public documents in the European Union applies.
Regulation (EU) 2016/1191 provides for an exemption from legalisation and apostille formalities for certain acts and documents.
As an indication, for Luxembourg, this concerns in particular the following public documents:
- birth certificates;
- certificates of recognition establishing filiation;
- marriage certificates;
- certificates of legal capacity to marry;
- death certificates;
- stillborn child certificates;
- grand ducal decree of change of name;
- grand ducal decree of change of first name(s);
- certificates of declaration of partnership;
- certificates of denunciation of the partnership;
- property settlement agreements fixing the patrimonial effects of the partnership;
- life certificates;
- certificates of residence;
- extended certificates of residence;
- certificates of registration at a reference address;
- ministerial decrees modifying the mention of gender and first name(s);
- judicial decisions on gender reassignment;
- ministerial decrees of nationality;
- certificates of nationality;
- deeds of recognition before a notary;
- extracts from the criminal record, records no. 3, no. 4 and no. 5;
- certificate of registration on the electoral roll;
- multilingual extracts from civil status records under ICCS Convention No. 16;
- judicial decisions declaring births;
- judicial decisions on simple adoption;
- judicial decisions on full adoption;
- judicial decisions establishing parentage (determination of maternity, determination of paternity);
- judicial decisions contesting parentage (contesting maternal or paternal relationship);
- judicial decisions of divorce;
- judicial decisions to annul a marriage;
- judicial decisions of legal separation;
- judicial decisions declaring absence;
- judicial decisions revoking adoption.
Prerequisites
The following documents can be legally certified:
- documents emanating from an authority or a public official under a government jurisdiction, including those emanating from the Public Prosecutor's Office, a registrar or a bailiff;
- administrative documents (birth certificates, diplomas, etc.);
- notarised deeds;
- official statements such as registration entries, confirmations that a document existed on a certain date, and authentications of signatures on private documents.
In order to be legalised, these documents must be signed (not initialled) by:
- a Luxembourg civil servant; or
- a Luxembourg notary; or
- a sworn translator established and working in Luxembourg.
Costs
The legalisation of a document costs EUR 20.
The payment can be made:
- online at the time of application via MyGuichet.lu;
- directly at the reception desk of the Passport, Visa and Legalisation Office;
- by bank transfer.
If the payment is made directly at the reception desk of the Passport Office, a credit card must be used.
If the applicant opts to pay by bank transfer, the money is to be transferred into the following account: IBAN LU62 1111 3104 0606 0000 – BIC code CCPLLULL.
The number of legalisations and the date of dispatch must be specified in the communication.
How to proceed
Submitting the application for legal certification
The application for legal certification of Luxembourgish documents must be submitted to the Passport, Visa and Legalisation Office.
The application can be submitted online directly on MyGuichet.lu (see 'Online services and forms' below).
Online applications can be submitted with or without authentication using a LuxTrust product or an electronic identity card (eID).
With authentication
The procedure with authentication using a LuxTrust product or eID presents many advantages that are not available for the procedure without authentication.
Applicants can save the form as a draft, pause the application process and resume it later.
In addition, applicants who have a private or business eSpace on MyGuichet.lu can:
- fill in their form automatically with data from their private/business eSpace;
- track their application online and view electronic messages from the administration in their personal dashboard;
- view the history of all their previous applications.
How do I get a LuxTrust product? (French, Pdf, 370 Kb)
Once the application has been sent, applicants will receive an email notification and a message in the 'My messages' section of their MyGuichet.lu private or business eSpace.
Without authentication
Without authentication, applicants will receive an email notification:
- after they submit their application;
- whenever there is a change in the application's status.
If they do not receive an email after submitting their application, applicants should check their email spam folder (junk email).
The application can also be submitted via the MyGuichet.lu mobile app. In order to do so, applicants must:
Legal certification procedure
Two legalisation procedures can be distinguished depending on whether the State for which the legalised document is intended has signed the Hague Convention or not. In both cases, the legalisation takes the form of an official stamp or printed form affixed to the original document. This can be either:
- a legal certification stamp; or
- an apostille.
The Hague Convention, to which Luxembourg is a signatory, provides that each of the contracting states to the Convention exempts from legalisation the documents which must be produced on its territory.
Consult the list of states that have signed the Hague Convention.
If the other state is a signatory to the Hague Convention
In such cases, the legalisation is not necessary. The documents only need to be affixed with an apostille.
The apostille attests to:
- the validity of the signature;
- the capacity in which the person signing the document acted;
- the identity of the seal or stamp affixed to the document.
Two signatory states may also agree by bilateral agreement that the apostille procedure is not necessary between them.
The apostille is drafted in French only.
If the other state is not a signatory to the Hague Convention
In this case, the legal certification of the document will be carried out according to the normal procedure.
The legalisation of signatures is in French only.
Supporting documents to be provided for the application
Documents to be legally certified must be:
- submitted at the reception desk of the Passport, Visa and Legalisation Office; or
- sent by post.
If sent by post, the applicant must also provide a self-addressed stamped envelope (with Luxembourg stamps).
The country for which the documents are intended must be specified when completing the application at the reception desk, or specified in the posted document.
If the payment was made by wire transfer, a copy of the transfer statement should be included with the application.
Duration for the legal certification of a document
Legal certification takes 2-3 business days, regardless of the means of payment.
It should be noted that procedures submitted online will be given priority.
Documents with an electronic signature
Documents which have been signed electronically (i.e. extracts from the company register) have to be submitted electronically with the online procedure made available on MyGuichet.lu.
The Passport, Visa and Legalisation Office will print the documents submitted electronically and attach a legal certification stamp or an apostille to them.
As of 16 August 2019, electronically signed documents are no longer accepted in paper format.
Online services and forms
Who to contact
Passport, Visa and Legalisation Office (BPVL-MAEE)
-
Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs, Defence, Development Cooperation and Foreign Trade Passport, Visa and Legalisation Office (BPVL-MAEE)
- Address:
- 6, rue de l'Ancien Athénée L-1144 Luxembourg Luxembourg
- Phone:
- (+352) 247 - 88300
Open Closes at 16.00
- Friday:
- 8.30 to 16.00
- Saturday:
- Closed
- Sunday:
- Closed
- Monday:
- 8.30 to 16.00
- Tuesday:
- 8.30 to 16.00
- Wednesday:
- 8.30 to 16.00
- Thursday:
- 8.30 to 16.00
Telephone reception open from Monday to Friday from 8.30 to 11.30 and from 13.00 to 16.00
Related procedures and links
Procedures
Links
Further information
on the website of the Hague Conference on Private International Law (HCCH)
Legal references
- Convention de La Haye (5 octobre 1961)
-
Règlement (UE) 2016/1191 du Parlement européen et du Conseil du 6 juillet 2016
visant à favoriser la libre circulation des citoyens en simplifiant les conditions de présentation de certains documents publics dans l'Union européenne
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