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IMPORTANT INFORMATION
The Convention, abolishing the requirement of consular legalization for foreign public documents came into force for Ukraine on December 22, 2003.
The present Convention shall apply to public documents which have been executed in the territory of one contracting State and which have to be produced in the territory of another contracting State. Special certification called “Apostille” (hereinafter - apostille) is affixed to these documents.
Documents completed with an apostille certification must be submitted directly to a member nation to the Convention (the list is enclosed) without any further action or certification (consular legalization).
This procedure applies to the relations between Ukraine and other member states to the Convention except Germany which raised an objection to Ukraine’s joining to the Convention in accordance to Article 12 of the Convention.
Consular legalization is still valid for Germany and other non-member to the Convention states.
The present Convention shall not apply:
a) to documents executed by diplomatic or consular agents;
b) to administrative documents dealing directly with commercial or customs operations.
According to the Instruction of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine of 18/01/2003 # 61 “On Authorization for Apostille certification for public documents” an apostille for the documents issued in Ukraine is placed by:
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the Ministry of Science and Education of Ukraine – for public documents issued by the educational institutions, state bodies, enterprises, offices and organizations in the field of education and science.
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the Ministry of Justice of Ukraine – for documents issued by the judicial bodies and courts and also for the documents issued by the public notaries in Ukraine.
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the Ministry of Foreign Affairs – for all other types of documents.
In accordance with Article 2 an apostille is placed to:
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documents issued by a state court of Ukraine;
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for the documents issued by the prosecutors’ offices, judicial bodies of Ukraine;
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administrative documents;
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for the documents on education and academic status;
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documents executed before a notary public;
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official certificates which are placed on documents signed by persons in their private capacity, such as official certificates recording the registration of a document or the fact that it was in existence on a certain date and official and notarial authentications of signatures.
Documents not mentioned by the present Convention should be legalized according to the procedures set by the legislation.
The updated information on the list of member-states to the Convention and US governmental bodies, which are empowered to put an apostille to the documents, issued on the territory of the USA, is placed at the web-site of the US Department of State http://www.state.gov/m/a/auth/ and at the official website of the Hague Conference on International Private Law http://www.hcch.net
Please apply for the information on apostille certification to:
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine:
Postal address: Velyka Zhitomirska st., 2, Kyiv, 01018
Phone: (+38-044) – 238-16-69
The Ministry of Justice of Ukraine:
Postal address: M.Kotsiubinsky st., 12 (“University” Metro Station) Kyiv, 01000
Phone: (+38-044) – 235-40-83
The Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine:
Postal address: Pobedy Av., 10, Kyiv, 01135
Phone: (+38-044) – 216-22-35
DOCUMENTS LEGALIZATION
Quite often, American citizens and business persons require that certain documents be "legalized" so that they can be accepted in Ukraine. The procedures to be followed depend on the nature of the documents and are similar to the requirements of all other governments throughout the world.
If the document is in the Ukrainian language and merely requires notarization, it may be signed by the signatory person before Ukrainian Consular Officer at the Consular Office who will thereafter notarize it. The fees for such notarization are $40 dollars per document. This procedure is known as the "notarization" process and is substantially similar to the procedures followed here in the United States.
Authentication by the US Department of State All other documents which are issued by the US authorities, or which are business documents or documents which have been previously notarized in accordance with the procedures of the various states must be "authenticated" in accordance with the Rules and Regulations for Authentication of Documents promulgated by the United States Department of State. These rules are set forth at the end of this document.
Authentication by the Ukrainian Consular Office
After a document has been authenticated by the US Department of State, it may then be submitted to the Ukrainian Consular Office for "authentication."
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The Consular Office legalizes only those documents, which are duly authenticated by the relevant US authorities as outlined above.
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Every document such as Power of Attorney submitted to the Consular Office for legalization must be accompanied by one clear photocopy of each page.
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The Consular Office accepts processing fees only in the form of money orders. Personal checks, cash and company checks are not accepted.
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The fees for legalization are:
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$30 for legalization of one document to be completed within nine business days not counting the business day of its receipt by the Consular Office.
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$200 if the document deals with ownership of apartments or other "realty" etc. or document that is necessary for the registration of the appointment of an agent for foreign juridical persons (legal entities) or a joint venture involving the participation of a foreign juridical person or any document that relates to any kind of business activity with Ukraine.
If applying by mail, a self-addressed, prepaid express envelope is required. For FedEx Account number is required. Credit Card number is not acceptable. When there is no enclosed prepaid, self-addressed return envelope or a courier service's air bill, the document can, upon its owner or other submitter notarized request, be kept at the Consular Office without charge for personal pick up.
For the expedited service (3 business day processing only) the consular fees are doubled.
Please, also be advised that documents received on Saturday, Sunday or official Ukrainian or American holidays are considered received on the next business day.
For Rules and Regulations for Authentication of Documents please visit the United States Department`s of State WEB-site:
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