Certification of judgments, orders, certificates of inheritance, and settlements for use abroad (apostille/legalisation)

If you want to use a judgment, a ruling, a certificate of inheritance (Erbschein), or a court settlement (Vergleich) from a Berlin court abroad, you may need to have the authenticity of the judgment, the ruling, the certificate of inheritance, or the settlement confirmed. There are two forms of this confirmation: • Apostille The short form is called an "Apostille". You get the Apostille directly from the court that pronounced the judgment or issued the ruling or the certificate of inheritance. However, it is only possible for certain countries. You can find out which ones, for example, on the website of the Auswärtiges Amt (Federal Foreign Office), see the "Further information" section, or from the court. • Legalisation For all other countries you need what is called a "Legalisation". For this, the responsible court first issues you a preliminary certification (Vorbeglaubigung). With the preliminary certification, you then go to the foreign mission (Auslandsvertretung) of the country in which you want to use the judgment, the ruling, or the certificate of inheritance. The foreign mission issues you the Legalisation. • Some countries require a certification by the Bundesverwaltungsamt (Federal Office of Administration) before the Legalisation. You can find out more about this from the Bundesverwaltungsamt, see the "Further information" section.