How Do You Get a Death Certificate Apostilled or Legalised for Use Abroad?

Detailed Explanation

A death certificate is valid in the country that issued it, but a court, bank, land registry or pension office in another country has no easy way to check that it's genuine. An apostille or legalisation adds that official confirmation. It's commonly needed when the person who died owned property or had bank accounts abroad, received a foreign pension, or when a surviving spouse needs to prove the death to remarry or update records in another country.

What an apostille is

The 1961 Hague Apostille Convention replaced chains of embassy stamps with a single certificate, the apostille, issued by a competent authority in the country where the document came from. The Hague Conference on Private International Law (HCCH) lists well over 100 contracting parties, and each one designates its own authority. The apostille confirms the signature, seal and capacity of the official who signed the document. It doesn't vouch for the content.

Who issues it: the country the certificate came from

This is the point that causes the most confusion. The apostille comes from the same country as the death certificate:

• United Kingdom: the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office's Legalisation Office checks the signature or seal against its records and attaches an apostille. It accepts original or certified copies of death certificates from the General Register Office or a register office. As of 2026, the standard paper service costs £45 per document plus postage and usually takes up to 25 working days; an e-apostille costs £35 and takes up to 2 working days.
• United States: death certificates are state records, so the apostille usually comes from the Secretary of State (or equivalent office) of the state that issued the certificate, not from the federal government. New York's Department of State, for example, apostilles New York-issued public documents such as death certificates, or issues a certificate of authentication for countries outside the Convention. Each state sets its own fees and requirements, and some want a county-issued copy certified at county level first.
• Australia: the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) issues apostilles and authentications for Australian public documents, including death certificates from the state and territory registries.

If the destination country isn't a member

For countries outside the Convention, the old two-step process still applies. The certificate is authenticated by the issuing country's authority, then legalised by the destination country's embassy or consulate. This takes longer and usually costs more, so check the destination country's current membership before applying. Membership changes over time.

A practical order of steps

1. Ask the receiving institution what it needs. Apostille or legalisation, translation or not, and whether it needs to keep the original.
2. Order a fresh certified copy of the death certificate from the issuing registry. Photocopies and uncertified copies aren't accepted.
3. Apply to the right authority in the issuing country (or state) and allow for processing and postage.
4. Arrange any translation in the order the receiving institution asked for.

How it works where you are

• In Australia: How do you get an Australian death certificate apostilled for use overseas?
• For the reverse situation, a foreign certificate for an Australian death abroad being used in Australia: How do you get a death certificate when someone dies overseas?

Things to Consider

• Order extra certified copies. The receiving institution may keep the apostilled copy, and you may need others at home.
• A foreign estate may need its own legal process. The apostille only makes the certificate usable. Property or accounts abroad may still need probate or an equivalent in that country, and advice from a lawyer there is often worth getting when assets are significant.
• Allow time. Ordering the certificate, the apostille, any translation and international post can easily add several weeks.
• Check fees on the day. Apostille fees and turnaround times change, and some states and countries offer faster paid services.

Common Mistakes

• Applying in the wrong country. A foreign certificate can't be apostilled by your own government. It has to go back to the issuing country.
• Using the wrong process. Getting an apostille for a country that isn't in the Convention, or embassy legalisation for one that is, wastes time and money.
• Sending a photocopy. Authorities need a certified copy from the registry, and some need it recently issued.
• Using unofficial "apostille agents" without checking. Some are legitimate couriers, but they charge on top of the official fee. Going direct to the government authority is usually cheapest.
• Apostilling a certificate with an error. An apostille won't fix a mistake. Correct the register first.