Apostille (former legalisation)

Since 14/08/2016, it is no longer possible to get British documents legalised at the Consulate, as Brazil joined the “Hague Apostille Convention”.

British documents

According to the convention, documents issued by Member States must be legalised (get an apostille) by their respective competent authorities. In the United Kingdom, also party to the convention, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) is responsible for the affixation of the apostille (authentication certificate).

Once an apostille has been issued by the FCO, the document issued in British territory is valid in Brazil.

Please note!

• Documents containing apostilles from the FCO issued before 14/08/2016 shall also be valid in Brazil, as long as they are submitted after this date.

• British documents that have been previously legalised by the Consulate but do not contain an apostille shall be valid in Brazil only until 14/02/2017.

• Although it is possible to apostillise British civil registration certificates (birth, marriage, death) for posterior certified translation and transcription directly in Brazil, the consular registration is strongly recommended. The procedure is simple and can avoid future inconveniences. Please click here for further information about consular registration of British certificates. 

Brazilian documents

The apostille of Brazilian documents is done by notaries in Brazil. In some websites it is possible to do it online:

Information regarding the issuance of apostilles on Brazilian documents to be used abroad can be found on the website of the National Justice Council  (CNJ). 

Queries can be sent to the CNJ ombudsman.