Authentication of Documents in Ireland - Nathan Trust

Find out the list of documents that would typically be authenticated by Apostille for use overseas

Where one or more document pertaining to an Irish company is required for use overseas, commonly it is necessary for the company to provide evidence that such documents are authentic and valid.  

Examples of when apostilled documents might be required include:

• Entering into contracts overseas

• Registering a business establishment or branch of the Irish company overseas

• Opening a bank account overseas

• Due diligence requirements

Apostille

An Apostille is a certificate applied to a document in Ireland by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, validating the document for international use. 

Before affixing the Apostille, the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade will need to be satisfied that the signatory of the document is identified and that the capacity of the signatory to the document is appropriate.  Accordingly, corporate documents presented for Apostille are ordinary documents that are true copies of the original signed by or before an Irish practicing solicitor or Notary Public, authorised officer of the Revenue Commissioners, or documents certified by the Registrar of Companies. The Apostille certificate confirms the authenticity of such signatory thereby making the document acceptable and suitable for international use.

The Apostille enables the presenter to bypass further certification and immediately send or take the documents to the country of intended use. The 1961 Hague Convention abolished the requirement for documents to be further legalised (see below) for countries that are parties to the Convention. Countries that are parties to the Convention may request the bearer of a document issued by a public authority to obtain an apostille from the authorities of the country that issued the document.

The following is a list of documents that would typically be authenticated by apostille for use overseas:

• Certificate of Incorporation

• Company Constitution

• Letter of Status

• Certificate of Incumbency

• Power of Attorney

• Meeting minutes/board resolutions

Legalisation

Countries that have not signed the Hague Convention have differing requirements as to how foreign documents may be certified for use.  Generally in such cases, the documents instead need to be approved by a chain of signature authentications and ultimately legalised by the relevant Embassy of the country for the document is intended to be used (for example Canada, China, Saudi Arabia, etc.). While the legalisation process and timeline will differ from embassy to embassy, the process comprises a sequence of signature authentications where each step validates the signature in the prior step.

Certification by Notary

A notarised document is a document that has been certified by a notary public.  The notary public is an official, usually a solicitor, who verifies the identities of the signatory of the document, witnesses the signature, and marks the document with a stamp or seal. The notary will ensure that the signatory has appeared before him/her and has produced proper identification.  

Nathan Trust will be very pleased to arrange the authentication and validation of documentation as required. For any questions or further information please contact any member of our company secretarial team at cosec@nathantrust.com