What has to be done with your document so another country accepts it
A few fields and you have the chain of steps: which authority, which address, what fee, how long. No sign-up. Every figure with a link to its source.
Russia has three answers, and the third is the one people miss
English-language guides usually list two outcomes: apostille or legalisation. For Russian documents there is a third: countries with which a treaty on legal assistance is in force. There the document travels without any stamp, yet people still pay the fee and lose a fortnight.
Common routes
Each route has its own address: you can send it on, print it and take it to the authority.
Diploma for Germany
Issued in Moscow
Route No legalisationBirth certificate for Italy
Issued in Moscow
Route Consular legalisationCriminal record certificate for the UAE
Issued in Saint Petersburg
Route No legalisationMarriage certificate for Spain
Issued in Krasnodar Krai
Route No legalisationDiploma for Kazakhstan
Issued in Novosibirsk Region
Route ApostillePower of attorney for Türkiye
Issued in Moscow
RouteThe apostille is affixed by the authority that issued the document
There is no single ‘apostille office’ for the whole country, but four authorities with different addresses in every region. This is what the guide and the city pages are built on.
Civil registry authorities
Birth, marriage, divorce, death and change-of-name certificates. Only in the region that issued the document.
Addresses and hoursEducation authorities
Diplomas, school certificates and supplements. You may apply in any region.
Addresses and hoursMinistry of Internal Affairs
Certificates showing whether or not you have a criminal record. Any Information Centre.
Addresses and hoursMinistry of Justice
Notarised copies and translations, powers of attorney, corporate and court documents.
Addresses and hoursWhat an apostille is and when you need one
An apostille is a stamp by which a state confirms that a document is genuine: the signature belongs to the person named, the seal belongs to the authority, and the signatory was entitled to sign. It does not check what the document says and does not translate it. The rule comes from the Hague Convention of 1961: the member states agreed to accept each other's documents with a single stamp instead of a chain of approvals.
What your document needs depends on the destination country, not on the kind of document. Of the 196 countries and territories in our reference, 109 accept an apostille, 65 require consular legalisation, and with 22 Russia has a legal assistance treaty under which the document is accepted with no stamp at all. Every country page gives the date it joined the convention and a link to the source.
Apostille or consular legalisation: the difference
An apostille is affixed by a single authority in the country where the document was issued, and that is the end of it. Consular legalisation has three links: the Russian Ministry of Justice, then the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, then the destination country's consulate. Each link has its own fee and its own waiting time, and the consulate often asks for the translation in advance.
There is a third case: countries with which Russia has a legal assistance treaty — Kazakhstan, Belarus, Armenia and a few others. Formally the document must be accepted without a stamp. In practice offices often ask for an apostille, and an apostille is always accepted, so the route is built with it and the steps say plainly when the stamp can be skipped.
Where an apostille is affixed in Russia and what it costs
The authority depends on who issued the document. Certificates of birth, marriage, divorce and change of name are apostilled by the civil registry of the region that issued them — your place of residence will not do it. Educational documents go to the regional education authority, a police clearance certificate to the information centre of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, and notarial documents and notarised copies to the regional branch of the Ministry of Justice.
The state fee is RUB 2,500 per document (Article 333.33(1)(48) of the Tax Code), paid in advance, with the receipt attached to the application. The regulations give one to five working days, and longer if the authority has to query an archive. Addresses, opening hours and phone numbers of 166 authorities are collected in the «Where to apply» section, each with a link to its source and the date we checked it.
A document issued outside Russia
Russian authorities apostille Russian documents only: under Article 3 of the convention the stamp is affixed by the state in which the document was executed. A foreign document is apostilled where it was issued, and here it remains to be translated and the translation certified by a notary. A Soviet-era document is a separate case: it is obtained again where the record is kept, and the same state affixes the apostille.
You do not have the document, or it is not fit for use
The stamp goes only on an original of the established form and in good condition. Lamination, a Soviet-era form, corrections or a worn seal mean refusal at the counter. The document then has to be obtained afresh, and that changes not only the timescale but the region where it will be apostilled.
Duplicate civil status certificate
Issued by whichever office you name in the request, not the one where the event was registered. Issued the same day if you apply in person. The apostille is then affixed by the region that issued the duplicate, so the journey across the country falls away.
How it works from RUB 11,000Duplicate diploma or school certificate
A laminated diploma will not be accepted for an apostille. The duplicate is issued by the institution, or, if it has closed, by its successor or the regional education authority.
How it works from RUB 3,000Criminal record certificate
It is not reissued from an archive: a new one is obtained, stating the position as at the date of the request. The certificate itself is free and not tied to your registered address; we apply and collect it for you.
How it works free of chargeWording for a power of attorney
A document can be collected for someone else only under a notarised power of attorney. We send you the wording for your situation: this is what people most often get wrong, and redoing it from abroad takes weeks.
How it worksEvery figure with a source and a date
The regime for each country comes from the status table of the Hague Conference and the list of treaties held by the Ministry of Justice. Fees come from the Tax Code, timescales from the authorities' own regulations. If a field has not been checked for more than two quarters, the page says so plainly.
We handle it end to end and return it by courier
Notarised translation, copies, apostille at every Moscow authority, consular legalisation. A CDEK courier collects the original anywhere in Russia and we return the finished document with a tracking number. You pay step by step once a manager has confirmed the scope and the price.
- A receipt for the document is emailed to you
- State and consular fees itemised separately, with no mark-up
- Drop-off offices: Краснодар, Горячий Ключ, Химки