Where our figures come from
Sources
Below is the full list of the official sources we use and what exactly we take from each. The order of work and how we verify things are described on the Methodology page.
Checked on 12 September 2026
- HCCH — status table of the Hague ConventionThe list of states party to the 1961 Hague Convention, the dates it entered into force and the objections states have raised to one another.
- Federal Law No. 330-FZ of 28 November 2015Which Russian authority affixes the apostille for each type of document: civil registry offices, education authorities, the Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of Internal Affairs, archives, the Ministry of Defence and the Prosecutor General's Office.
- Russian Tax Code, Article 333.33The amounts of the state fees for affixing an apostille and for other legally significant acts.
- Portal of the Russian Ministry of JusticeThe regulations of the territorial bodies of the Ministry of Justice on the legalisation of notarial documents and on confirming a notary's signature for consular legalisation.
- Russian Ministry of Internal AffairsHow criminal record certificates are issued and apostilled.
- RosobrnadzorHow an apostille is affixed to educational documents through the regional education authorities.
- Unified State Register of Civil Status RecordsChecking civil status records and how to apply to a regional civil registry authority for an apostille.
- Consular Department of the Russian Ministry of Foreign AffairsThe procedure and the fees for consular legalisation, and contact details for foreign consulates in Moscow.
- Minsk Convention of 1993The list of countries whose documents are accepted without an apostille and without legalisation, and the conditions on which they are accepted.
- Chisinau Convention of 2002The updated treaty on legal assistance for some CIS countries, in force for Russia since 28 June 2023.