Legalization of Foreign Public Documents – Hague Convetion

🇺🇸 Legalization of Foreign Public Documents – Hague Convetion

On August 14th 2016, the Brazilian Government officially joined the Convention Abolishing the Requirement of Legalization for Foreign Public Documents, also known as the Hague Apostille Convention. 

This international treaty signed by more than 100 countries, including the United States, sets that documents issued in the participant countries have full effect in other member states as long as an Apostille (stamp) is affixed to the document. There is no need for a Consular legalization. 

Therefore the Consulate General of Brazil will not legalize documents issued in the US, Puerto Rico and US Virgin Islands anymore.  Those documents, after receiving the Apostille, must be sent directly to Brazil. 

Once in Brazil, there is  legal requirement for a public translation into Portuguese which should be done by an Official Public Translator (“tradutor juramentado”). For information on how to get an Apostille for your document issued in the US, please refer to the Convention’s official website at https://www.hcch.net/en/states/authorities/details3/?aid=353

Documents that had been legalized in the Consulate before August 14th will be accepted in Brazil until February 14th2017.