Apostille in New Zealand

New Zealand is a party to the Convention and is in full force. Please contact the following offices in NZ for getting apostille.

Before a document originating from New Zealand can be used overseas, apostille must be affixed to the document at the Authentication Unit at the Department of Internal Affairs in Wellington. If the document is to be used in any country not part of hague convention, you need an Authentication Certificate.

Documents Require Apostille Certification

1. A birth, marriage or death certificate issued in New Zealand: Send the document straight to the office if it bears the round seal of the Registrar of Births Deaths and Marriages.
Some older documents do not have this seal, and must be notarised (see below) before they are sent to us.

2. A document bearing the seal and signature of an approved government agency such as a District Court, Animal Remedies Board: Send straight to office, unless the document is computer-generated, in which case it will need to be notarised. Computer-generated documents, or documents downloaded from the Internet, are not deemed original documents.

3. Any other type of document: All other documents such as contracts, references, powers of attorney, educational documents etc will need to be notarised by a Notary Public in New Zealand before you send them to our office. The Notary Public will sign the document and affix his/her seal to it.

You can find a list of Notaries Public for your area in the Yellow Pages of your telephone book. The Notary Public will charge a fee.

Contact Details

Authentication Unit,
c/o The Translation Service,
Department of Internal Affairs,
PO Box 805, Wellington.
email: authentication@egs.govt.nz
Phone: (04) 470-2928 Fax: (04) 470-2921
Website: http://www.dia.govt.nz/

Payment:

$ 45.00 per Apostille Certificate. $ 17.50 per copy Certificate (Apostille of identical document/same issuing authority) Prices are gst inclusive.

You can pay by:
* Cheque made out to The Department of Internal Affairs; or
* VISA/Mastercard details (card number, expiry date and name of cardholder); or
* money order.

We recommend you to visit for more comprehensive information about apostille:

Ministry of Internal affaires - New Zealand

Return of documents:

Within New Zealand:

A stamped self-addressed envelope (A4 size), or
A self-addressed prepaid courier pack (A4 size) for the return of your documents.

Outside New Zealand: Add $5.00 to your fee to cover airmail postage.
This process should take no more than 5 working days.

Visit: Ministry of Internal affaires - New Zealand