APOSTILLE

APOSTILLE
The Hague Convention of 5 October 1961 on Abolishing the Requirement
of Legalisation for Foreign Public Documents"
Ways of submitting an application for certifying a document with Apostille
Applications shall be accepted both by hand (in paper form) or online
  1. Paper applications shall be accepted at the reception of the Ministry of Justice located at 3/8 Vazgen Sargsyan Street, city of Yerevan. The following documents are required for submission of an application:
–      identification document of the applicant;
  • original copy of an official document subject to Apostille certification;
  • state duty payment receipt;
No letter of authorisation shall be required when an application for placing Apostille on the official document belonging to another person is submitted by a third person.
  1. Online applications shall be submitted through the e-services.moj.am
Official documents sent to the e-mail addresses of the Ministry of Justice (info@moj.am, secretariat@justice.am etc.) or of any of its subdivisions or official person, via e-request.am and other websites, shall not be subject to Apostille certification (the applications shall not be accepted).
Currently, the opportunity to apply online is only provided for the Apostille certification of electronic certificates of registration of civil status acts. The applications for Apostille certification of all other types of documents subject to Apostille certification shall be accepted from the applicant, by hand.
 
Online filing of applications for Apostille certification of civil status acts bearing an ink stamp and a handwritten signature, lacking both a tracking number and a QR code, including Soviet-style certificates, is not possible.  
If the applicant applies online, he or she shall attach the identification document to the application, and the payment of the state duty shall be made online, whereas the electronic certificate being certified with Apostille shall be automatically downloaded into the electronic system in case the applicant enters the relevant 16-digit tracking number of the document.
When completing an online application, it is necessary to be certain that the document which an applicant wishes to certify with Apostille has been downloaded.
If an applicant fills in the wrong tracking number of an electronic document leading to certification of a different document, the Ministry of Justice shall not bear any liability. In this case, the service shall be deemed to be provided, and the paid amount shall not be subject to refund, whereas the Apostille certification of the official document not performed due to inaccurate completion by the applicant of the tracking number, shall be ensured based on a new application submitted by the applicant, along with the new payment of the state duty.
  1. Applications for Apostille certification of the official documents shall be accepted, and the responses shall be delivered through an operator of "HayPost" CJSC. When submitting an application through the operator, the applicant shall be provided with the identification document of an applicant, the original copy of a document subject to Apostille certification and the state duty payment receipt.
 
General Information
Apostille — a paper or electronic certificate provided for by Article 3 of the Hague Convention of 5 October 1961 ''On Abolishing the Requirement of Legalisation for Foreign Public Documents'' (hereinafter referred to as the "Convention"), which certifies the authenticity of the official position of a person signing the official document, his or her signature, the seal or stamp affixed to the document. 
An Apostille shall be placed on official documents which are to be sent to the State Parties to the Convention (the list is available here).
Documents drawn up and issued by the competent authorities of a foreign state shall not be subject to Apostille certification in the Republic of Armenia.
Documents that are certified with an Apostille, issued by the competent authorities of the State signatory to the Convention as prescribed by the legislation of the particular State and within the scope of the powers thereof, shall be deemed to be valid within the territory of the Republic of Armenia without consular certification or other additional legalisation.
Apostille certification of the aforementioned documents shall be mandatory, unless otherwise provided for by law of the Republic of Armenia or where the legalisation procedure is revoked, simplified by other international treaties of the Republic of Armenia, or the document is exempted from legalisation. 
An Apostille shall not be placed on the official documents which are sent to the CIS member countries having acceded to the Minsk Convention of 22 January 1993 on Legal Aid and Legal Relations in Civil, Family and Criminal Cases, as well as to Bulgaria, a number of other countries provided for by the international treaties of the Republic of Lithuania and the Republic of Armenia.
If a State in which the document will be presented is not a member to the Hague Convention, legalisation of documents shall be carried out through consular certification. 
Electronic Apostille
On 26 April 2021, the Ministry of Justice of the Republic of Armenia launched the circulation of the electronic bilingual (Armenian, English) Apostille. An Apostille is not issued in French, German, Russian or other languages in the Republic of Armenia.
Starting from 26 April 2021, official documents of the Republic of Armenia are certified by the Ministry of Justice of the Republic of Armenia exclusively via an electronic Apostille.
Before 26 April 2021, official documents of the Republic of Armenia were certified by the Ministry of Justice via paper Apostille, which was attached to the original document, certified by the seal of the Ministry of Justice and signed by the Head of the Civil Status Acts Registration Agency of the Ministry of Justice.
The probative value of Apostille certification of official documents of the Republic of Armenia in paper sample form before 26 April 2021 is not restricted by the fact of circulation of an electronic Apostille.
Electronic Apostille shall not be attached to the original copy of the official document undergoing certification. It is sent to the e-mail address of a citizen, and can be printed through any printer, including colour or black and white and using any type of hard copy; it can be submitted upon request. Electronic Apostille printed upon the request of an applicant shall also be provided by the Ministry of Justice of the Republic of Armenia.
For your information: Citizens, who, instead of applying to the Ministry of Justice of the Republic of Armenia, apply to translation or other offices (mediated) in order to have official documents certified, must provide them with an e-mail address to receive the Apostille at that address.
The seal (in PDF format) of the subdivision responsible for ensuring the function of certifying the official documents with an Apostille — the Civil Status Acts Registration Agency of the Ministry of Justice, shall be placed in the 9th section of the electronic Apostille, whereas the signature of the Head of the Civil Status Acts Registration Agency or of the relevant employee in the same format — in the 10th section.
The authenticity of the electronic Apostille can be verified by visiting www.e-verify.am website and entering the control number indicated on the Apostille or the quick response code — QR code.
The PDF format of an official document certified by an Apostille and the electronic Apostille shall be shown when the authenticity of the Apostille is being verified.
The total number of pages of official documents certified with an Apostille shall be indicated at the bottom of the sample form of an electronic Apostille. When verifying the authenticity of extensive official documents, up to 6 pages of the particular document shall be shown.
 
Time limits for Apostille certification
An official document shall be certified with Apostille within one working day from the day an application is filed with the Ministry of Justice.
Original copies of the official documents issued for Apostille certification by hand shall be returned to an applicant in the same way with Apostille certification in the hours between 16.00 and 17.00 on the working day following the day of submitting the application. The original copy of the document and the Apostille delivered by an operator of "HayPost" CJSC shall be returned through the postal service provided by the mentioned operator.
The time limit for Apostille certification may be extended, if the Ministry of Justice (unified electronic database) does not possess information on the relevant official, his or her official position, term of office, as well as the samples of his or her signature and seal. Document with Apostille shall be certified after the required information is gathered.
The time limit for an operator of “HayPost” CJSC to submit an application or send a response shall not be calculated within the time limit for Apostille certification of the official documents.
Responses regarding rejection of certification of official document shall also be provided by taking into account the calculation of the aforementioned time limits and the ways.
 
State duty
A state duty in the amount of AMD 7000 (in the amount of 7-fold of the base duty) is provided for Apostille certification of an official document which shall be paid to the bank account of the State Budget of the Republic of Armenia (900005163523) through a payment terminal, POS-terminals installed at any bank or in the building of the Ministry of Justice.
 
The following documents shall not be subject to Apostille certification: 
(1)     documents issued by diplomatic or consular agents; 
(2)    administrative documents directly linked to commercial or customs operations.
The list of documents subject to Apostille certification is exhaustive. Documents not included in the prescribed list shall not be subject to Apostille certification.
Please visit: http://moj.am/storage/uploads/ to get acquainted with the list of documents subject to Apostille certification
Grounds for rejecting an application for Apostille certification 
The application for Apostille certification of an official document shall be rejected, if: 
(1)     the document was prepared or certified or sealed by a person or body not having the power to do so; 
(2)    the document fails to comply with the format prescribed for the particular document; 
(3)    the document is not subject to Apostille certification; 
(4)    the application for Apostille certification has been submitted in violation of this Law and the procedure established by other legal acts regulating the process of Apostille certification of a document; 
(5)    data on official position of the person signing the document, the signature of the latter, the seal or stamp certifying the document is illegible; 
(6)    document is corrupted, document integrity is not maintained, or there are impermissible writings on the document; 
(7)    documents prescribed by the legislation for Apostille certification of the document, the proof of payment of the state duty provided for by part 6 of Article 3 of this Law have not been submitted; 
(8)    document is to be submitted to a State not signatory to the Convention; 
(9)    document is clearly fake.
The Police of the Ministry of Internal Affairs shall be informed about detection of fake documents having been submitted for Apostille certification and failing to comply with the authenticity. These documents shall not be returned to the applicant, and the reasons shall be indicated.
 
Frequently Asked Questions
At what hours are applications accepted?
Applications are admitted at working hours and during the working day. Applicants receive services in sequential order, based on their queue number issued through the queue registration device installed at the reception of the Ministry of Justice. It is recommended to come by 17:30. At the end of working hours — 18:00, the service shall be suspended, irrespective of the presence of applicants waiting in line at the reception. The provision of services is ensured by employees working in shifts during the lunch break (13:00-14:00).
 
Does the Ministry of Justice provide translation of documents?
The Ministry of Justice does not provide translation services. If Apostille certification of a document's translation is required, an applicant shall submit to the Ministry of Justice the original copy of the previously translated and notarised document. The translation may be certified by any notary operating within the territory of the Republic of Armenia. Translations without notarisation shall not be subject to Apostille certification.
 
Are documents issued by the competent authorities of Artsakh certified?
Solely official documents prepared and issued in the territory of the Republic of Armenia shall be certified with Apostille by the Ministry of Justice.
 
Are there any privileges for state duty payment?
No privileges for state duty payments for Apostille certification are established. The respective amount of AMD 7 000 is subject to mandatory payment.
 
How long is an Apostille valid for?
An Apostille is termless. It remains in force for as long as the official document certified by Apostille is valid. The aforementioned does not imply that the competent authorities of a foreign state, to which the document must be submitted with Apostille certification, are not competent to request the submission of a document with a new date.
 
Are documents issued during the Soviet period certified?
The Ministry of Justice only certifies official documents issued by the competent authorities of the Armenian Soviet Socialist Republic. Documents issued by 14 other Soviet Republics are not subject to Apostille certification.
 
Is it possible to certify a carbon copy of a document with Apostille (i.e. scan, photo)?
Only the original copies of official documents are certified with an Apostille. Therefore, when applying to the Ministry of Justice, the original copy of a document must be submitted. Carbon copies of documents, scanned, photographed, or otherwise printed documents are not subject to Apostille certification.
 
Is an electronic Apostille certified by ink stamp or handwritten signature?
An electronic Apostille is not certified by an ink stamp and/or handwritten signature. In addition, an electronic Apostille is also not subject to certification again with any seal or signature. 
 
Is it possible to certify — with an electronic Apostille — a document previously certified with an Apostille?
An official document previously certified with a paper-based Apostille may be certified with an electronic Apostille, if the grounds for rejecting Apostille certification are missing.
The fact that an official document has previously been certified with an Apostille does not guarantee that it will be certified with an electronic Apostille. 
 
Does an Apostille contain information about the personal data of an applicant?
No personal data of an applicant are indicated in an Apostille form.