Authentications and Apostilles

When using Irish documents overseas, for business or personal reasons, you might need to 'authenticate' or 'Apostille' them. This is also known as the "legalisation" of documents. The Department of Foreign Affairs are the competent authority who confirm that a signature, seal or stamp is from an Irish public official / body.

Our offices in Mount Street and Cork issue these physical stamps on your document. Authenticating / Apostilling a document doesn't mean that the Department of Foreign Affairs is verifying that its contents are accurate or that the Department approves of its contents.

Only Irish public documents (including notarised, private company documents with a clear Irish link) can be processed.

We cannot advise on whether a document requires authentication. This is a matter for you to find out. Contact the authorities in the country where the document will be used to check their requirements.

Only the Authentications Unit based in Dublin / Cork can issue these stamps. Embassies and Consulates cannot issue an Apostille or authentication stamp. 

How to apply

What you need: 

• The document you want to authenticate / Apostille
• A cover letter with the following information
  • Your name
  • The country you intend to use the document
  • A phone number (required for credit / debit card payments)
  • A contact email
  • The address where documents are to be returned (or mark as "collection")
• The fee

Fees

• €40 per Authentication / Apostille stamp
• €100 per Adoption Pack
• €10 per export of goods document (for example - HPRA, Certificate of Origin, EPA certificate)

Postage is included in this fee.

Payment can be made by Irish bank draft / postal order, or we will contact you at the number you provide to us for payment by credit/debit card.  Bank drafts and postal orders can be made payable to Department of Foreign Affairs. 

We do not accept cash or AMEX cards.

Three Types of Service:

1. Walk-in Service (Dublin and Cork Offices) 

Dublin Office

We are operating a walk-in service from our office at 42 – 47 Lower Mount Street, Dublin 2. The service operates on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday, and will close on Wednesdays. The following rules apply:

• No walk-in service will operate on Wednesday. Any documents brought in on Wednesday will be treated as a drop-off document. 
• Opening hours are:
  • 9.30 am – 12.30 pm
  • 2.30 pm – 3.30 pm
• A maximum of five documents can be authenticated / apostilled while you wait. Our target turnaround time is thirty minutes. If you have more than five documents, documents will be returned by post at a later date, or you can request collection. We will advise when documents are ready for collection.
• If large bundles of documents are broken into smaller bundles by the same organisation, these will be treated as drop-off bundles as above. For example, if twenty documents are broken into four groups of five by the same company. 
• Queries can be directed to our phone lines, or via our contact us form 

Cork Office

Our Cork Office will operate a walk-in service from our office at 1A South Mall, Cork, T12 TA46 for two mornings each week. The same rules apply to the Cork Office as the Dublin office as above, with the exception of opening hours.

The opening hours are Tuesday and Thursday mornings only, between 9.30 am – 12.30 pm.

2. Postal Service

We are currently accepting documents by post. Our turnaround times for this service is, on average, three to seven working days from date of receipt.

Send your documents by registered post, and make a note of the tracking number. Documents will be returned by registered post at no additional cost. We bear no responsibility if your item does not arrive to our offices.

Post documents to:

3. Drop-off Service (Dublin and Cork Offices)

You can drop documents, a cover letter and the appropriate fee to our offices. They will be returned by registered post. Or you can request collection, and we will phone you when they are ready. If you have more than five documents at the counter, your documents will be treated as the walk-in service, and they will be returned by post.

Please ensure your envelope is marked for the attention of "Authentications Section".

There are is a drop-off location operating between 9 am – 4 pm weekdays from Dublin:

Authentications Unit, Knockmaun House, 42-47 Lower Mount Street, Dublin 2

Our Cork Office will also accept documents at these times.

Contact Us

Enquiries regarding the service can be directed here. The mailbox is monitored during work hours. If your request is extremely urgent, please contact us by phone.

Our phone lines are open weekdays between 9.30 am – 12.30 pm at +353 (1) 408 2174. 

Please note – Threats, violence, abuse, derogatory comments or otherwise unacceptable behaviour towards our staff will not be tolerated.

Any person engaging in unacceptable behaviour will not be tolerated on the phone or in person. You will not be permitted to use our public counter, and will be asked to use our postal service.  

Verify an Apostille or Authentication Stamp

The online electronic register enables you to verify the authenticity of an Apostille or Authentication stamp issued by the Department of Foreign Affairs in Ireland.

Useful Links

HCCH Apostille Section:

HCCH | Apostille Section

Regulation on Public Documents 2016/1191 (Multilingual Standard Form):

gov.ie - Multilingual Standard Form (MSF) (www.gov.ie)

The Faculty of Notaries Public in Ireland:

Apostille and Legalisation - The Faculty of Notaries Public in Ireland (notarypublic.ie)

Ordering Irish Certificates:

Order a certificate - HSE.ie

HCCH Authorities Who Issue Apostille Stamps on non-Irish Documents:

HCCH | #12 - Authorities