Hague Apostille on Brazilian documents: notary office, cost and what Portugal, Spain and Italy want

The apostille is a certificate that confirms the origin of a public document: the signature, the capacity of the person who signed and, where there is one, the seal or stamp ². It does not certify the content and is only valid between countries that signed the Hague Convention ².

Public documents and private documents that already have a signature notarised by a notary or public authority can be apostilled ². Documents of diplomatic or consular agents are outside the Convention ².

CNJ Resolution 228/2016 says that, since 14 August 2016, the legalisation of Brazilian documents for countries of the Convention is done exclusively by apostille ¹. The apostille is not required when a treaty between Brazil and the destination country waives legalisation ¹.

Apostilles are issued by extrajudicial notary offices accredited by the state's General Court Inspectorate and authorised by the National Court Inspectorate ^{2 1}. Issuing is mandatory in every state capital since 14 August 2016, in the notary and registry services ^{1 2}. The offices use the electronic Apostil system, which replaced the former SEI Apostila ³.

The fee is set by the CNJ by reference: each apostille costs the same as a power of attorney with no declared value in the state's fee table ¹. That is why the price changes from state to state. Documents requested by federal Executive Branch bodies for use abroad, in the interest of public service, are exempt ¹.

The CNJ keeps a national database where anyone can check online whether an apostille exists and which document it is linked to ¹.

In May 2021, the CNJ amended Resolution 228 to allow natively digital documents, signed electronically, to be apostilled in digital form only ³. Before that, even electronic documents had to be printed to receive the apostille ³.

In June 2022, the Brazilian Notarial College announced electronic apostilling at notary offices, linked to the e-Apostil platform: you request it at a notary office and can receive the apostilled document by email or phone, with a QR Code that the foreign authority uses to check authenticity ⁴.

Before requesting the digital version, ask the consulate or office that will receive the document whether it accepts the electronic apostille. The consulate of Spain in São Paulo, for example, asks for the original and a copy of the criminal record certificate ⁸.

Portugal. For residence visas, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MNE) asks for a criminal record certificate from the country of origin, or from the country where you have lived for more than a year, with a Hague apostille ⁶. Children under 16 are exempt ⁶. For the NIF, the Tax Authority accepts translations certified by notaries, chambers of commerce, lawyers or solicitors ⁷.

Spain. For the student visa at the consulate in São Paulo, the criminal record certificate is required when the stay exceeds 180 days, issued by the country or countries where you lived in the last five years, original and copy ⁸. All foreign documents must be apostilled or legalised, with a translation when they are not in Spanish ⁸.

Italy. To be valid in Italy, the Brazilian certificate carries an apostille on the document and on the sworn translation ¹⁰. The translation only receives an apostille if it is done by a public translator registered with the state's Commercial Board (Junta Comercial) ¹⁰.

The certidão de inteiro teor is the complete version of the civil registry record. Nationality and civil registry procedures usually ask for this version. At the consulate of Spain in Salvador, for example, the nationality application under the Democratic Memory Law requires a full-copy (inteiro teor) birth certificate, apostilled and issued less than a year ago, requested at the cartório in Brazil ⁹. For that procedure, the consulate waives translation when the application is made at a Spanish consulate in Brazil ⁹.

The Federal Police criminal record certificate is free, issued online and valid for 90 days ⁵. It only shows "nada consta" (nothing on record) and considers final convictions ⁵. If there is a namesake or a discrepancy in the CPF, the system generates a protocol and you go to a Federal Police unit; the certificate takes up to 15 days ⁵. The Federal Police issues the document in Portuguese only ⁵.

The Federal Police itself warns that its database does not gather all the information of the state courts ⁵. If the consulate asks for state certificates, you need to obtain them at each court.