Notary services for the purpose of authenticating documents and affirmation of certain legal deeds are not available in Cyprus. As an alternative in the Republic of Cyprus, it is possible to certify signature/s by a certifying officer, an individual who is appointed and regulated by the Ministry of Interior, a service that our firm may assist with. However, this certification may not always be sufficient, for instance, if a document that has been issued in Cyprus will be used in another jurisdiction, its legalisation via Apostille may be required.
In a similar manner, all the accompanying public documents issued in other jurisdictions, must be duly certified, pursuant to the Law ratifying the Convention on the abolishing the requirement of legalisation for Foreign Public Documents of 1972 (Apostille stamp).
Apostille, is a certification by the Ministry of Justice and Public Order, which is used for documents issued in Cyprus that are intended to be recognised by foreign authorities of another jurisdiction. Legalization by Apostille confirms that the signatures on a document are valid, so that it may be used and relied on abroad. The countries that have become members of the Hague Convention of 5th October 1961, including Cyprus, accept Apostille as a form of legalisation of documents. Our firm may assist with apostille of documents within one working day, provided that the original documents are in order.
Alternatively, concerning countries that have not signed the Hague Convention, legalisation of documents may be carried out by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in followed by the certification of the consular section of the respective state in Cyprus.