Does my marriage certificate need an apostille?

Question

I have a foreign marriage certificate. Do I need to get it apostilled before using it in Poland?

Auranik Consulting & Management · Accepted Answer

## Short answer
Not always. Whether an apostille or legalisation is needed depends on the country that issued the document. There is no single universal answer -- treat any claim that "every foreign marriage certificate needs an apostille" with caution.

## What this depends on
Three broad situations: (1) if the certificate was issued in another EU member state, EU Regulation 2016/1191 generally removes the apostille/legalisation requirement entirely; (2) if issued in a Hague Apostille Convention member country, an apostille is normally the applicable method -- but this can still depend on whether Poland has objected to that country's accession to the Convention (this happened for a few countries, though not for Poland with most); (3) if issued in a non-Hague country, consular legalisation typically applies instead.

## Important exception
Authentication (apostille/legalisation) and translation are two separate questions. Solving one does not solve the other.

## Official source
EU Regulation 2016/1191; HCCH (Hague Conference on Private International Law) Apostille Convention status table -- both directly verified.

## Related Auranik tool
The [Marriage Certificate / Apostille Checker](/poland/immigration/documents/marriage-certificate) gives you a country-specific answer rather than a generic one.

Does my marriage certificate need an apostille?

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