FAQ

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From 16 September 2021, the Apostille Convention will come into operation. SAL will affix an Apostille Certificate on every document which requires authentication and legalisation.

A document intended for use in a country or territory which is a Contracting Party to the Apostille Convention will no longer need to be legalised at the respective foreign consulate. Instead, members of the public can proceed to submit the document directly to the overseas recipient after the document has been legalised by SAL.

Those sending documents to non-Convention countries and territories will still require further legalisation through the relevant foreign missions in Singapore.

For more information on the Apostille Convention, please click here.

An appointment is not required. After notarisation of your documents, please proceed to the SAL Counter during the operating hours and present the notarised document for SAL’s authentication, where SAL will affix an Apostille on your document.

From 16 Sep 2021, the Legalisation process will be streamlined. SAL will affix Apostilles for ALL documents irrespective of which country the document is destined to be used.

When the notarised document is presented at the SAL counter an Apostille will be issued in place of the Authentication Certificate and Legalisation stamp. The notarised document is deemed as authenticated and legalised by SAL. This will cut down on processing/waiting time for each document.

For notarised documents, we will require only the Notarial Certificate issued by the Notary Public and the documents attached to this certificate. Documents not accompanied by a Notarial Certificate will not be accepted. With effect from 1 Oct 2019, all documents that require notarisation by a Notary Public in Singapore will have to be authenticated by the Singapore Academy of Law (SAL).

The notarisation of a document by the notary public is but one step in the whole chain of authentication towards legalisation of documents for use abroad.

Authentication of the signature of the notary public by SAL is also part of the legalisation process. At SAL, an officer appointed by the Senate will verify the authority (stamp of appointment) and signature of the Singapore notary public as stated in Notaries Public Rules and ensure that the notarised document is in compliance with the Notaries Public Rules.

With effect from 16 September 2021, a Notarial Certificate shall be deemed to be validly authenticated by the affixing of an Apostille to the back of the Notarial Certificate.

Legalisation is not compulsory and the need for notarisation is determined entirely by the party receiving the documents. SAL is unable to advise what is or is not acceptable by a foreign recipient overseas.

There is no need for notarisation if parties to the transaction can mutually agree to dispense with it. However, if notarisation is desired, then these documents must be authenticated by SAL.

If a private document requires legalisation, please be advised that SAL is unable to legalise a private document that has not been notarised.

A notarised document without an authentication certificate/Apostille is INVALID for use overseas.

Mandating authentication will ensure that all notarised documents originate from properly appointed notaries and are in compliance with the Notaries Public Rules. It will also bring about greater certainty and standardisation of the legalisation process.

The processing time will depend on the number of documents being submitted for Authentication. The documents will be processed on-the-spot, over the counter.

When you request for your document to be notarised, please make the following payments upfront at the Notary Public’s office to enable the transaction to proceed:

• Notarisation Fee to the Notary Public; and
• Authentication Fee of $87.20 (incl of GST) to the Singapore Academy of Law.

Your Notary Public will ONLY be able to issue the Notarial Certificate upon payment of SAL’s Authentication Fee of $87.20 (incl of GST) at the Notary Public’s office. A Notarisation Fee will continue to be payable to the Notary Public for the notarisation of the documents. Once the Notarisation is complete, please proceed to the SAL Counter and present the notarised document for SAL’s authentication. The SAL Counter is located at The Adelphi, 1 Coleman Street, #08-06, Singapore 179803.

No. A representative may submit the document for authentication on your behalf.

No. The documents will be processed on-the-spot, over the counter and will be handed back to you immediately after processing.

Any recipient of the system-generated notarised document will be able to search and verify the authenticity of the notarised documents via a search register at https://legalisation.sal.sg/.

Subject to the requirements of the embassy and recipient country, bundling is allowed only for Certified True Copies, i.e. more than one document (i.e. Certified True Copy) can be bundled with one notary certificate.

No. A Notarial Certificate must be issued for ALL documents notarised by a Notary Public and be bound by a Red Ribbon in the SAL prescribed format. This is mandatory regardless of any embassy requirement. A notarised document that does not conform to the prescribed format is invalid.

Rule 8 of the Notaries Public Rules (Cap 208, R1) states that it is mandatory for all notaries public to issue a Notarial Certificate for each document attested by the notary public. For multiple copies of the same document, a separate Notarial Certificate is required for each copy. The only exception applies for Certified True Copies.

Since 20 January 2021, the legalisation function of outgoing public documents issued in Singapore and intended for use in States with legalisation requirements has been transferred from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) to the Singapore Academy of Law (SAL).

From 16 September 2021, the Apostille Convention will come into operation. SAL will affix an Apostille Certificate on every document which requires authentication and legalisation.

A document intended for use in a country or territory which is a Contracting Party to the Apostille Convention will no longer need to be legalised at the respective foreign consulate. Instead, members of the public can proceed to submit the document directly to the overseas recipient after the document has been legalised by SAL.

Those sending documents to non-Convention countries and territories will still require further legalisation through the relevant foreign missions in Singapore.

For more information on the Apostille Convention, please click here.

SAL is located at 1 Coleman Street, #08-06 The Adelphi, Singapore 179803.

Counter opening hours are from 9:00am to 4:30pm. The counter will be closed on weekends and public holidays.

SAL will only be able to Legalise the document if it is physically handed to us in person, over the counter at the SAL office.

An appointment is not required. After submitting an online request for legalisation, please proceed to the SAL Counter during the operating hours and present the e-mail confirmation and invoice, together with your documents for legalisation, at the SAL Office. Alternatively, you may flash the QR code on the Invoice.

Yes, you may appoint a proxy to complete the Legalisation on your behalf. No authorisation letter is required. The proxy will be required to present the document physically at the SAL office for Legalisation.

A Legalisation Fee of S$10.70 (including GST) is chargeable for each document legalised. Payment by Visa or MasterCard will have to be made online at https://legalisation.sal.sg/ .

For requests for legalisation of Certified True Copies, a photocopying fee of $1.07 is payable for every Certified True Copy legalised (regardless of the number of pages). This is a flat fee. Please present original documents at the SAL counter for photocopies to be made by SAL counter staff.

Legalisation fees will be WAIVED for all notarised documents. Please inform your Notary Public that you require your documents to be legalised after notarisation

For documents issued digitally, you are required to print out the document and present it at the SAL counter.

We can only legalise non-government documents after they have been referred to a Notary Public (any law firm offering notarial services) for notarisation and then to SAL for certification. You may refer to https://legalisation.sal.sg/ for more information.

We can legalise commercial documents such as Invoices, Bills of Sales, Certificates of Origin, Fumigation certificates, etc. after they have been certified or seen by any of the following Chambers of Commerce

We can legalise educational certificates and letters issued by mainstream primary or secondary schools and Junior Colleges (JCs) if they are printed on Ministry of Education’s (MOE) letterhead. Certificates or letters which are not printed on MOE letterhead will require the certification or stamp of MOE before we are able to legalise the document.

Certificates from the following local universities/institutions may be directly legalised by SAL:

Certificates issue by SIM University (UniSIM) would require certification from SUSS before we are able to legalise the document. If SUSS is unable to certify, the certificate will be required to be presented to a Notary Public to be notarised before submitting to SAL.

Pre-school certificates would require certification from the Early Childhood Development (ECDA) before we are able to legalise the document.

Yes, all documents legalised by MFA up to 19 January 2021 can still be used.

Since 20 January 2021, the legalisation function of outgoing public documents issued in Singapore and intended for use in States with legalisation requirements has been transferred from MFA to SAL. You no longer need to go to MFA for further legalisation of your public document.

Since 20 January 2021, SAL is the sole agency authorised to legalise Singapore public documents for use overseas. You should be able to use your SAL-legalised public documents overseas.

With the coming into force of the Apostille Convention on 16 September 2021, SAL has been designated Singapore’s Competent Authority responsible for authenticating the origin of official documents by virtue of the Apostille Act.

Singapore Academy of Law is the statutory body that appoints Notaries Public and Commissioners for Oaths who practise in Singapore. Singapore Academy of Law provides authentication services for the signatures of Notaries Public and does not provide notarial services. You are required to contact a Notary Public directly if you would like your documents notarised. Click here for a list of Notaries Public in Singapore.

Please check with a Notary Public directly. Click here for a list of Notaries Public.

Please check with a Notary Public directly. Click here for a list of Notaries Public.

The information on fees charged by a Notary Public can be found in the fees schedule in the Notaries Public rules. Alternatively, please check with a Notary Public directly. Click here for a list of Notaries Public.

Singapore Academy of Law is the statutory body that appoints Notaries Public and Commissioners for Oaths who practise in Singapore. Singapore Academy of Law provides authentication services for the signatures of Notaries Public and does not provide commissioning services. Click here for a list of Commissioners for Oaths in Singapore.

Please check with a Commissioner for Oaths directly. Click here for a list of Commissioners for Oaths.

The information on fees charged by a Commissioner for Oaths can be found in the fees schedule in the Commissioners for Oaths rules. Alternatively, please check with a Commissioner for Oaths directly. Click here for a list of Commissioners for Oaths.

Please contact a Commissioner for Oaths or Notary Public on the procedure for making a statutory declaration. Click here for a list of Commissioners for Oaths and Notaries Public.

You may refer to https://eservices.police.gov.sg/content/policehubhome/homepage/certificate-of-clearance-hub.html for information on the issuance of Certificate of Clearance (COC).