Attesting Swedish Documents (FAQs)

Yes - Sweden is a member of the Apostille Convention.

Swedish documents can be legalized for use abroad with an Apostille Stamp when destined for other signatory countries without additional certification by the destination country.

When Swedish documents are required for non-apostille countries, they need additional authentication by the embassy of the destination country in Stockholm.

For further information see:
Sweden Apostille Services

For further information about Apostille certification in Sweden, see:
Sweden Apostille Services

Submission within the European Union
Certain Swedish documents do not require Apostilles when they are presented to authorities of other European Union countries (the receiving authority should accept the original or a certified copy).

When applying for certain public documents, a multilingual standard form may be requested to accompany the original. A multilingual standard form must always be issued and signed by a Swedish authority, providing a translation aid designed to help the receiving authority to understand a public document which is in a language not accepted by the receiving EU country.
See: EU Multilingual standard forms

Swedish documents not requiring Apostilles include birth, death, marriage certificates, absence of a criminal record (a clean criminal record of a Swedish citizen), certificates of nationality and residence:
See: Regulation (EU) 2016/1191

Other Swedish documents, including academic certificates, still require Apostille certification and certified translation to be valid in other EU countries.

Official documents that can be legalized in Sweden with Apostille stamps or through embassy attestation include:

• Extracts of the Population Register issued by the Swedish Tax Agency
• Criminal Record Extracts issued by the Swedish Police Authority
• Business Registration Certificates and Certificates of Good Standing
• Documents from the National Archives and the regional state archives
• Swedish university diplomas and certificates from higher education institutions
• Documents not issued in Sweden that have been certified by the issuing country's embassy in Sweden
• Translations certified by an authorized public translator
• Documents from the Swedish Social Insurance Agency and Swedish Public Employment Service

Other documents can be authenticated in Sweden with an Apostille Stamp when certified by a notary public, including powers of attorney, bank statements, documents from schools other than higher education institutions and marriage certificates from non-civil marriage officiants.

To confirm whether your document is eligible for apostille authentication in Sweden, please Contact us and we’ll check your document free of charge. For further information about our Swedish apostille services and for assistance obtaining official copies of Swedish documents, see:
Sweden Apostille Services

Swedish Apostille Stamps can normally be obtained in 1 - 3 working days

Document legalization (or attestation) is a procedure which authenticates a public Swedish document so that it can be submitted in another country for official or legal purposes - for example, if you need to submit a Swedish birth certificate to the authority or embassy of another country, it will often need to be legalized.

Legalizing a document in Sweden certifies the authenticity of the signature appearing on the document as that of an authorized public official in Sweden and confirms the capacity of that official.

• Because Sweden is a member of the Apostille Convention, Swedish documents can be legalized by means of an Apostille Stamp when being submitted to countries that are also members of the Hague Apostille Convention
• If a Swedish document is required for a country that is not a member of the Apostille Convention, it will need to be legalized both by Swedish authorities and by the embassy of the recipient country (embassy in Sweden or non-resident embassy accredited to Sweden).
  See: Document legalization - Wikipedia

Isarey Certification Services provides a range of services in Sweden including Apostille and legalization services, notarization services, certified translation services and document retrieval services.

You can see reviews from past clients who have used our attestation and apostille services:

• ISAREY reviews on Trustpilot
• ISAREY reviews on Google

To show a record of a Swedish birth or marriage, an Extract of the Population Register can be obtained from the Swedish Tax Office by requesting an "Extract of the population register – 120 with all relationships" (Utdrag om folkbokföringsuppgifter – 120 med alla relationer). This extract is available in Swedish or English.

Certificates can be ordered by post or online (e-service with digital ID). Signed and stamped certificates for use abroad will be sent by post to the applicant's registered address (folkbokföringsadress) or special postal address (särskild postadress).

• Population registration certificates

Death certificate and relatives reports (Dödsfallsintyg med släktutredning) can be obtained from the Swedish Tax Agency for deaths occurring from 1991. The report shows when a person died, and gives details of current and former spouses and children. Certificates can be ordered by phone. Certificates for deaths occurring before July 1991 can be ordered from the National Archives.

• Death certificates - Swedish Tax Agency (in Swedish)
• National Archives

Births, deaths and marriages occurring in Sweden can be certified by obtaining an Extract of the Population Register from the Swedish Tax Agency. An Apostille Stamp can then be obtained from a Notary Public. Apostilles can also be obtained for marriage certificates issued by civil and non-civil marriage officiants.

Submission within the European Union
Swedish certificates of civil status (marriage, death and birth certificates) do not require an Apostille stamp when required for submission in another Member State of the European Union. For further information, see:
Regulation (EU) 2016/1191

Apostilles are not required when submitting Swedish certificates of marital status to the authorities of another Member State of the European Union.

A multilingual standard form may be requested to accompany the original. A multilingual standard form must always be issued and signed by a Swedish authority, providing a translation aid designed to help the receiving authority understand the certificate when in a language not accepted by the receiving EU country.

EU Member States are: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Republic of Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain and Sweden
See: Regulation (EU) 2016/679 of 27 April 2016 (EU GDPR)

Apostilles are not required when submitting Swedish birth, death and marriage certificates to the authorities of another Member State of the European Union. A multilingual standard form may be requested to accompany the original. A multilingual standard form must always be issued and signed by a Swedish authority, providing a translation aid designed to help the receiving authority understand the certificate when in a language not accepted by the receiving EU country.

EU Member States are: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Republic of Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain and Sweden
See: Regulation (EU) 2016/679 of 27 April 2016 (EU GDPR)

Certificates of Good Standing for Swedish companies can be obtained from the Swedish Companies Registration Office (Bolagsverket). Certificates are available in Swedish and English, and can be authenticated with an Apostille Stamp.

• Order a Certificate of Good Standing

Swedish company Certificates of Registration can be obtained from the Swedish Companies Registration Office (Bolagsverket). Certificates are available in English and be authenticated for use abroad with an Apostille Stamp.

• Order a Certificate of Company Registration

The length of time for which a criminal conviction is recorded in a Swedish criminal record depends on the punishment. If a record has multiple sections, the data with the longest deletion period governs the removal of other data.
For further information, see: Criminal Records - deletion rules

Swedish Criminal Record Extracts are available from the Swedish Police Authority. For submission aboard, the following extract is required: "Extract from the criminal records registry for purposes in another country" (Utdrag som ska användas utomlands).

Extracts can be requested online (e-service - digital ID required) or by post. Extracts will be delivered by post and are issued in Swedish, English, Spanish, German and French (Any convictions will not be translated).

• FAQs - Criminal Record Extracts
• Swedish Police - Extract for use abroad

Apostilles are not required when submitting Swedish Criminal Record Certificates to another Member State of the European Union when the certificate is issued to a Swedish national and when the criminal record is clean (no convictions). In other cases, the recipient Member State may require an Apostille.

EU Member States are: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Republic of Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain and Sweden.
See: Regulation (EU) 2016/679 of 27 April 2016 (EU GDPR)

Since Saudi Arabia joined the Apostille Convention, Swedish university diplomas required for submission to Saudi authorities can now be authenticated simply with an Apostille Stamp from a Swedish notary. Attestation by the Saudi Embassy in Stockholm is no longer required.

Since China joined the Apostille Convention, Swedish university diplomas required for submission to Chinese authorities can now be authenticated simply with an Apostille Stamp from a Swedish notary. Attestation by the Chinese Embassy in Stockholm is no longer required.

Translations in Sweden can be authenticated with an Apostille Stamp from a notary public. The translation must be certified by an authorized translator