Apostille or Legalisation for a Marriage Certificate

If you need to use your Australian marriage certificate overseas, the country involved may ask for apostille or legalisation.

First things first

You need the official marriage certificate from Births, Deaths and Marriages Queensland, not the ceremonial certificate from the day.

The simple difference

• Apostille is used for countries that accept apostilles.
• Legalisation is used where extra embassy or consular steps are needed.

What to do

1. Get the official marriage certificate.
2. Check what the overseas country or organisation requires.
3. Follow the current Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade process.

This is not something we issue ourselves, but we can point you in the right direction.