📄 Birth certificate

Apostille for a Swiss birth certificate

Foreign employers, universities and registries routinely ask for an apostilled birth certificate. Here is exactly how it works for this document — and how we take the whole errand off your hands.

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Where this document comes from — and which chancellery

Since Swiss civil status records were centralised, any civil registry office in the country can issue your birth certificate — not only the one where you were born or where your commune of origin lies. That matters here, because the apostille is affixed by the chancellery of the canton whose office actually signed the document. Order the extract in Geneva and the apostille comes from Geneva, whatever your place of birth.

Original or certified copy?

Neither leaves your hands: a notary establishes a certified true copy from your uploaded PDF or photo, and the apostille is affixed to that copy — included in the price. If a destination exceptionally insists on the apostilled original, tell us and we organise it by registered mail.

Translation often required

An apostille authenticates, it does not translate. If the receiving authority also wants a certified translation of your birth certificate, mention it in the order notes — our partner network delivers both together.

The mistake that gets files refused

Ordering the extract from one canton and then asking a different chancellery for the apostille. The two must match, and a mismatch means starting over. Tell us where the extract was issued and we file at the right counter.

Frequently asked questions

Can I use a birth certificate issued years ago?
For the apostille, yes — an apostille can be affixed to an old document. The limit comes from the destination: many registries abroad only accept civil status records issued within the last three or six months, so check before we start.
Which countries accept an apostilled birth certificate?
All 130 Hague Convention Contracting Parties — from Germany to Brazil to China. For non-members (UAE, Qatar, Egypt…), the consular chain replaces the apostille; order normally and we quote the embassy stage first.
How long for a birth certificate?
Standard 1–2 business days from receipt, mostly the chancellery’s own turnaround. Same-day express doubles the service price and jumps every queue.
CHF 140 — Apostille — 1st document · CHF 120 — Apostille — from 2 documents · Prices →

Apostille for other documents

DiplomaMarriage certificateCriminal record extractCommercial register extractPower of attorneyDivorce judgmentCertificate of civil statusNotarised documentSworn translationCertificate of residence

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