The Apostille Convention took effect in the Philippines on 14 May 2019 after the Philippines acceded to the Convention on 12 September 2018. Although both the Philippines and Germany are parties to the 1961 Apostille Convention, the Apostille arrangement is currently not yet in force between the Philippines and Germany. As such, documents executed in Germany must still be authenticated/legalized by the relevant Philippine Embassy or Consulate prior to use in the Philippines.

Overview of Chain Authentication

The Philippine Embassy, through its consular section, performs legalization of documents to be used in the Philippines. 

Documents submitted to the Embassy for legalization must undergo “chain authentication” in accordance with the 1963 Vienna Convention, which requires that documents be pre-authenticated by the relevant Competent Authority before they are submitted to the Embassy. 

Authentication is a generic term that commonly refers to the process of verifying the origin of a public document by certifying the authenticity of the signature and legal authority of the public official who signed it. It does not, however, certify the content of the public document to which it relates.

Specifically, Authentication refers to the attestation by the Philippine Consular Office or competent authority of the genuineness of the signature appearing on the document, for the purpose of identifying a specific document and giving credence to the official act of the notary public or certifying officers thereon for use, if and when required, as an instrument of evidence in a foreign country.

NOTE: The list below is not exhaustive. All other documents not listed below must have passed through the usual chain authentication by corresponding authorities.  All documents in German must be accompanied by an official English translation made by a licensed translator, and the official English translation must be authenticated by the Landgericht. 

 IMPORTANT REMINDERS

1. All documents submitted to the Consulate for authentication must be in English. If the original document is solely in German without a built-in English translation, it must be accompanied by a translation prepared by a licensed translator (vereidigter Übersetzer) and further authenticated by the relevant Landgericht.
2. For consular notarization, personal appearance of the signatory/s is required and the documents to be notarized must be in English. The document/s must be signed only in the presence of the Consular Officer.
3. No express processing will be entertained for the authentication or notarization of professional labor or employment contracts and manpower agreements.
4. Contracts, SPAs, and Affidavits to be submitted by mail must have gone through the notar and Landgericht.
5. Incomplete or incorrect documents will not be processed and will be returned.

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LIST OF DOCUMENTS

Below are documents that may be legalized/notarized at the Embassy. Note that these documents must be used only in the Philippines.

• Affidavits
• Bank Forms / Insurance Forms
• Certifications
• Contracts
• Court Decisions (Divorce, Adoption, Sole Custodianship, etc)
• Deeds of Donation
• Deeds of Absolute Sale
• Extra-Judicial Settlements
• Labour/Employment Contracts and other docs (through the Migrant Workers’ Office, please refer to information here)
• NBI Clearance Fingerprint Forms
• Signature Cards
• Special Powers of Attorney (SPA)
• Philippine Government Forms (GSIS, SSS, etc)

Above list is not exhaustive; please inquire at the Embassy directly to check if your document can be legalized.

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PROCEDURE

Prior to sending the documents by post or submitting in person, please ensure that the documents have been pre-authenticated by the corresponding German authorities.

Please undertake the following steps depending on mode of submission (by post/courier or in person).

A. If sending the documents by POST/COURIER:

1. Have the document/s pre-authenticated by relevant German authorities – Please refer to the list of documents and corresponding German authorities here.
2. Submit the document/s via email for pre-assessment – Please send the scanned copies of the documents to authentication@philippine-embassy.de. The Authentication officer will assesses the completeness of the emailed submission, and will inform you if the documents are ok to be sent by post.
3. Mail your documents to the Embassy – Once the emailed documents have been determined to be complete and in order by the Consular Officer, you will be instructed to mail the documents to:
   • Embassy of the Philippines
     Authentication Unit
     Luisenstraße 16, 10117 Berlin, Germany
4. Include the following in the mail packet:
   1. Proof of payment (Überweisungsbeleg) of €25,00 per document,
   2. One (1) photocopy per original document, and
   3. Self-addressed envelope with €4,25 Deutsche post stamps or a pre-paid envelope, preferably from a private courier service (e.g. DHL Expresseasy) that will be used to send back your documents. The Embassy assumes no liability for any loss of documents once they have been handed over to the German Post Office/courier service.

B. If submitting IN PERSON:

1. Have the document/s pre-authenticated by relevant German authorities – Please refer to the list of documents and corresponding German authorities here. (This step is not necessary for SPAs/Affidavits to be signed by the applicant himself.)
2. Book an appointment through the website.
3. Submit the document/s via email for pre-assessment – Please send the scanned copies of the documents per instructions in the appointment confirmation email.
4. For consular notarization of Affidavits, SPAs, contracts, and other similar documents, please prepare the following:
   • One (1) photocopy per original document/s
   • Two (2) copies of the signatory/s’ passport biodata page or the front and back of the signatory/s’ Personalausweis
   • Self-addressed envelope with €4,25 Deutsche post stamps or a pre-paid envelope, preferably from a private courier service (e.g.DHL Expresseasy) that will be used to send back your documents. The Embassy assumes no liability for any loss of documents once they have been handed over to the German Post Office/courier service.
5. For all other documents, please prepare one (1) photocopy per original document/s

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PROCESSING TIMES

Express processing: An applicant who appears PERSONALLY at the Philippine Embassy in Berlin may pay an additional fee of €10,00 (per document) for the document to be processed and released after two (2) working days.  The processed document(s) may be picked up personally, or mailed back through a self-addressed pre-paid return envelope. Express processing cannot be released on the same day.

Regular processing: For regular processing, applicants may return to the Embassy to claim the processed documents after five (5) working days or have it mailed back through a self-addressed pre-paid return envelope.

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