Apostille on a Court Decision: How to Certify a Ukrainian Judgment for Use Abroad

You were divorced in Ukraine and now plan to marry in Italy. Or child support was awarded to you, but the debtor lives in Germany. Or you need to prove in Canada a family relationship that a Ukrainian court has established. In every one of these situations the foreign authority will ask the same question: is this document genuine? The apostille answers it. In this article we explain what an apostille on a court decision is, which authority issues it in 2026, what documents to prepare, how much it costs and how long it takes, when a translation is required, and when no apostille is needed at all.

This article is for information only and does not replace legal advice. The Ukrainian apostille rules changed substantially during 2025 and 2026, so check the current requirements or consult a lawyer before filing your documents.

Key facts at a glance

• An apostille is a special certificate confirming the authenticity of the signature, the seal and the authority of the person who signed a document. You need it so that a Ukrainian court decision is accepted in a country that is a party to the Hague Apostille Convention of 5 October 1961. Ukraine acceded to the Convention by Law No. 2933-III of 10 January 2002, and the Convention has been in force for Ukraine since 22 December 2003.
• A new Apostille Procedure, approved by Order No. 3177/5 of the Ministry of Justice of Ukraine of 20 November 2025, applies from 1 February 2026. It replaced the 2015 procedure.
• The apostille on documents issued by courts is affixed by the Ministry of Justice of Ukraine through the Electronic Register of Apostilles. The application is filed with any civil registry office (DRATS, the Ukrainian state body that registers births, marriages, divorces and deaths), or with a notary; for archival documents it goes to the State Archival Service. Under the new Procedure the courts submit specimen signatures of judges, seals and stamps to the register, but they do not issue apostilles themselves.
• Fee in 2026: UAH 670 for individuals and UAH 1,160 for legal entities (0.2 and 0.35 of the statutory subsistence minimum for able-bodied persons as of 1 January of the year; amounts are in Ukrainian hryvnia). The fee is not refunded if the apostille is refused.
• Time frame: up to 3 working days, counted from the day after the application is registered. If forgery is suspected, processing is suspended for up to one month.
• From 2 March 2026 every apostille carries a QR code and exists in an electronic version that can be verified on the Ministry of Justice website. Filing through Diia (Ukraine’s state e-services portal and mobile app) is envisaged by the Procedure, but at the time of writing the full online service for court documents is still being rolled out.
• For countries with which Ukraine has legal assistance treaties (Poland, the Czech Republic and Hungary, for example), an apostille is formally not required. For countries outside the Convention (the UAE, Qatar, Kuwait, Egypt) consular legalization is required instead.

What an apostille is and why a court decision needs one

An apostille is not a translation, not a notarial certification and not a “stamp of legality”. It is a standardized certificate (or electronic document) in the form set by the Hague Convention of 5 October 1961 Abolishing the Requirement of Legalisation for Foreign Public Documents. It certifies three things: the authenticity of the signature on the document, the capacity in which the signatory acted (a judge, for instance), and the authenticity of the court seal.

To a foreign official, a Ukrainian court is an unfamiliar institution with an unfamiliar signature. The apostille turns the document into one that every state party to the Convention is obliged to accept without further verification. According to the Hague Conference on Private International Law, as of 2026 around 130 states are parties to the Convention, including all EU member states, the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada (since 11 January 2024), China (since 7 November 2023), Australia, Israel, Turkey and Japan.

One point matters a great deal: the apostille confirms only the formal authenticity of the document. It does not mean that a foreign state automatically recognizes the legal effects of the decision. An apostilled divorce decision, for example, still has to be entered into the local civil status register in some countries, or recognized through a local court. That is a separate procedure, and it is worth planning for it in advance.

Which court decisions can be apostilled

An apostille can be affixed to any official document issued by a Ukrainian court, provided it is properly executed. The decisions most often needed abroad are:

• Divorce decisions. This is the most common case: the decision is needed to register a new marriage, to apply for a residence permit, or to change your status in another country’s registers. We describe this procedure in detail in a separate article: Apostille on a divorce decision: a step by step guide.
• Child support (maintenance) decisions. Needed for enforcement abroad, or to prove income or obligations to foreign authorities.
• Decisions establishing facts of legal significance. For example, a family relationship, cohabitation as a family, or the fact that title documents belong to a particular person. Such decisions are frequently required in inheritance and family reunification cases.
• Decisions declaring a person missing or legally dead, and decisions establishing the fact of death.
• Decisions on the division of matrimonial property, recognition of ownership, or recovery of a debt. These are used to register rights or to enforce the decision abroad.
• Decisions on deprivation of parental rights, determination of a child’s place of residence, or permission for a child to travel abroad. Immigration authorities and schools often ask for these.
• Decisions on adoption, establishment of paternity, or change of name.
• Court rulings, including approval of a settlement agreement, as well as court orders (a simplified writ procedure used in Ukraine for undisputed claims).

Decisions are not the only documents that can be apostilled. Certificates, extracts and copies of case materials signed by a judge or an authorized court official and certified by the court also qualify. The key condition is that the document carries the signature of an authorized person and the court seal, and that specimens of both are held in the Electronic Register of Apostilles.

Who issues the apostille on a court decision in 2026

This is the point that causes the most confusion, so it deserves a close look. The apostille on court documents is affixed by the Ministry of Justice of Ukraine, and the new Procedure did not change that. The Ministry acts within its competence over documents of justice bodies, courts and state archival institutions, as well as documents executed by notaries.

On 1 February 2026 a new Procedure for affixing the apostille to official documents intended for use in the territory of other states entered into force (Order of the Ministry of Justice No. 3177/5 of 20 November 2025). At the same time two earlier acts ceased to apply: the Procedure approved by Ministry of Justice Order No. 2268/5 of 11 November 2015, and Ministry of Justice Order No. 2452/5 of 30 November 2015 on the submission of specimen signatures, seal impressions and stamps.

What genuinely changed is the technology. The apostille is now affixed exclusively through the software of the Electronic Register of Apostilles, and the register holds specimen signatures, seal and stamp impressions, and data on public key certificates. These specimens are submitted by:

1. The Ministry of Justice, for its own officials.
2. Territorial bodies of the Ministry of Justice, for officials of civil registry offices (DRATS), state registrars and notaries.
3. The State Archival Service, for officials of archival institutions.
4. The courts, for judges.

In other words, a court is responsible for making sure that the specimen signature of the judge and the court seal are in the register, not for issuing the apostille. The applicant files the application with any civil registry office (DRATS) or with a notary (when the updated register was launched, civil registry offices and state notarial offices were connected first, and private notaries were added later), or with the State Archival Service for archival documents. People who are outside Ukraine may send their documents by post. Before travelling to a particular office, it is worth calling it to confirm that it already accepts applications concerning court documents.

One separate point for Ukrainians abroad: Ukrainian embassies and consulates do not issue apostilles. If you live outside Ukraine, you will have to send the documents by post or entrust the matter to a representative in Ukraine.

What the document must contain: requirements for the court decision

The original court decision stays in the case file. The court issues a copy to the parties, and it is that copy which is apostilled. To be accepted, the copy must meet the following requirements:

• it is certified by the court that issued the decision: the signature of the judge or of an authorized court official, plus the court’s official (embossed) seal;
• it bears a note that the decision has entered into legal force, with the date. Without this note the apostille will normally be refused, and the foreign authority will not accept the document;
• all pages are bound, numbered and sealed if the document runs to more than one page;
• there are no unattested corrections, additions or damage that makes the text hard to read;
• the signature and seal are clear and match the specimens held in the register.

A printout from the Unified State Register of Court Decisions (Ukraine’s public online database of judgments) without an original ink seal of the court is not suitable for an apostille. Neither is a plain photocopy or a scan. A notarized copy of a court decision can in theory be apostilled as a notarial document (in that case the apostille confirms the notary’s signature, not the judge’s), but foreign authorities often insist on a court-issued copy, so take this route only if the receiving institution expressly allows it.

If the decision was issued long ago and you no longer have a copy, you can obtain one from the court on application. Parties to the case pay no court fee for the first copy; a repeat copy is chargeable.

How to file for an apostille: step by step

1. Obtain a proper copy of the decision. File an application with the court registry for a copy of the decision bearing the note that it has entered into legal force. Check that the copy carries the signature, the seal and the date on which the decision became final.
2. Find out what the destination country requires. Establish whether an apostille is needed at all (see the section below), whether a translation is required, who must produce it, and whether the translation itself also needs an apostille.
3. Pay the fee. In 2026 this is UAH 670 for an individual. The authority that accepts the application will give you the payment details; keep the payment instruction or receipt.
4. File the application. Go to a civil registry office (DRATS) or a notary, bearing in mind the transitional rules described above. Bring your passport or another identity document, the copy of the decision itself, and proof of payment. The official registers your application in the Electronic Register of Apostilles, and the processing period runs from the day after that registration.
5. Wait for the outcome. Processing takes up to 3 working days from the day after the application is registered. If there is any doubt about the authenticity of the document, processing may be suspended for up to one month for verification.
6. Collect the apostilled document. The apostille is affixed as a special certificate with a QR code and also exists in electronic form. If the apostille is refused, you receive a notice of refusal, and the fee is not returned.
7. Arrange the translation and, if necessary, an apostille on the translation. More on this below.

If you are abroad, the Procedure allows you to send the application and documents to a civil registry office by post. Filing through a representative is possible in practice, but requirements differ from one office to another, so it is safer to issue a notarized power of attorney or to instruct a lawyer.

Deadlines and fees in 2026

Since 3 May 2025 the fee has been tied to the subsistence minimum for able-bodied persons set by law as of 1 January of the calendar year in which the documents are filed, rounded to the nearest UAH 10:

• individuals: 0.2 of the subsistence minimum, which is UAH 670 in 2026;
• legal entities: 0.35 of the subsistence minimum, which is UAH 1,160 in 2026.

For comparison: until 3 May 2025 the fee was fixed and nominal (UAH 51 for individuals and UAH 85 for legal entities), and after the switch to the subsistence minimum formula it stood at UAH 610 and UAH 1,060. The amount is therefore recalculated every 1 January, and in 2027 it will rise again together with the subsistence minimum.

The apostille must be issued, or refused, within three working days. The period starts on the day after the application is registered in the register. This is the standard scenario, where the specimen signature and seal are already in the database. If the document raises a suspicion of forgery, processing is suspended for up to one month and you are notified. Budget additional time for obtaining the copy from the court (usually a few days), for the translation, and for certifying it.

Electronic apostille, QR code and online filing

The updated Electronic Register of Apostilles has been operating in Ukraine since 2 March 2026. For the document holder this means:

• every apostille carries a unique QR code that lets a foreign authority verify it instantly;
• besides the paper certificate, the apostille exists in electronic form: a file with a qualified electronic signature in the international ASiC-E format, which can be downloaded as a PDF and sent abroad;
• apostilles issued after 1 March 2026 can be checked on a dedicated Ministry of Justice resource (apostille.minjust.gov.ua), which also stores a scanned copy of the document itself;
• the register is building a database of specimen signatures and seals, which should speed up verification.

As for filing through Diia: the new Procedure expressly provides for an electronic application through the Unified State Web Portal of Electronic Services, with payment via integrated payment systems and delivery of the result online. However, as of spring 2026 the Ministry of Justice reported that the integration with Diia was still in progress, and that civil registry offices and state notarial offices had been connected to the register first. So before counting on online filing for a court decision, check whether the service is actually available in the Diia app on the date you apply. We would not claim that the online service for court documents is already fully operational.

Translation: when it is needed and how to certify it

In Ukraine the apostille is affixed to a document drawn up in Ukrainian, and the certificate itself follows the standard Convention form with the French heading Apostille (Convention de La Haye du 5 octobre 1961). But the foreign authority needs the substance of the decision in a language it understands, so a translation is almost always mandatory. There are three typical models, and which one applies depends on the destination country:

1. Apostille on the original, translation done abroad. Poland and the Czech Republic work this way: they require a translation by a sworn (court) translator entered in the register of their own ministry of justice. A translation made in Ukraine may be rejected.
2. Apostille on the original, then translation in Ukraine with notarial certification. The translator translates the document together with the apostille, and a notary certifies the translator’s signature. This is enough for many countries.
3. “Double apostille”. First an apostille on the copy of the decision, then the translation, then notarial certification of the translation, then a second apostille on the notarized translation. In common practice this is required by Italy, Spain, Germany, Austria, France, the Netherlands, Portugal and Switzerland, among others. This list is not official, so always confirm the requirements with the institution that will receive the document.

One more rule: the translation must not be bound to the document before the apostille has been affixed. Apostille first, translation second. Do it the other way round and you will have to start over.

When no apostille is needed: legal assistance treaties

An apostille is only needed for countries that are parties to the Hague Convention and with which Ukraine has no other simplified arrangement. Ukraine has concluded a number of bilateral legal assistance treaties under which official documents issued in one state are accepted in the other without an apostille or legalization. Broadly, these countries include Poland, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria, Serbia, North Macedonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, Georgia, Moldova, Uzbekistan, Vietnam and Mongolia. The list is not exhaustive and can change, so check the current status of the treaty before filing.

Practice matters more than theory here. Ukrainians who have submitted documents in Poland or the Czech Republic know that local institutions often ask for an apostille anyway, because not every official is familiar with the bilateral treaty. Lawyers usually advise obtaining an apostille even where it is formally unnecessary, provided the extra cost is modest: having a document rejected is more expensive.

Note separately that the 1993 Minsk Convention, which used to simplify document exchange with CIS countries, no longer applies to Ukraine. Law No. 2783-IX of 1 December 2022 suspended it in relations with the Russian Federation and the Republic of Belarus (from 27 December 2022), and Ukraine’s withdrawal from the Convention took effect on 19 May 2024. For former CIS countries only bilateral treaties (where they exist) or the Hague Convention now apply.

Countries outside the Hague Convention: consular legalization

If the destination country is not a party to the Convention and has no legal assistance treaty with Ukraine, an apostille will not help. Consular legalization is required instead, and it has two stages:

1. Legalization of the document at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine (or at its territorial offices). Court decisions usually have to be certified by the Ministry of Justice first, and only then by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
2. Legalization at the embassy or consulate of the destination country in Ukraine. It is the consulate that confirms the document may be used in its own state.

States that as of 2026 have not joined the Convention include the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Kuwait, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan and Lebanon. The Convention keeps expanding: China joined in 2023, Canada in 2024, for Vietnam the Convention enters into force on 11 September 2026, and for Thailand on 28 February 2027. Check the current status of your destination country on the Hague Conference website or with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs before you start.

Consular legalization takes longer and costs more than an apostille, and embassies differ in what they require for translation and formatting. This is where it is particularly useful to involve a lawyer who has already been through the procedure with that specific consulate.

Common mistakes and grounds for refusal

The Apostille Rules (joint order of the Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the Ministry of Education and Science and the Ministry of Finance No. 125/209/293/139/999/5 of 17 March 2023) list the situations in which an apostille is not affixed. With court decisions, the following come up most often:

• No note that the decision has entered into legal force. This is the single most common reason why a foreign authority rejects a decision and why the apostille authority refuses.
• A photocopy, a scan or a printout from the register of court decisions submitted without the court’s signature and seal.
• The signature or seal does not match the specimens in the register, or no specimens are held. Processing is then suspended while an enquiry is sent to the court.
• Unattested corrections, additions or damage, a document written in pencil, or one received by fax.
• The document is intended for a country to which the apostille does not apply.
• The translation was bound to the document before the apostille. You will then have to order a fresh copy.
• A laminated document. The Rules contain no express prohibition, but in practice such documents are not accepted, because lamination makes it impossible to affix the certificate. This is rare for court copies, though it does happen with other documents.
• Errors in personal data (the surname spelled differently in the decision and in the international passport). The apostille will be affixed, but problems will arise abroad, so it is better to have the clerical error corrected by the court first.

If you are refused, the fee is not refunded. It is cheaper to prepare the document correctly once than to pay repeatedly for further attempts.

How a lawyer helps: when to ask for assistance

The apostille itself is a straightforward procedure if the document is flawless, you are in Ukraine, and the destination country has no special requirements. Real life is often different. A lawyer is useful in situations such as these:

• you are abroad and cannot personally obtain the copy of the decision from the court and file the application;
• the decision was issued long ago, the file contains clerical errors or lacks the note on entry into legal force, and you first need a court ruling correcting it or a certificate;
• the destination country demands special formalities (double apostille, sworn translation, legalization) and you do not want to risk a refusal;
• beyond the apostille, you need the decision recognized and enforced abroad (recovering child support from a debtor in another country, for example);
• the divorce, child support or division of property has not been finalized yet, and the process needs to be planned so that the decision is immediately fit for use abroad.

Acting under a power of attorney, a lawyer obtains the copy of the decision, checks it against the requirements, files the apostille application, arranges the translation and certification, and then hands the complete package to you or sends it abroad. That saves weeks of correspondence with the court and several trips.

Frequently asked questions

Which authority issues the apostille on a court decision in Ukraine in 2026?
The apostille on a court decision is affixed by the Ministry of Justice of Ukraine through the Electronic Register of Apostilles. The application is filed with any civil registry office (DRATS) or with a notary. Under the new Procedure (Ministry of Justice Order No. 3177/5 of 20 November 2025, in force since 1 February 2026) the courts submit specimen signatures of judges, seals and stamps to the register, but they do not issue apostilles themselves.

How much does an apostille on a court decision cost?
In 2026 the fee is UAH 670 for individuals and UAH 1,160 for legal entities. The amount is tied to the subsistence minimum and is revised every 1 January. Translation and notarial certification are paid for separately.

How long does it take to obtain an apostille?
Up to three working days from the day after the application is registered. If the authenticity of the document has to be verified, the period may be suspended for up to one month. Add time for obtaining the copy of the decision from the court and for the translation.

Can a court decision that has not entered into legal force be apostilled?
In practice, no. The copy submitted for an apostille must bear the court’s note that the decision has entered into legal force, with the date. Without it the apostille authority will most likely refuse, and the foreign institution will not accept the document.

Can the application be filed through Diia?
The new Procedure provides for electronic filing through the Diia portal, but as of spring 2026 the Ministry of Justice reported that the integration was still under way. Check whether the service appears in the app on the date you apply; if it does not, file through a civil registry office (DRATS) or a notary.

For which countries is no apostille needed on a court decision?
For states with which Ukraine has bilateral legal assistance treaties, in particular Poland, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria, Serbia, the Baltic states, Georgia and Moldova. In practice, however, institutions in those countries sometimes ask for an apostille anyway, so confirm the requirements in advance. For countries outside the Hague Convention (the UAE, Qatar, Kuwait, Egypt) consular legalization replaces the apostille.

Is a translation of the court decision required, and who certifies it?
Almost always, yes. The apostille comes first, the translation second. Depending on the country, the translation is certified by a Ukrainian notary (sometimes with a second apostille on the translation) or by a sworn translator in the destination country, as in Poland and the Czech Republic.

Need an apostille on a court decision? Contact LEXON

The lawyers at LEXON work with documents intended for use abroad every day: we obtain copies of decisions from the courts, prepare them for apostille, file the applications, arrange translation and certification, and support the recognition of Ukrainian decisions in other countries. If you are outside Ukraine, we handle everything under a power of attorney and send you the completed package.

We advise around the clock, 24/7. Call 097 037 73 33 (from outside Ukraine, dial +380 97 037 73 33) or leave a request through the form at lexon.in.ua, and a lawyer will get back to you shortly. Confidentiality guaranteed.

Related service: litigation lawyer in Ukraine.

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