In States which are party to the Hague Convention abolishing the Requirement of Legalization for Foreign Public Documents of 5 October 1961 public documents no longer need to be legalized. All that is required for these documents is the so-called “Hague apostille”. This Convention applies to all public documents (i.e. marriage and birth certificates, university degrees etc.) with the exception of documents executed by consular officers and documents issued by administrative authorities, which relate directly to commerce or customs.

The “Hague apostille” confirms the authenticity of a public document, the original of which must be submitted to the designated authority. The “Hague apostille” is issued by designated authorities of the state which issued the document.

For German documents, the “Hague apostille” is issued by the designated German authorities.

In the Kingdom of Bahrain in general the Apostille for Bahraini public documents (e.g. birth or marriage certificates) is issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs