The authenticity of a signature can be verified by a consular officer at a Czech embassy or consulate abroad. The addresses of these offices are listed on the website of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic. If, for any reason, you do not use this option, your signature can also be verified by the competent authority of the country where the process takes place. However, the following procedure must be observed:
First, you need to check whether the country where you want to carry out the act has concluded a legal assistance agreement with the Czech Republic. A list of these countries is available on the website of the Ministry of Justice of the Czech Republic (link provided there). If such an agreement exists, the verification of the signature has the same evidentiary value as if it were carried out by an official in the Czech Republic, and further verification is usually not required. However, this does not apply, for example, to Switzerland, Cyprus, or Moldova.
If you find that the country does not have a legal assistance agreement with the Czech Republic, you need to check whether the country has signed the Hague Convention Abolishing the Requirement of Legalisation for Foreign Public Documents of 1961. A list of these countries can be found on the website of the Ministry of Justice of the Czech Republic. If the country is a signatory to the Convention, the authenticity of the signature must still be verified by the local legalization authority with an apostille certificate. This certificate is attached to the document with the verified signature by the competent authority of the country where the signature was verified. The certificate may either be part of the document itself or attached as a firmly bound annex. The certificate must be issued in the official language of the country that issues it, but its title “APOSTILLE” is always in French (see sample apostille certificate).
If the signature is officially verified in a country that is not a signatory to the Convention and does not have a legal assistance agreement with the Czech Republic, you must request a higher level of verification, known as superlegalization. Superlegalization requires several additional verifications—starting with one verification, which usually involves multiple authoritiesin the country where the signature was verified (e.g., the local Ministry of Justice and Ministry of Foreign Affairs), and finally, the Czech embassy or consulate in that country adds its verification. This higher-level verification confirms the authenticity of the signature, the authority of the person verifying the signature, and, if applicable, the authenticity of the seal or stamp on the document.
