Certifications

What is a Certification?

Official certifications confirm the authenticity of one or more signatures on a document. In contrast to notarizations, no reference is made to the content of the document in the case of certifications. The notary therefore has no specific duties of clarification or information.

We certify signatures, copies, transcripts, extracts, photographs, as well as dates in any document. We also certify the correspondence of copies and extracts from original documents, the identity of persons in photographs and make a backup of the date on a document submitted to us.

If you would like to have your signature certified, you have to come to us personally. It will be required to present an official identification. We accept passports, identity cards (ID) or foreigners’ identity cards. A driver’s license is not enough.

In principle, you must bring the document to be certified with you. On request we can also prepare the document for you (e.g. a power of attorney). Please contact us in advance by telephone or e-mail. We can also provide you with certifications out of regular office hours.

Please do not hesitate to contact us if you have any further questions.

What is an Apostille?

If you want to have a document certified in order to present it to a foreign authority, it usually requires the so-called apostille.

This is a special type of over-authentication. In simple terms, a state authority confirms that the notary who issued the certification was also entitled to do so. Within the framework of the Hague Convention of 5 October 1961, a standardized procedure for this review was agreed, the so-called apostille. The apostille guarantees that the document is accepted in the country of destination without further authentication by the diplomatic or consular representation.

It is possible to check out in the apostille list which countries have signed the Hague Convention.

The apostille can only be obtained from the state chancelleries. You must go to the state chancellery in whose canton the notary issued the certification. A list of the state chancelleries can be found here.

Our notary’s office carries out notarizations and certifications with effect for the whole country (Switzerland). On request, we can also organize the apostille for you directly.