South African businesses expanding into international markets or conducting cross-border trade are frequently required to have their commercial documents authenticated and legalised before they will be accepted by foreign authorities, business partners, banks, or regulatory bodies.
Whether you are exporting products, registering a South African company abroad, entering into international contracts or supplying goods to foreign governments, your commercial documents will typically need to be notarised, apostilled or authenticated, and in some cases attested by the embassy of the destination country.
We handle the complete legalisation chain for South African commercial and trade documents — from notarisation through to High Court or DIRCO apostille and, where required, embassy attestation. Our Pretoria offices are located close to the High Court, DIRCO, and more than 100 foreign embassies, enabling us to process your documents efficiently.
Certificates of Origin Free Trade Certificates Commercial Invoices Packing Lists Bills of Lading Shipping Documents Physical & Chemical Analysis Reports Product Specifications Health & Phytosanitary Certificates Halaal Certificates
SARS Tax Clearance Certificates B-BBEE Certificates Medical Device Licences Manufacturing Licences Export Permits Pharmaceutical Licences SAHPRA Certificates ISO & Quality Certificates
CIPC Certificate of Incorporation Memorandum of Incorporation (MOI) Board Resolutions Certificates of Good Standing Shareholder Certificates Company Registration Documents Agency & Distribution Agreements Powers of Attorney
Patent Documents & Powers of Attorney Trade Mark Assignments Licence Agreements International Contracts Franchise Agreements Joint Venture Agreements Non-Disclosure Agreements
1 Document Assessment
We review your commercial documents and confirm the specific requirements for your destination country.
2 Notarisation by our Notary Public
Commercial documents submitted to the High Court must first be notarised by a South African Notary Public. Our admitted Notary Public handles this step directly in our offices — no need to source a separate notary.
3 High Court Apostille or DIRCO Authentication
We submit your notarised documents to the High Court for an apostille certificate, or to DIRCO where required. The apostille is then recognised in all Hague Convention member countries without further legalisation.
1 Document Assessment & Notarisation
We review the destination embassy's specific requirements and notarise your documents accordingly.
2 High Court Authentication & DIRCO
Your documents are authenticated through the High Court and, where required, through DIRCO.
3 Embassy Attestation
We submit your authenticated documents to the relevant embassy or consulate in Pretoria for final attestation. Some embassies have additional requirements or request supporting documentation — we handle this for you.
Important: Some embassies charge substantial fees for the legalisation of commercial and corporate documents. We recommend confirming the exact documents required by the destination country before proceeding, to avoid unnecessary costs. We can advise you on this.
We regularly process commercial documents for exporters, manufacturers and corporate clients. Businesses with recurring legalisation requirements are welcome to discuss account arrangements.
Our Pretoria offices are located close to the High Court, DIRCO and more than 100 foreign embassies, enabling efficient processing without unnecessary delays.
Our service is owned and managed by an admitted legal professional with more than 25 years of experience. We understand the legal requirements and ensure your documents are processed correctly.
The High Court will issue an apostille only for a commercial document that bears the signature of a South African Notary Public. The notary's signature is what the High Court authenticates.
Yes. For Hague Convention member countries, your documents are legalised with an apostille certificate. For non-member countries, we process your documents through the full authentication chain, including embassy attestation. We work with embassies and consulates across Pretoria on a daily basis.
High Court apostille for notarised commercial documents is typically completed within 1–2 working days. DIRCO authentication takes longer depending on current processing times. Embassy attestation timeframes vary by embassy. We provide estimated timeframes with every quotation.
Absolutely. Many of our corporate clients are based in Johannesburg, Cape Town, Durban and elsewhere in South Africa. Simply courier your documents to our Pretoria offices and we handle the entire process. We can also courier your legalised documents back to you or directly to the overseas recipient via DHL or secure courier.
If your commercial documents are in a language other than English and need to be presented to an authority that requires English, a sworn translation will be needed. We offer a simultaneous translation and legalisation service — your documents are translated and legalised in a single process.
In many cases, related commercial documents can be bound together under a single notarial cover sheet and apostilled as one set. This can significantly reduce costs when you have multiple documents for the same destination. We will advise you whether this is appropriate for your situation.
