Translation, notary and apostille: what your documents actually need

Documents are filed with the Lithuanian register and with notaries in Lithuanian. For a document written in a foreign language, a translation signed by the translator is enough – no notarial certification of the translation is needed here. A notarised translation is most often requested by foreign institutions. The notary then certifies the translator’s signature, and an apostille may be placed on that certification. An apostille confirms the signature and the seal, not the content of the document. A Lithuanian notary accepts a foreign official document only if it bears an apostille or has been legalised, unless an international treaty or European Union law provides otherwise. Where to obtain an apostille is covered separately: A foreign company’s branch in Lithuania.

Which language to translate into

Into Lithuanian. Point 62 of the Regulations of the Register of Legal Entities (JAR nuostatai, JARN) requires documents submitted to a notary and to the register to be drawn up in the state language. If a document is in another language, a translation signed by the translator is attached (point 63 JARN).

So the language of the original does not matter. A foreign register extract in English, Estonian or any other language will be translated into Lithuanian either way. There is no point in first translating it into English.

The same applies to the company’s own documents. Article 4 of the Law on the State Language (VKI) provides that companies operating in Lithuania keep their records, accounting and financial documents in the state language. In our practice a bilingual document that includes the Lithuanian text is enough for this. We have written about bilingual minutes here: Which company documents the register will not accept.

The rule is the same in court. Article 113(3) of the Code of Civil Procedure (CPK): procedural documents and their annexes are submitted to the court in the state language. If a piece of written evidence is not in the state language, a translation certified in the manner prescribed by law is submitted with it (Article 198(2) CPK).

Does a translation need to be notarised

For the Lithuanian register – no. Point 63 JARN requires only the translator’s signature.

For the courts, in our practice a translation by a translation agency is also sufficient. The translator binds and signs the translation, or signs it with an electronic signature. The translator states that it is a translation and that it is accurate, and is liable for an incorrect translation. No notary or apostille is needed for such a translation. If evidence is filed with no translation at all, the court will identify the defect and order the document to be translated.

It is different when the document is going abroad. A foreign bank, register or notary often asks for a “notarised translation”. In Lithuania this means that the notary certifies the authenticity of the translator’s signature. The notary’s power to certify the authenticity of a signature on documents is laid down in Article 26(1)(5) of the Law on the Notarial Profession (NOT). Such a notarial certification can be confirmed with an apostille if it is submitted together with the translated document. This is laid down in point 11 of the Procedure for the Legalisation of Documents and their Certification by Apostille (Dokumentų legalizavimo ir tvirtinimo pažyma (Apostille) tvarkos aprašas, the Procedure; point 11 of the Procedure). The Procedure was updated with effect from 1 October 2026, so the point numbers given here are those of the new version. Until 30 September 2026 the previous version applies: the procedure is the same, but the point numbers differ, a register extract also needs the register’s seal (point 8 of the previous version), and there is no electronic apostille yet.

What a finished bundle looks like is easiest to see from a register extract going to a foreign bank:

1. The extract, signed by an authorised employee of the register. Register data provided on paper are certified by apostille if they bear the signature of an authorised employee and, where applicable, a seal (point 10.4.1 of the Procedure).
2. The translation, signed by the translator.
3. The notary’s certification that the translator’s signature is genuine.
4. The apostille on the extract itself. It confirms the register employee’s signature and is attached to the page bearing the signature of the person who certified the document (point 18.2 of the Procedure).
5. All pages are sewn together and the notary signs once more on the last page.

If the foreign institution requires it, the certification of the translator’s signature can also be confirmed with an apostille (point 11 of the Procedure).

A foreign bank is sometimes confused because the same notary’s signature appears twice in the bundle. These are two different certifications: one is the apostille, the other is the certification of the translator’s signature.

Why an apostille is needed and what it does not prove

An apostille replaces legalisation. Article 2 of the Hague Convention of 5 October 1961 Abolishing the Requirement of Legalisation for Foreign Public Documents (the Hague Convention) requires states to exempt from legalisation the documents to which the Convention applies. A properly completed apostille certifies the authenticity of the signature, the capacity in which the signatory acted and, where appropriate, the identity of the seal (Article 5 of the Hague Convention).

The key limit is set in point 3 of the Procedure: legalising a document or certifying it by apostille does not confirm that its content is true. Documents issued by foreign states and certified by apostille are valid without any further certification (point 4 of the Procedure).

Lithuanian notaries accept official documents drawn up or issued abroad if they bear an apostille or have been legalised, unless Lithuania’s international treaties or European Union legal acts provide otherwise (Article 54 NOT). In our practice people often ask: why can’t the bank or the notary simply look at the foreign register’s website? Because a printout of a website is not an official document, and a notary accepts a foreign official document with an apostille or legalised, unless those treaties or EU law provide otherwise.

Where a foreign register does not issue an extract containing the information needed (for example, on shareholders), in our practice the following route works. A foreign notary certifies a printout of the register data or certifies a signature, and an apostille is placed on the notary’s certification. The Convention treats notarial acts and notarial authentications of signatures as public documents (Article 1 of the Hague Convention).

Two cases where an apostille does not work:

• The state has not joined the Hague Convention. The document is then legalised (point 6.2 of the Procedure). A document issued abroad can be legalised in Lithuania if it has first been legalised by a diplomat or consular officer of the issuing state (point 7 of the Procedure).
• The document was issued by an embassy or consulate. The Convention does not apply to such documents (Article 1 of the Hague Convention), and point 6.3 of the Procedure provides that documents issued by foreign states’ diplomatic missions and consular posts are legalised. Before having a document certified at a foreign embassy, it is worth checking whether a Lithuanian notary will accept it.

In Lithuania, a notary must certify a document with an apostille no later than within 5 working days of its submission (point 21 of the Procedure). Where the notary has to verify the authenticity of the signature or seal further, this time limit may be extended to up to 15 working days (points 21 and 25 of the Procedure).

Do documents need to be notarised at all

Not all of them. In our practice most resolutions, consents and waivers signed by foreign shareholders are accepted by notaries’ offices with an ordinary handwritten signature. The notary then needs the originals, but no notarial certification of the signature and no apostille on them.

The notary checks something else: whether the person who signed had the right to sign. Where a document is signed by a foreign company, the notary asks for its register extract. Sometimes an extract downloaded from the register’s system is enough; sometimes an official one with an apostille is needed. It is worth agreeing this with the notary’s office before ordering documents abroad.

The notarial form is mandatory where the law requires it. The most common example is a natural person’s power of attorney to perform acts connected with legal persons. It must be certified by a notary (Article 2.138(1)(2) of the Civil Code, CK). The exception is a power of attorney drawn up by a natural person by information technology means and registered in the Register of Powers of Attorney (Įgaliojimų registras), and other cases laid down by law (Article 2.138(3) CK). If such a power of attorney is certified abroad, the foreign notary’s certification usually needs an apostille (Article 54 NOT).

Can a notary work with an electronic signature

Yes, and you do not need to attend in person. Lithuanian notaries may perform notarial acts remotely, except certifying wills and a few other acts (Article 28¹(1) NOT). The person’s will is then confirmed by a qualified electronic signature (Article 28¹(4) NOT). Whether to perform the act remotely is decided by the notary (Article 28¹(3) NOT).

A mixed method is also possible: one party signs at the notary’s office, the other remotely (Article 28²(1) NOT). The document certified by the notary is then issued in electronic form, and the notary may also issue a paper copy of it (Article 28²(3) NOT).

In our practice notaries’ offices often accept documents signed with an electronic signature. One frequent exception is the power of attorney for a representative who will sign or certify documents at the notary’s office. For that, notaries’ offices usually ask for the original. A scanned signature or a scanned copy will not do.

From 1 October 2026 an apostille can also be electronic. An electronic document signed with a qualified electronic signature or bearing an electronic seal can be certified by the notary with an e-apostille (point 12.2 of the Procedure). The e-apostille is linked to the document by electronic means so that the two cannot be separated (point 19.2 of the Procedure). A paper apostille is, as before, riveted to a page of the paper document (point 18.2 of the Procedure). Whether the foreign institution will accept an e-apostille is worth checking in advance.

How to start

Send us the list of documents and tell us in which country and to which institution they will be submitted. We will tell you which ones need translating, which need a notary, which need an apostille, and in what order to do it.

Phone +370 5 212 1506, email info@linden.lt

More about this service: drafting legal entity documents.