Do my documents need an apostille, and who translates them?
Usually both, and in that order. A foreign public document is first legalised in the country that issued it: an apostille where that country is in the Hague Convention, full superlegalisation where it is not, nothing where a bilateral treaty waives it. Then it is submitted in the original together with an officially certified Czech translation. Slovak documents skip the translation entirely.
Who this is for: Anyone attaching foreign documents to a Czech application: birth and marriage certificates, criminal-record extracts, diplomas, powers of attorney.
Not for: Czech-issued documents used in Czechia, which need neither, and Czech documents going ABROAD, which are the mirror procedure handled by the issuing-side authorities.
The translation rule, from the Code
Foreign-language documents — original plus certified Czech translation
Original + officially certified Czech translation, unless the authority waives it; Slovak is accepted as such
Documents submitted in any administrative proceeding, immigration included. A foreign-language document goes in as the original together with an officially certified translation into Czech, unless the authority announces it does not require one. Proceedings are conducted in Czech, and Slovak may be used and Slovak documents submitted without translation.
Show the Czech textHide the Czech text
The wording the rule above was read from. It is the authoritative text, and it is in Czech.
“§ 16 odst. 1 a 2: "V řízení se jedná a písemnosti se vyhotovují v českém jazyce. Účastníci řízení mohou jednat a písemnosti mohou být předkládány i v jazyce slovenském. ... Písemnosti vyhotovené v cizím jazyce musí účastník řízení předložit v originálním znění a současně v úředně ověřeném překladu do jazyka českého, pokud správní orgán nesdělí účastníkovi řízení, že takový překlad nevyžaduje."”
Read from e-sbirka.gov.cz on 14 October 2026Check it yourself
A certified translation in this context means one by a sworn translator from the official register kept on the Ministry of Justice’s lists site, bound to the document with the translator’s clause and seal. An office may announce it waives translations for a language; never assume it, confirm it for your office and your document.
Which legalisation your document needs
| Issuing country is… | What the document needs | Who does it |
|---|---|---|
| Party to the Hague Apostille Convention | An apostille stamped by that country’s designated authority | The issuing country, before you submit anything in Czechia |
| Not a Hague party, no treaty | Superlegalisation: the issuing state’s authentication chain, finished by the Czech embassy there | The issuing country’s authorities + the Czech embassy |
| Covered by a bilateral legal-assistance treaty with Czechia | Often nothing beyond the original document | Check the treaty’s scope before relying on it |
The issuing country’s status is checkable on the Hague Conference’s own list of contracting parties, and the Czech embassy for that country states the local chain. The one answer that is always wrong is a notary stamp alone standing in for the real procedure.
The 180-day trap
Maximum age of the supporting documents you attach to an application — and which documents are EXEMPT from that limit
Not older than 180 days, EXCEPT the travel document, civil-registry documents (birth, marriage, death certificates) and your photograph, which have NO age limit under this rule
Long-stay (D) visa applications, and — because § 46 applies § 55 obdobně — long-term residence permits generally (§ 46(1)), family reunification and scientific research (§ 46(3)), EU long-term residents and their family (§ 46(4)), study (§ 46(5)), the EMPLOYEE CARD (§ 46(6)), investment (§ 46(8)), and extensions of long-term residence (§ 44a(3)), ICT cards (§ 44b(2)) and investment permits (§ 44c(5)). EXEMPT from the limit: the travel document, civil-registry documents (birth, marriage and death certificates), and your photograph if it still looks like you.
Show the Czech textHide the Czech text
The wording the rule above was read from. It is the authoritative text, and it is in Czech.
“§ 55(1): "(1) Náležitosti k žádosti o udělení dlouhodobého víza nesmí být starší 180 dnů, s výjimkou cestovního dokladu, matričních dokladů a fotografie cizince, pokud odpovídá jeho skutečné podobě."”
Read from e-sbirka.gov.cz on 13 September 2026Check it yourself
Sequence your paperwork backwards from the filing date: a criminal-record extract legalised and translated in January is stale for a filing in August, and the translation dies with the document it is bound to. Civil-registry documents and your passport are the exceptions that do not age under this rule.
A working order of operations
- 1List every foreign document your application names, the form pages on this site list them per application.
- 2For each, obtain a fresh original where it ages, see the 180-day rule above.
- 3Legalise in the issuing country per the table, apostille queues vary from days to months.
- 4Sworn translation into Czech, from the official register, binding translation to the legalised original.
- 5File within the document’s lifetime, and keep scans of everything.
Quick questions
- Does the apostille itself need translating?
- The apostille is a standardised form, but offices routinely expect the translation to cover the whole submitted document, stamp included. Sworn translators handle this as a matter of course; raise it when ordering.
- My country’s documents are in English. Surely English is fine?
- No. The proceeding runs in Czech, and only Slovak enjoys the statutory exception. An English birth certificate needs the certified Czech translation like any other foreign document.
- Can a translator in my home country do the Czech translation?
- The safe answer is a translator from the Czech official register, whose clause Czech offices recognise on sight. Anything else invites a request to redo it, which costs the time the 180-day rule is counting.
Official sources, and when we read them
- Act 500/2004 Sb., § 16, consolidated text in force read 14 October 2026
- Justice.cz: lists of experts, interpreters and translators read 14 October 2026
- MZV: authentication of documents (ověřování listin) read 14 October 2026
- HCCH: Apostille Convention, contracting parties read 14 October 2026
A summary to help you act in time, not legal advice. Rules change; the dates above say when each source was actually read, and the fact boxes carry their own.
What to do next
Related answers
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