What is an apostille? The Hague stamp that lets you form a BV from abroad

What is an apostille?

An apostille is a certificate that one country attaches to a public document so another country will accept it as genuine. It was created by the Hague Convention Abolishing the Requirement of Legalisation for Foreign Public Documents, signed in 1961, which now has well over 120 member states. Before the Convention, getting a document recognised abroad meant a chain of consular stamps; the apostille replaced that with a single, standardised certificate that every member country agrees to honour.

Crucially, an apostille authenticates the official, not the content. When you sign a Power of Attorney in front of your local notary, the apostille confirms that that notary is real and authorised to act, so the Dutch notary on the other end can rely on their signature and seal. It does not vouch for what the document says or for the legal effect of your signature; that remains a matter for the underlying document and the law that governs it.

Why a foreign document needs one

A Dutch civil-law notary (notaris) cannot simply take a foreign notary's stamp at face value. There are hundreds of notarial systems worldwide, and a Dutch official has no way to verify a stamp from, say, Lagos or São Paulo on sight. The apostille solves that: the issuing country's designated authority confirms the signing official is on its register, and because every Convention member recognises every other member's apostille, the Dutch notary can trust it instantly.

For company formation specifically, this is what makes a fully remote BV possible. Instead of flying to the Netherlands to sign the deed in person, you sign a Power of Attorney at home, have it apostilled, and send the scan. The apostille is the bridge that gives your home-country signature legal weight in front of the Dutch notary. If you are weighing up the wider remote-formation process, our non-resident BV guide walks through the full timeline.

Which authority issues an apostille

Every Convention member designates one or more "competent authorities" to issue apostilles. There is no single global office; you apostille in the country where the document was signed, through that country's designated body. It is almost always the foreign ministry or a court-linked authority. A few common examples:

The exact body and its naming can change, so confirm the current designated authority on the Hague Conference (HCCH) list of competent authorities for your country (verify the current designated body before you book an appointment). If you sign in a country different from your residence, you apostille in the country of signing, not the country you live in.

How long it takes, and expedited options

Turnaround is the part founders most often underestimate, because it sits entirely outside our control and outside the Netherlands. It ranges from same-day to several weeks depending on the country and the route you choose:

• Postal / standard service. Many foreign ministries process by post or online submission. This is typically a few working days to a couple of weeks (verify the current turnaround for your country before relying on it).
• Same-day / premium counter service. Some authorities, and many private legalisation agencies, offer a premium walk-in or courier service that returns the apostille in 24-48 hours for an extra fee.
• Agency handling. A specialist legalisation agent can collect, apostille and courier the document for you. It costs more, but for non-EU founders on a tight timeline it is usually money well spent.

Because the apostille step happens before the Dutch notary can act, it is the single biggest swing factor in how fast your BV is registered. We quote formation at typically 5 working days from complete KYC; that clock starts once the apostilled Power of Attorney is in hand, not before. Front-loading the apostille is the easiest way to keep to the fast end of the range.

Exactly where it fits in Dutch BV formation

For a non-EU founder forming remotely, the apostille slots into a precise point in the sequence. Here is the order, and why it matters that the steps run in this order:

1. KYC and engagement. You upload ID and proof of address; AML checks run. Nothing is apostilled yet.
2. The notary drafts your Power of Attorney. The Dutch notary prepares the PoA (and the draft Articles of Association), usually bilingual or in English, naming who may execute the deed on your behalf.
3. You sign the PoA in front of your local notary. Your local notary witnesses and seals your signature.
4. You apostille that signed PoA. Your country's competent authority adds the apostille certifying your local notary. This is the step covered by this guide.
5. You send the apostilled scan back. The Dutch notary verifies it. With a valid apostilled PoA in hand, they can execute the deed.
6. Deed execution and KvK registration. The notary passes the deed; the BV is filed with the KvK and the UBO register, and tax registration is triggered.

So the apostille is the gate between "documents drafted" and "deed executed". Get it early and the rest of the formation runs to plan; leave it late and it becomes the bottleneck. If you want the detail on the document you are actually signing, see the Power of Attorney guide.

The EU video-notary alternative (no apostille)

If you are resident in an EU member state, you may not need an apostille at all. Since 1 January 2024, under EU Directive 2019/1151 on the use of digital tools in company law, EU founders can incorporate a Dutch BV through a video-notary session: a roughly 30-minute video call in which the Dutch notary verifies your identity directly. Because the notary deals with you in person (over video) rather than relying on a foreign official's stamp, there is no Power of Attorney to apostille.

This is faster and cheaper, so it is the default route for eligible EU founders. The apostille route remains the standard path for founders outside the EU, and for any case where the video option is not available. Either way, the destination is the same: a notarially executed deed and a live KvK registration.

If your country is not in the Convention

A handful of countries have not joined the Hague Apostille Convention. If you sign in one of them, an apostille is simply not available, and you fall back to the older process of consular legalisation: the document is certified by your local authorities and your foreign ministry, then stamped by the Dutch embassy or consulate that covers your country. There can be an extra notary or chamber-of-commerce step in between.

Consular legalisation is materially slower and more expensive than an apostille, sometimes by weeks, so if you are in this position, start it as early as possible and budget extra time into your launch plan. We will confirm which route applies to you, apostille or consular, as soon as we know your country of signing, so there are no surprises mid-process.

Common mistakes that cost time

• Apostilling the wrong document. You apostille the Power of Attorney the Dutch notary drafts, not a generic letter you wrote yourself. Wait for the notary's draft.
• Apostilling in the wrong country. The apostille must be issued where the document was signed. Signing in one country and trying to apostille in another does not work.
• Leaving it until last. Founders book everything else first and treat the apostille as an afterthought; it is usually the longest single step, so do it first.
• Assuming your country is in the Convention. Check before you plan around an apostille; a non-member country needs the slower consular route.
• A stale Power of Attorney. The notary wants a recent PoA, so do not reuse an old apostilled document from a previous matter.

None of this is hard once you know the order, but each mistake quietly adds days. Getting the apostille right at the start is far cheaper than redoing it, the same principle that runs through the rest of our remote-formation guidance.

FAQ