Document Certification

Legalization of signatures on private documents

Private documents are (hand)written statements of the issuer of the document. Private documents are: statements, powers of attorney, consents, etc. When the competent authority confirms (certifies), with the signature of the authorized person and the official seal of the authority, the handwritten signature of the issuer of the private document, it receives the elements of the public document, except the probative force. Certified private documents for use in international legal transactions are subject to legalization as well as public documents. The signature will be verified/legalized on every statement that does not provoke racial or religious intolerance, does not insult the state, state bodies and its representatives.

Exceptions in the business of signature verification in diplomatic and consular missions are real estate contracts, because they are certified exclusively by the court. However, the parties may certify the power of attorney in the diplomatic-consular mission by which they authorize another person to certify the real estate contract on their behalf before the competent court in Serbia.

Diplomatic and consular missions of the Republic of Serbia, among other things, compose powers of attorney, legalize signatures on statements, verify photocopies, etc.

One of the most frequently composed and legalized statement in diplomatic and consular missions is the inheritance statement. When composing the inheritance statement, it is necessary for the person signing it to be present in person, to have a document with a photo for identification and to have general information about the deceased (name and surname, date and place of birth), court / notary conducting probate proceedings and the place of the court, the number of the case under which the probate hearing is conducted), as well as the person to whom he assigns his inheritance share if it so decides (name and surname, date and place of birth of that person). Important note: holders of Swiss personal documents (as well as German, French and all others that are not documents of the Republic of Serbia) will not be able to certify the successor statement in the diplomatic and consular missions of the Republic of Serbia. These persons, after prior consultation with a notary, court or lawyer in Serbia, may decide to certify their inheritance statement with a Swiss notary, with subsequent verification with "Apostille".

The power of attorney (authorization) should contain basic information about the person to whom it has been given to - name and surname, date of birth, address, ID card or passport number, Personal number (JMBG). It is necessary that the authorization contains the precisely specified action for which it is given. For example, the person giving authorization for his bank account must state which bank is in question, what action needs to be done and what is the number of his current account in that bank.

The person who gives (signs) the authorization or statement, must be present at the Embassy and must have a document with a photograph for identification (biometric passport of the Republic of Serbia, ID card of the Republic of Serbia). Please bring the document unsigned to the Embassy. You will sign it in front of the consular officer.

The Embassy of the Republic of Serbia in Bern does not have "Apostille". "Apostille" on documents from Serbia (certificate of free marriage, translation, certificate of citizenship, etc.) is obtained exclusively in the basic courts in the Republic of Serbia which are competent for the institution that made the document to be verified. "Apostille" on Swiss documents, for their use in the Republic of Serbia, are obtained from the local competent Swiss authority.

Powers of attorney written in German or some other language that is not in official use in the Republic of Serbia won't be certified. For their certification, it is necessary to contact a Swiss notary, except in the case of an authorization on which it is necessary to solemnize the signature (most often these are authorizations for real estate transactions in the Republic of Serbia or for giving a successor statement before the court). For this reason, we advise you to contact a notary in Serbia or the Consular Section of the Embassy before the certification.

Authorizations for car registration can be verified at the Embassy. It is necessary that the authorization, in addition to the above information about the authorizations recipient, also contains information about the vehicle that is the subject of the authorization - brand, type, body, color, chassis number, engine number, license plates (if the vehicle is registered), etc., as well as precisely specified actions that need to be performed with the vehicle, e.g. clear customs, register, negotiate the price, conclude the sales contract, insure, take over the traffic license and sticker, collect any damage from the insurance company, etc.

The Embassy does not participate in recognition in Switzerland of diplomas obtained in the Republic of Serbia. To get your diploma recognized in Switzerland, please visit the following website: https://www.sbfi.admin.ch/sbfi/en/home/education/recognition-of-foreign…