Notarisations

Notarisation of signatures and documents
Documents and certificates can be officially notarised if they originate from an authority or are required for an authority, unless notarisation is prohibited. Only the copies of the documents are notarised. In the case of foreign documents, a translation by an interpreter sworn in Germany must be submitted, the translation and the document must belong together and the original must be submitted. The translated copy is notarised, not the document itself.

An official legalisation is the legalisation of documents from German authorities or documents for submission to German authorities; non-official and foreign documents for private purposes should be legalised by notaries.
The original must be presented for notarisation.
The Citizens' Office may not notarise all documents (e.g. no civil status certificates and no laminated documents).
Signatures on health care proxies or living wills may also not be notarised by the Citizens' Office. Please contact the Warendorf district care centre for this.

The following documents cannot be notarised at the Citizens' Office:

• German civil status certificates (the registry office that issued the certificate is responsible)
• Certificates of good conduct (the Federal Office of Justice is responsible)
• Extracts from the commercial register (the local courts are responsible)
• Extracts from the property register (responsible is the land registry office - district of Warendorf)
• Articles of association of stock corporations and limited liability companies (notaries are responsible)
• Copies from official registers
• Wills
• Documents on inheritance law and property matters
• Court judgements
• affidavits
• General powers of attorney
• Documents relating to private law or required for private use