The e-Apostille is an electronic Apostille certificate issued by the Singapore Academy of Law (SAL). It serves the same legal purpose as a physical Apostille and allows for electronic verification by the overseas recipient.
The e-Apostille is an electronic version of the Apostille certificate issued by the Singapore Academy of Law (SAL). It serves the same legal purpose as a physical Apostille — authenticating notarised documents for use in countries that are parties to the Hague Apostille Convention. The e-Apostille is issued digitally, allowing for electronic verification and eliminating the need to collect a physical certificate from SAL.
The e-Apostille is available through SAL’s e-Apostille for Notarised Documents Pilot Programme. Notaries Public who participate in the pilot programme can create electronic Notarial Certificates (e-NCs) and submit them to SAL for the issuance of e-Apostilles. Our principal, Eben Ong, is a Notary Public participating in this pilot programme.
Before opting for the e-Apostille, please confirm with the overseas recipient that they will accept the e-Apostille for the intended purpose. If the recipient has not confirmed acceptance, a physical Apostille will be issued instead. Physical Apostilles remain available.
There are two categories of e-Apostille available in Singapore, depending on the type of document you have.
No Notary Public needed
Per e-Apostille certificate, paid directly to SAL.
This option is available for ACRA documents in Open Attestation format issued from 4 March 2023 onwards. No Notary Public is required.
Apply directly at the SAL Legalisation Portal.
For all notarised documents — requires a Notary Public
Per e-Apostille certificate, paid to SAL by the Notary Public. This is in addition to the Notary Public’s own prescribed fees for the notarisation.
This option is available for all documents notarised by a Notary Public who is participating in SAL’s e-Apostille for Notarised Documents Pilot Programme.
The Notary Public notarises your documents and creates an electronic Notarial Certificate (e-NC). The documents are uploaded to SAL’s legalisation portal, and SAL issues the e-Apostille electronically.
Book Notary AppointmentStep-by-step guide to obtaining an e-Apostille via e-Notarisation.
Confirm with the overseas recipient whether they will accept the e-Apostille for the intended purpose. This must be confirmed before proceeding with the e-Apostille option. If the recipient does not accept the e-Apostille or has not confirmed acceptance, a physical Apostille will be issued instead.
Engage a Notary Public who is participating in SAL’s e-Apostille for Notarised Documents Pilot Programme. Our principal, Eben Ong, is a participating Notary Public.
Book a notary appointment online. Witnessing of signatures and certified true copies of physical originals require in-person attendance at the Notary Public’s office (or an in-Singapore outcall) with your documents and valid identification (passport or NRIC). Some digitally verifiable documents (e.g. ACRA) may not require attendance after confirmation. Zoom, video, and other remote witnessing are not offered.
The Notary Public notarises your documents and uploads them to SAL’s legalisation portal, creating an electronic Notarial Certificate (e-NC).
SAL issues the e-Apostille electronically upon receipt of the e-NC from the Notary Public.
You will receive an email from SAL with a link to access your e-Apostille documents.
Follow the link in the email from SAL. You will need to verify your identity through a one-time password (OTP) sent to your registered email or mobile number. Once verified, you can access and download your e-Apostille documents.
Forward the e-Apostille documents to the overseas recipient. The recipient can verify the e-Apostille electronically.
After the Notary Public has uploaded your documents and SAL has issued the e-Apostille, you will receive an email from SAL containing a link to access your e-Apostille documents.
To access your documents:
For detailed instructions, please refer to SAL’s step-by-step guide for clients:
The overseas recipient can verify the e-Apostille electronically using the verification link or QR code included in the e-Apostille documents. This ensures the authenticity of the documents without the need for a physical certificate.
SAL provides the following resources for overseas recipients:
You may wish to share these resources with the overseas recipient so that they understand how to verify and access the e-Apostille documents.
Witnessing and physical originals require in-person attendance; some digitally verifiable documents may not.
e.g. passport, degree certificate, hardcopy documents
You must attend in person with the original document, as the Notary Public needs to sight and verify the original.
In-person attendance requirede.g. ACRA Business Profile, digital certificate, PDF bank statement
You may submit the digital document by email or upload. Please contact our office to confirm whether physical attendance is required for your specific document.
Attendance may not be requiredSign the document in the physical presence of the Notary Public
You must attend in person to sign the document in the physical presence of the Notary Public. Do not sign the document before your appointment.
In-person attendance requiredThe e-Apostille is an electronic version of the Apostille certificate issued by the Singapore Academy of Law (SAL). It serves the same legal purpose as a physical Apostille — authenticating notarised documents for use in countries that are parties to the Hague Apostille Convention. The e-Apostille is issued digitally, allowing for electronic verification and eliminating the need to collect a physical certificate from SAL.
e-Notarisation is the process by which a Notary Public participating in SAL’s e-Apostille for Notarised Documents Pilot Programme creates an electronic Notarial Certificate (e-NC) and uploads the notarised documents to SAL’s legalisation portal. This enables SAL to issue an e-Apostille electronically, rather than a physical Apostille certificate.
Both the e-Apostille and the physical Apostille serve the same legal purpose of authenticating notarised documents for overseas use. The key difference is in the format: the e-Apostille is issued digitally and can be verified electronically by the overseas recipient, whereas the physical Apostille is a paper certificate that must be collected from the Notary Public. The fees are the same for both options.
After the e-Apostille is issued, you will receive an email from SAL with a link to access your e-Apostille documents. You will need to verify your identity through a one-time password (OTP) sent to your registered email or mobile number. Once verified, you can download and forward the e-Apostille documents to the overseas recipient.
The overseas recipient can verify the e-Apostille electronically using the verification link or QR code included in the e-Apostille documents. SAL provides a guide for end recipients that explains the verification process in detail.
If the overseas recipient does not accept the e-Apostille or has not confirmed acceptance, a physical Apostille will be issued instead. It is important to confirm with the overseas recipient before opting for the e-Apostille. Physical Apostilles remain available.
Yes, physical Apostilles remain available. The e-Apostille is an additional option, not a replacement for the physical Apostille. If you prefer a physical Apostille or if the overseas recipient does not accept the e-Apostille, a physical Apostille will be issued.
The e-Apostille via e-Notarisation (for notarised documents) costs $80 + GST ($87.20 inclusive of GST) per e-Apostille certificate, payable to SAL. This is the same fee as a physical Apostille. The direct e-Apostille for eligible ACRA documents costs $10 + GST ($10.70 inclusive of GST) per e-Apostille certificate.
Witnessing of signatures and certified true copies of physical originals require in-person attendance (or an in-Singapore outcall) and wet-ink signing where applicable. Some digitally verifiable documents (e.g. ACRA) may be submitted by email or upload without attendance after we confirm. Zoom, video, and other remote witnessing are not offered. We may require a valid form of identification (passport or NRIC).
