Apostille or Embassy Legalisation: What Indonesia Requires

Last reviewed: 26 September 2026. Country requirements change. This page is re-checked periodically, and nothing on it replaces confirming the position with the Indonesian body that will receive your document.

Indonesia changed its rules recently, and a lot of advice still describes the old process. Until 2022, Australian documents for Indonesia went through DFAT authentication and then legalisation at the Indonesian embassy or a consulate. Indonesia then joined the Apostille Convention, and for documents within its scope a single DFAT apostille replaced both steps.

The other thing to know about Indonesia is language. Government bodies generally want documents in Bahasa Indonesia, translated by a sworn translator, and Indonesian law requires the Indonesian language in many agreements.

Check the current position before acting on this or any other page. Convention membership is a live fact. Confirm Indonesia's status against the HCCH status table for the Apostille Convention on the day you start. The Convention entered into force for Indonesia in June 2022.

The chain now

1. Notarise in Australia, if the document is a private one (a power of attorney, an affidavit, a notarised copy of a degree)
2. DFAT apostille
3. Translation into Bahasa Indonesia by a sworn translator, usually in Indonesia

Australian public documents such as registry-issued certificates may be able to go to DFAT directly without a notary. Confirm with DFAT.

If an agent, an employer's HR team or an older article tells you to take your document to the Indonesian embassy after DFAT, ask whether that advice predates June 2022. Some Indonesian offices took time to adjust, and occasionally an office will still ask for the old chain. If that happens, ask it to confirm in writing that it will not accept an apostille.

Sworn translation: penerjemah tersumpah

Indonesian government agencies commonly require translations by a penerjemah tersumpah — a sworn translator who has passed a national certification and taken an oath before the Indonesian Ministry of Law or its regional office. An English document, even with an apostille, will usually still need translating.

Questions to ask the receiving body or your agent in Indonesia:

• Must the translation be by an Indonesian sworn translator?
• Should the apostille and notarial certificate be translated too?
• Will you accept a translation made from a scan, or must the translator see the original?

An Australian NAATI translation is a professional translation, but it is not an Indonesian sworn translation. If the receiving body wants the latter, the translation happens after the apostille, in Indonesia.

Contracts and the language law

This is the Indonesian point that most often catches Australian businesses. Indonesian law requires the Indonesian language to be used in agreements involving Indonesian parties, including Indonesian companies. A contract drafted only in English has been challenged in Indonesian courts on that basis. Bilingual agreements are common, with the parties addressing which version prevails.

An Australian notary can witness the execution of a contract and a DFAT apostille can authenticate the signature, but neither addresses the language requirement. If you are signing a commercial agreement, loan document or company document with an Indonesian party, have an Indonesian lawyer confirm the language arrangements before you sign.

Documents commonly needed

• Work and stay permits: degrees, employment references and police certificates for work permits and stay permits (KITAS). The Indonesian employer or its agent usually specifies the list. Ask whether it wants apostilled originals, apostilled notarised copies, or plain copies.
• Company matters: incorporation documents, board resolutions and powers of attorney for Australian shareholders setting up or changing an Indonesian foreign-investment company. Deeds for Indonesian companies are made by an Indonesian notaris, whose role is much wider than an Australian notary's. Ask the notaris for the text of any power of attorney before you sign, and expect it to be bilingual.
• Property and inheritance: foreign ownership of land in Indonesia is restricted. If a power of attorney or other document relates to Indonesian property, take advice from an Indonesian lawyer before authenticating it.
• Civil status: birth, marriage and divorce documents for family matters and residence.

Marriage in Indonesia

Marriage in Indonesia involves Indonesian religious and civil registration rules that are outside the scope of this page. The Australian embassy and consulates in Indonesia publish information for Australians marrying there, including what they can and cannot issue. Read that first, then work out which Australian documents, if any, need an apostille.

Frequently asked questions

My document was legalised by the Indonesian embassy before 2022. Is it still good? Legalisation completed under the old system was valid when done. Whether the receiving body will accept it now, particularly if the document is old, is a question for that body.

Does the Indonesian embassy in Canberra still legalise documents? For a document covered by the Convention, you should not need it. Check the embassy's current services if you have a document outside the Convention's scope.

How long does it take? It depends on DFAT processing, courier time and the translator in Indonesia. Do not plan to a figure quoted on a blog, including this one.