Apostille or Embassy Legalisation: What Israel 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 Israeli body that will receive your document.

Israel is a Convention country, so an Australian document for Israel carries a DFAT apostille. What makes Israel different is that the Israeli Embassy in Canberra offers its own signature verification for documents to be used in Israel, open to foreign citizens as well as Israelis, and its guidance is strict about language: if you cannot read the document, the embassy will not verify your signature without a translation that has itself been notarised and apostilled.

Check the current position before acting on this or any other page. Israel has been a party to the Apostille Convention since 1978. Confirm its status, and any objections, against the HCCH status table on the day you start.

Israel and the Apostille Convention

The HCCH status table records Israel's accession in November 1977, with the Convention in force from 14 August 1978. For an Australian document within the Convention's scope, the certificate is an apostille from DFAT.

Australian registry certificates and other public documents may go to DFAT directly, without a notary. Confirm with DFAT for your document.

Two ways to sign a document for Israel

Before the Israeli consul. The embassy's page on verifying signatures says the service is for anyone who needs official confirmation of their signature on a document to be presented in Israel — Israeli or foreign citizens, and people signing for companies incorporated in Israel or abroad. You attend in person with the original document and a passport, identity card or driver's licence. For a real estate transaction, the embassy says identification is by valid passport or identity card only.

The embassy asks you to email every document in advance, with the exact number of documents, signatories and copies, and to complete everything except the signatures before the appointment. It books these appointments no more than three weeks ahead.

Before an Australian notary, then DFAT. The other route is the standard Convention one: sign before an Australian notary, who certifies your signature and identity, and have DFAT apostille the notarial certificate. Whether the Israeli lawyer, bank or land office receiving the document prefers one route over the other is for them to say. Ask before you book either.

The language rule

This is where Australians most often come unstuck. The embassy's guidance says the signer must read and understand the document, in Hebrew or English. If you do not understand the language it is written in, or it is in a language other than Hebrew or English, the embassy will not verify your signature without either:

• a translation by an authorised local translator, with an apostille, or
• a translation by a lawyer, with the lawyer's statement of its accuracy notarised and apostilled

The translator's affidavit can also be certified by the consul as a separate notarial act, or by an Israeli lawyer or notary.

In practice, many documents for Israel are prepared in Hebrew by an Israeli lawyer. If you do not read Hebrew, ask the lawyer for a bilingual Hebrew–English version, or arrange the certified translation before your appointment, not on the day. The same caution applies before an Australian notary, who must be satisfied you understand what you are signing.

Signing for a company

For a signature on behalf of a company, whether incorporated in Israel or abroad, the embassy asks for:

• the certificate of incorporation or registration, apostilled
• an up-to-date written confirmation from the company's lawyer or accountant that the signatory can bind the company

For an Australian company, the certificate of registration comes from ASIC. DFAT legalises ASIC documents, so an apostilled original can be obtained before the appointment.

Registering an Australian marriage or divorce in Israel

Israeli citizens who marry or divorce in Australia update their status through the embassy. Its page asks for:

• both spouses' passports
• the marriage or divorce certificate, apostilled
• if the certificate is not in English, a translation with its own apostille from the country where it was translated — for Australia, a NAATI translation

An Australian certificate is in English, so it needs the apostille but no translation.

If one spouse is not Israeli, the embassy also asks for an apostilled certificate showing the foreign spouse's previous personal status — that they were single, divorced or widowed before the marriage. It says a marriage certificate that records previous personal status meets the requirement once it is verified. Australian marriage certificates generally record each party's marital status before the marriage; check yours. If yours does not, ask the embassy what it will accept. It describes a fallback for countries where no such certificate exists: a notarised statement by the foreign spouse, signed before the consul or a notary, with a consular certificate that no official document is available.

Use the standard certificate from the state or territory registry. DFAT does not accept ceremonial or commemorative marriage certificates, or laminated documents.

Frequently asked questions

Does the Israeli Embassy need to legalise my Australian document? Not for a document within the Convention's scope. A DFAT apostille replaces embassy legalisation.

Can I use the embassy's signature service if I am not Israeli? The embassy says the service is open to Israeli and foreign citizens signing documents to be presented in Israel.

Can a Justice of the Peace sign my documents for Israel? Not for use in Israel generally. A JP certification cannot be apostilled.

How long does it take? It depends on DFAT processing, embassy appointments and the Israeli body. Do not plan to a figure quoted on a blog, including this one.