Apostille or Embassy Legalisation: What Romania 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 Romanian office that will receive your document.

Romania takes an apostille, and the Romanian Embassy in Canberra says a document apostilled in Australia is valid in Romania without further formality. Two things on its pages matter more than that, though. For Romanian citizens, the powers of attorney most people need — to sell or buy property, or to deal with an inheritance — can be used in Romania only if made at a Romanian consulate. An Australian notary cannot stand in for it. And registering an Australian marriage takes two apostilles.

Check the current position before acting on this or any other page. Romania has been a party to the Apostille Convention since 2001. Confirm its status, and any objections, against the HCCH status table on the day you start.

Romania and the Apostille Convention

The HCCH status table records Romania's accession in June 2000, with the Convention in force from 16 March 2001. The Romanian Embassy in Canberra confirms that public documents from one Convention country, including documents executed before a notary, are recognised in another once they carry an apostille, and points to DFAT as the Australian authority.

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

Romanian consulates in Australia

The embassy says its own consular section in Canberra is closed. Consular work is done by the Consulate in Melbourne (ACT, Victoria, South Australia, Western Australia, Tasmania and New Zealand) and the Consulate General in Sydney (New South Wales, Queensland and the Northern Territory). Requests are made online through the Romanian eConsulat portal, and every service is by appointment. The consulates do not translate documents.

Powers of attorney: when the consulate is compulsory

The embassy's page on powers of attorney and notarial acts divides them into two groups.

Only a Romanian consulate will do. The embassy says that certain powers of attorney and declarations made by Romanian citizens can be used in Romania only if authenticated by a Romanian consulate. It lists:

• powers of attorney for succession
• declarations accepting or renouncing an inheritance
• powers of attorney to sell
• powers of attorney to buy
• revocations of powers of attorney

For these, you attend the consulate in person with valid Romanian identity (a foreign passport can be used if your Romanian documents have expired). The document must be in Romanian and must state exactly what the attorney may do. The embassy says a driver licence, Medicare card or proof-of-age card is not acceptable identification, and that it cannot authenticate powers of attorney by post.

An Australian notary can do it. For notarial acts that do not transfer ownership of property in Romania — the embassy gives a pension power of attorney, a power of attorney to renew a bank card, and a declaration allowing a child to travel as examples — you can sign before a local notary in Australia, in Romanian, and then obtain an apostille. The embassy says a document apostilled this way is valid in Romania without further formality, but that anything written in another language must be translated into Romanian before Romanian authorities will act on it.

The embassy also says the consulates cannot handle contracts, gifts or other dispositions of property, wills, or court proceedings. For those, and for any doubt about which group your document falls into, ask a Romanian lawyer or notary before you sign anything in Australia.

If you are asked to sign a Romanian document you do not read, tell the Australian notary in advance. They must be satisfied you understand what you are signing.

Registering an Australian marriage in Romania

The embassy says Romanian citizens are legally required to register in Romania civil status events that happen abroad. An Australian marriage is registered (transcribed) through a Romanian consulate, which results in a Romanian marriage certificate. The Romanian spouse applies, and both spouses must attend for marriages after 2011.

The document chain the embassy sets out is precise:

1. The Australian marriage certificate is apostilled by DFAT.
2. The apostilled certificate is translated by a NAATI translator.
3. The translation is apostilled by DFAT as well.

It also asks for the original apostilled certificate, the apostilled translation, the spouses' identity documents and, where needed, proof of Romanian citizenship. Use the standard certificate from the state or territory registry, not the decorative certificate from the day of the wedding.

Earlier changes come first. The embassy says the marriage can be registered only once the Romanian spouse's Romanian records show every change in civil status. If you changed your name abroad, or had an earlier marriage and divorce that were never recorded in Romania, those must be registered first, each with its own apostilled documents. Check your Romanian birth certificate before you start.

Frequently asked questions

Does the Romanian consulate need to legalise my Australian document? No. The embassy says documents apostilled in Australia are valid in Romania without further formality.

Can I sign a power of attorney to sell my flat in Romania before an Australian notary? Not if you are a Romanian citizen, on the embassy's guidance. Powers of attorney to sell or buy, and for succession, must be made at a Romanian consulate.

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

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