How do you apostille documents in Hong Kong in 2026?

The High Court Apostille Service Office at Counter 5, LG1/F, High Court Building, handles the paper apostille. Accepted classes include public documents with a recognised official signature such as birth, death, and marriage registry certificates, business registration and companies documents with current company-search printouts where required, and documents signed by a Hong Kong notary public or Commissioner for Oaths such as powers of attorney, certified true copies, and declarations.

Fee is HK$125 per apostille application on the Judiciary page. Ordinary in-person processing is about two working days (Monday to Friday, excluding general holidays). Overseas applicants can post a complete pack with a Hong Kong-dollar bank draft or send a local representative. Pay at the High Court Accounts Office, then return to the Apostille counter with the receipt for a collection slip.

State the intended destination. From 2 January 2026 the office will refuse an apostille if that destination is not a Convention contracting party. Confirm the live HCCH party list before you queue.

If the destination is outside the Apostille Convention, use consular legalisation. Where the destination has a consulate in Hong Kong, start there. Where it does not, the Consular Department of the Commissioner’s Office of China’s Foreign Ministry in the HKSAR publishes a legalisation path for Hong Kong notarial documents, with its own forms, Registrar’s Certificate checks for notaries, and fee tables for civil versus commercial papers.

A Hong Kong apostille only covers Hong Kong-origin documents. A Mainland-issued certificate needs Mainland apostille or legalisation; a Macao document needs Macao channels. ImmD residence and right-of-abode files still want their own originals and certified copies: Apply for a residence permit and Get permanent residence. English and Chinese both appear on many forms; bring a helper if seals confuse you: Chinese bureaucracy without Chinese.