An apostille is the certificate that lets a Singapore document be accepted in another member country of the Hague Apostille Convention. In Singapore, apostilles are issued by the Singapore Academy of Law (SAL).
Step 1: work out which route your document takes
- Singapore public documents — birth, marriage and death certificates, court documents — go to SAL directly. The SAL fee is S$10.70 per document.
- Private documents — powers of attorney, declarations, contracts, certified copies — are first notarised by a notary public. SAL then authenticates the notarial certificate for S$87.20.
Step 2: check whether your destination accepts apostilles
India, China and, since 11 September 2026, Vietnam accept an apostille on its own. The UAE, Qatar, Kuwait and Malaysia also need embassy attestation.
SAL’s counter is open Monday to Friday, 9 am to 4:30 pm. A document signed in the evening or at the weekend is filed on the next working day.
Step 3: plan the timeline
- Notarisation happens during the notary visit.
- The SAL apostille usually takes 1–3 working days.
- Express courier to most of Asia takes 1–3 working days.
Want us to handle it? Book a notary and we’ll confirm the route and a fixed price.
General information, checked as at 1 October 2026. Rules and fees change — your quotation confirms the route for your specific document. More guides