NEW REGULATIONS REGARDING APOSTILLE SERVICE

Following up on Presidential Regulation Number 2 of 2021 (“PR 2/2021”) in ratifying the Convention on the Elimination of Requirements for the Ratification of Foreign Public Documents (“the Convention”), on 26 January 2022 the government has issued a new regulation regarding its implementation in the form of Regulation of the Ministry of Law and Human Rights Number 6 of 2022 concerning Apostille Ratification Service for Public Documents (“MOLHR 6/2022”). It has been effective since 4 June 2022.

The Apostille service has simplified the process of legalizing foreign public documents quickly, affordably, and adapting to global developments for legal purposes, particularly in cross-border Civil Law. This is organized by the Director General of General Legal Administration of the Ministry of Law and Human Rights as the central authority, as well as the relevant authorities authorized to verify based on the specimens that have been submitted and stored in the database of the Ministry of Law and Human Rights.

The Apostille system involves a quick one-step process instead of the previously lengthy procedure for the legalization of Public Documents. We have summarized the differences in process between Conventional Legalization and Apostille Legalization Process as follows:

Conventional Legalization Process:

Legalization Process Through Apostille:

Types of Public Documents that can be Apostilled are contained in Article 2 paragraph (3) of MOLHR 6/2022 as follows:

1. Documents issued by public officials or officials related to state courts, including documents issued by public prosecutors, clerks and bailiffs;
2. Administrative documents;
3. Documents issued by a notary; and
4. An official certificate attached to the document and signed by an individual within the scope of his civil authority.

Apostille Service Process is as follows:

1. Submission of application via online application on web apostille.ahu.go.id by sending relevant documents.
2. Verification process maximum 3 (three) working days, for the possibility:
   a) Rejected : Mismatch of information submitted in the form uploaded documents.
   b) Returned : Specimen Form signature requested by the official authorized.
   c) Accepted : Conformity of filling in the form, match of signature of validation official stamp, and/or seal on the Document and match the electronic signature on the electronic Document.
3. Payment and Fees: Payment must be done by no later than 7 (seven) calendar days since the notification is issued. Fees are subject to a PNBP rate of IDR 150,000 (one hundred and fifty thousand Rupiah).
4. Issuance of Apostille Certificate: At the counter of the head office or regional office of the Ministry of Law and Human Rights.
   
   

The Register of Apostille certificates will contain the following information:
a) certificate number and date; and
b) name, position, and institution name of the official officer who signed the document.

The issuance of MOLHR 6/2022 does not mean revoking the legalization. The legalization is still valid even though the Apostille Service is available, depending on the policies of the destination country.

Note: The content of this article does not constitute legal advice and should not be relied as such. Judge’s opinion may also be different, due to the facts relevant to the case. If you need specific advice related to this topic, please contact us by email through info@yangandco.com.