If a relative has died in Ukraine and you live abroad, sooner or later a bank, an insurer, a court or a notary in your country will ask for a Ukrainian death certificate. And they will not accept it as it is. Here is what actually happens, in order.
First, the certificate itself
Death in Ukraine is registered by the civil status registration office, and registration must be requested within three days of the death. What the family receives is two separate papers, and people abroad often assume they are the same thing.
One is the death certificate. The other is an extract from the State Register of Civil Status Acts. The certificate is the document that travels abroad. The extract is used inside Ukraine, mainly to claim the state burial allowance.
Registration itself is free of charge. A relative can do it, and so can someone acting for the family, which is usually us.
Why an apostille is needed
A Ukrainian document has no legal force in another country until its origin is confirmed. For countries that joined the Hague Convention, and that covers Poland, Germany, Italy, Portugal, the Czech Republic, the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada and most places where our people live, this confirmation is a stamp called an apostille.
The apostille on a death certificate is issued by the Ministry of Justice of Ukraine and its territorial departments. It can be placed on the original or on a notarised copy, and the standard processing time is up to seven working days.
For countries outside the Hague Convention the route is longer and is called consular legalisation: the Ministry of Justice, then the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, then that country’s consulate. Tell us the country early, because this path needs planning.
The mistake that ruins the document
Do not laminate the certificate. Ever.
Families laminate documents to protect them, with the best intentions, and then discover that an apostille cannot be placed on a laminated paper at all, because the film makes it impossible to verify the document. The only way out is to request a new certificate from the registration office.
Two other situations that lead to refusal: documents issued before 2016 on old forms, and documents issued in territories now occupied. In both cases a fresh certificate is obtained first, and only then the apostille.
Translation comes last
The order matters and people often get it backwards. The apostille goes on the Ukrainian document first. Translation comes after.
In most countries the translation must then be certified by a sworn or court appointed translator in that country, not in Ukraine. So a translation made in Kyiv is frequently useless in Milan or in Warsaw. Before paying for a translation, ask the institution that requested the document whose certification they accept.
How this works when you cannot travel
None of this requires your presence in Ukraine. Registration, obtaining the certificate, the notarised copy, the apostille and courier delivery to your address abroad can all be handled here, with one trusted person on the ground signing what must be signed.
We do this regularly for families in Poland, Italy, the Czech Republic and North America, and we report at every step with photographs of the documents before they are sent.
If the death has only just happened, start with this page: arranging a funeral in Ukraine from abroad. For the paperwork that follows, see documents after the funeral.
Tell us which country the document is going to, and we will tell you exactly which route it needs and how long it will take.
This page is for general guidance. Requirements differ by country, so confirm with the institution asking for the document.