Apostille in Indonesia: Which Documents Need One, and When
How an apostille in Indonesia replaces embassy legalisation, which company, work and family documents need one, and who issues it.
References (12)
- Perpres No. 2 Tahun 2021, Article 1(1), ratified the Convention Abolishing the Requirement of Legalisation for Foreign Public Documents (The Hague, 5 October 1961). The Convention has applied to Indonesia since 4 June 2022 (HCCH status table). Convention Article 1 defines public documents. Articles 2 and 3(1) make the apostille the only formality that may be asked for, issued by the competent authority of the State the document comes from. Article 5 limits what it certifies to the signature, the signer’s capacity and the seal. Article 12(2) covers objections to an accession.
- Permenkum No. 50 Tahun 2025 on the apostille service, in force 17 December 2025, which revoked Permenkumham No. 6 Tahun 2022. Articles 2(1) and (2) and 3(1) have the Minister of Law, through the Directorate General of General Legal Administration (AHU), apostille Indonesian documents for use in other Convention countries. Article 5(3) sets verification within 3 working days of a complete application. Articles 3(3)(b) and 14 provide for the e-Apostille, to be in place within two years.
- Permenkum No. 8 Tahun 2025, Article 2(2) and (3), covers the Ministry of Law’s legalisation of documents for use in countries outside the Convention.
- Permenlu No. 14 Tahun 2022 on legalisation at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Article 4(1) covers documents going abroad and documents coming in. Article 4(2)(a) excludes a document that carries an apostille. Article 5(1) requires legalisation first by the Ministry of Law, or by the Indonesian embassy or consulate abroad. Article 6 covers sworn translation. Article 7(1) has the application made online.
- Peraturan Menteri Investasi dan Hilirisasi/Kepala BKPM No. 5 Tahun 2025. Article 23(13) identifies a foreign individual investor by passport. Article 23(14) identifies a foreign company by its articles of association, legalised by the competent apostille authority and/or the Indonesian mission in its home country. Articles 270(2)(c) and 272(1)(a) require a representative office’s letter of appointment to be apostilled, or legalised by the Indonesian mission for a country outside the Convention.
- BPOM Regulation No. 21 Tahun 2022, Article 13(3) and (4), on the free-sale and good manufacturing practice certificates for cosmetics.
- PP No. 34 Tahun 2021 on the use of foreign workers, Article 14(3), and Permenaker No. 8 Tahun 2021, Article 15(1)(b), which list the documents for the plan to employ a foreign worker.
- Permenkumham No. 22 Tahun 2023 on visas and stay permits, Articles 44(2)(a) and 47(2), and Permen Imipas No. 3 Tahun 2025, Article 14(2)(a), on sworn translation of marriage and birth certificates for family stay permits.
- Permenkum No. 4 Tahun 2025, Article 1 point 1 and Article 3, on who a sworn translator is and their responsibility for the translation.
- UU No. 30 Tahun 2004 on the Office of Notary, as amended by UU No. 2 Tahun 2014. Article 43 requires deeds in Indonesian. Article 47(1) has a private power of attorney attached to the minute of the deed.
- The Apostille Convention, Article 4: the apostille is placed on the document or on an allonge. Permenlu No. 14 Tahun 2022, Article 10(1): verification within 1 working day.
- Permenkumham No. 22 Tahun 2023, Article 34, on the documents for a work visa.
An apostille is one certificate, added in the country that issued a document. It replaces the old chain of embassy stamps (Apostille Convention, Articles 2 and 3(1)). Indonesia has applied the Convention since 4 June 2022 (Perpres 2/2021; the Hague Conference’s status table), so an apostille in Indonesia now does the job those stamps did.
For a company setting up here, it matters for a few documents: a corporate shareholder’s articles, a representative office’s letter of appointment and, for cosmetics importers, two product certificates. For an individual founder’s passport, work-permit papers and family certificates, the rules set out below name no apostille.
Which route each document takes
The table shows what each rule asks for, and who acts.
| What is asked | Who acts | |
|---|---|---|
| Company articles | A copy, apostilled or embassy-legalised | The home country’s authority, or the Indonesian embassy there |
| Individual founder | A passport (Article 23(13)). With us, a power of attorney signed online | Usually one of our team signs before the notary |
| Rep. office | Apostille, or embassy legalisation | The parent company’s country |
| Cosmetics papers | Free-sale and manufacturing-practice certificates, apostilled or legalised | The issuing country |
| Work permit | No apostille named in the rules | The employer applies online |
| Birth, marriage | Sworn translation unless in English | A sworn translator |
| Going abroad | Apostille, for a Convention country | Ministry of Law, online |
Setting up a PT PMA with a foreign shareholder
For a PT PMA (Perseroan Terbatas Penanaman Modal Asing, a company with foreign shareholders), the apostille rule turns on who the shareholders are. When a shareholder is itself a foreign company, the licensing system identifies it by a copy of its articles of association, legalised by the competent apostille authority and/or the Indonesian mission in its home country (the investment ministry’s regulation, Permeninves/BKPM 5/2025, Article 23(14)).
A foreign company opening a representative office follows the same idea for its letter of appointment: apostilled where its country is in the Convention, legalised by the Indonesian mission where it is not (Articles 270(2)(c) and 272(1)(a)). For a representative office, we ask the parent company to have the letter apostilled or legalised in its own country, and take the application on from there. For a company shareholder, we arrange the apostille or legalisation of its articles as part of setting up a PT PMA.
Cosmetics importers meet a similar rule for two certificates covering products made outside ASEAN (the Association of Southeast Asian Nations). BPOM, the food and drug agency, sets it, as our guide to notifying cosmetics with BPOM explains (BPOM Regulation 21/2022, Article 13(3) and (4)).
For an individual founder, we need no apostille
A foreign individual is identified by passport (Article 23(13)). For the deed itself, you sign a power of attorney online and send us a scan, and one of our team signs before the notary. The Notary Law has a private power of attorney attached to the deed (UU 30/2004, Article 47(1)). In our practice nothing is notarised or apostilled overseas for it. How the signing and the Ministry’s approval fit together is set out in our guide to the deed of establishment.
The deed is made in Indonesian, and the notary must translate or explain it to anyone appearing who does not understand the language (UU 30/2004, Article 43, as amended by UU 2/2014).
Apostille in Indonesia or embassy legalisation: how each route works
Which route applies depends on where the document was issued and where it is going. Convention public documents are court documents, government documents, notarial acts and official certificates placed on privately signed papers (Article 1). Documents made by diplomats or consuls, and administrative documents dealing directly with commercial or customs operations, fall outside it.
The apostille comes from the competent authority of the country where the document was issued (Convention, Article 3(1)). No further legalisation is done in Indonesia: the Foreign Ministry does not legalise it again (Permenlu 14/2022, Article 4(2)(a)).
The certificate confirms the signature, the capacity of the person who signed and the seal or stamp (Article 5). It says nothing about whether the contents are right. The authority adds it to the document itself, or to a sheet attached to it (Article 4).
Where the issuing country is not in the Convention, the document is legalised first by the Indonesian embassy or consulate there (or the foreign country’s mission in Indonesia), then by the Foreign Ministry in Indonesia (Permenlu 14/2022, Articles 4(1)(b) and 5(1)(b)). The Foreign Ministry step is applied for online (Article 7(1)), and the Ministry verifies the application within 1 working day (Article 10(1)).
The official may ask for an Indonesian translation by a sworn translator (Article 6).
An Indonesian document for use in another Convention country is apostilled by the Ministry of Law, through its Directorate General of General Legal Administration (AHU), on an online application. Verification takes up to 3 working days once the application is complete (Permenkum 50/2025, Articles 2, 3(1) and 5(3)).
For a country outside the Convention, the Ministry of Law legalises the document and the Foreign Ministry follows (Permenkum 8/2025, Article 2; Permenlu 14/2022, Articles 4(1)(a) and 5(1)(a)).
Work and family documents
For a work permit, the employer uploads the foreign worker’s documents to the Ministry of Manpower’s online system. The lists in PP 34/2021 Article 14(3) and Permenaker 8/2021 Article 15(1)(b) do not include an apostille for any of these documents, and the work visa rules that follow name none either (Permenkumham 22/2023, Article 34).
The stay permits for the spouse or child of a foreign permit holder, and for the spouse of an Indonesian citizen, ask for something different. A sworn translator translates a marriage or birth certificate from abroad into Indonesian, unless it is already in English (Permenkumham 22/2023, Articles 44(2)(a) and 47(2)). The same applies to the foreign spouse of an Indonesian citizen who married outside Indonesia, who also shows that the marriage was reported or registered (Permen Imipas 3/2025, Article 14(2)(a)). These rules name no apostille.
A sworn translator is appointed and sworn in by the Minister of Law, and registered with the Ministry (Permenkum 4/2025, Article 1 point 1). They carry full responsibility for the accuracy and quality of the translation (Article 3). Our guide to the spouse visa and permanent stay covers the citizen’s-spouse route, and tourist, family and social visas is the service that handles these permits.
What people often get wrong
Questions people ask
Can I get an apostille in Indonesia for an Indonesian document?
We are sending documents from Pakistan. Apostille or legalisation?
What is a sworn translator?
I hold permanent residence in another country. Which passport counts?
What this means for you
Start from what the document is for, not from the document. For an apostille in Indonesia, where it comes from matters too: together they tell you which rule applies. With us, an individual founder provides a passport and a power of attorney signed online. A company shareholder’s articles are apostilled or legalised by the Indonesian mission in its home country, or both. Work and family papers name no apostille in the rules covered above.