Please note that applications for the following matters can be prepared online using the online consular administration interface Konzinfo Start.
Legalization of signature
Any Hungarian citizen or foreign national residing in Estonia who wishes to have his/her signature legalized on a document to be used in Hungary may personally visit the competent Hungarian representation for the purpose of having his/her signature legalized (the Consular Office of the Embassy of Hungary in Tallinn and the honorary consul authorised to legalize signatures).
In addition to giving the signature in person, the legalization process is subject to the presentation of a valid photo ID (passport, identity card or driving licence) proving the identity of the signatory, the presentation of his/her Hungarian address card (if he/she has one) and the payment of the legalization fee in advance. In the absence of an identity document, we will not be able to carry out the legalization. Copies of documents will not be accepted for identification purposes.
When legalizing a signature, the consular officer is only responsible for the authenticity of the consular certificate issued (the stamp certifying the authenticity of the signature or the legalization clause typed on or attached to the document) as a public document and for the authenticity of the content of the certificate (i.e. the verification of identity, the actual signature). The consular officer is therefore not responsible for any deficiencies in the content or form of the document which the client has signed and on which he has asked to have his signature legalized.
Two types of signature legalizations are distinguished: signature legalization for an individual and signature legalization on behalf of a company. In the latter case, in addition to the identity of the signatory, proof of the right to sign on behalf of the company must be provided by a certificate from the business registry not more than 30 days old and a specimen signature.
Legalization of translations
The Embassy may legalize translations if the act is in the interest of a Hungarian citizen and if the consul has the necessary linguistic competence (knowledge of the foreign language, professional vocabulary) to translate the text. The Consular Section currently provides English translations. It is also possible to have English-Hungarian or Hungarian-English translations of the client legalized.
Legalization of copies and making legalized copies
The consular section can either legalize the copies made by the client upon the presentation of the original document OR make a photocopy on the spot of the original document presented by the client and the copy legalized by the consul.
Fees
The amount of the consular fee and the method of charging the fee are laid down in the Decree No. 5/2010 (XII. 31.) of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. For the exact fees, see the section on Consular fees.
Examples of how to calculate the cost of signature legalization:
- A sales contract has two participants, both signatures need to be legalized. In this case, both of them have to pay the specified fee per signature for their signatures on the sales contract. If there are four copies of the contract, each of the four copies must be paid for separately, so that in total, the relevant fee is payable eight times.
- If you have to sign several times one document (for example, on all pages of the contract), you only have to pay one legalization fee. Staying with the first example, if the signature has to be made on all pages of each contract, you will only have to pay once for one document.
