No legalization needed.
Documents issued abroad according to the local law need no legalization to take effect in Portugal to be used in notarial acts, unless the notary is not sure about its authenticity and in that case, we need the authentication of the foreign public officer’s signature or an apostille.
Authentication of the foreign public officer’s signature
The authentication of the foreign public officer’s signature in the document is made by a Portuguese diplomatic or consular agent in the State and an embossed seal.
Find here the Portuguese consulates around the world
Find here the documents you need
Apostille
The Apostille is a formality to certify the authenticity of the public acts issued in a State to take effect in another one giving those documents a formal probationary importance; this formality is needed for the signatory countries to the 05/10/1961 Hague Convention Abolishing the Requirement for Legalization for Foreign Public Documents.
Find here the signatory countries
When you add to put an apostille on a document issued abroad to take effect in Portugal or any other signatory country, that must be done by the issuing responsible authority of the document.
Find here the responsible authorities around the world to add apostille
Which documents need apostille
All acts issued by the notary’s offices, registration offices, courts, ministries, town halls, local administration offices and schools need an apostille.
No translation needed
The notary needs no translation for the documents written in English, French or Spanish to issue notarial acts.