The public service for issuing apostilles for official administrative documents is provided by the prefect’s institutions, in accordance with the provisions of Government Ordinance no. 66 of August 24, 1999, for Romania’s accession to the Convention Abolishing the Requirement of Legalisation for Foreign Public Documents, adopted at The Hague on October 5, 1961, with subsequent amendments and completions, ratified by Law no. 52 of April 19, 2000. The Prefect’s Institutions apostille the official administrative documents presented in their original form, in the format in which they were issued (the apostille is issued in paper format for documents issued on paper and signed by hand, or in digital format for documents issued electronically and digitally signed). Apostilling of documents is carried out at the headquarters of the competent prefect’s institution—according to the criteria displayed at the headquarters of the prefect’s institutions, as well as on their websites. Documents issued in electronic format and digitally signed can also be apostilled online, via the MAI services HUB, available at: https://hub.mai.gov.ro/ (public service managed by the Ministry of Internal Affairs). The coordination of the apostille issuance activity is conducted at the level of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, by the General Directorate for Relations with the Prefect’s Institutions. About the Apostille The apostille is a document issued for an official act—or a stamp applied on the official act, for the purpose of its recognition in states that are parties to the “Apostille Convention” (the Convention Abolishing the Requirement of Legalisation for Foreign Public Documents, adopted at The Hague on October 5, 1961); the updated list of signatory states can be found at the following link: https://www.hcch.net/en/instruments/conventions/status-table/?cid=41. Also, if the official document is to be presented in a state that has not joined the Apostille Convention and there is no convention, treaty, or agreement between Romania and the respective state for the recognition of that type of document, it is necessary to complete the legalisation formalities for the document, this procedure being carried out through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (additional information can be found at the following link on the MAE website: https://www.mae.ro/node/6869). In Romania, three authorities issue apostilles, according to their respective domains of competence, namely: the Courts, Chambers of Notaries Public, and the Prefect’s Institutions. For information on apostilling documents at the Courts or Chambers of Notaries Public, please contact these authorities.*