Singapore Birth Certificate Apostille

Why a birth certificate usually needs no notary

SAL treats an ICA birth certificate as a public document. SAL can check that it came from ICA, so it places the apostille on the certificate itself. There is no signature for a notary to witness and no need for a notarial certificate in between.

That is why the SAL fee for a birth certificate is SGD 10.70 rather than the SGD 87.20 that applies to notarised papers. Some people are told by friends or agents that the certificate "has to be notarised first". It does not. Notarisation of a copy is simply one option, used when:

• you want to keep the original in Singapore;
• the receiving office has asked for a certified copy rather than the original; or
• your certificate is laminated or damaged and a fresh extract is not possible in time.

ICA does not legalise documents itself; it refers apostille enquiries to SAL.

Digital and older paper birth certificates

Since 29 May 2022, ICA no longer issues physical birth certificates. Parents register the birth through LifeSG and then download the digital certificate from ICA's e-service within 90 days. Physical certificates issued before that date remain valid.

Digital birth certificates

A digital birth certificate carries a QR code that lets any authority confirm it is genuine. SAL only processes hard copies, so you print it first. SAL accepts the printout when it is an exact reproduction of the file and its QR code scans correctly. The practical points (paper, scaling, testing the code) are the same for every digital certificate, so we have put them in one place: our digital certificate apostille guide.

Older paper certificates

Paper certificates issued before 29 May 2022, including very old ones, can still be apostilled. SAL looks for three things:

• Legibility. Text must be clear and not faded. Very old certificates sometimes fail here.
• No alterations. Stamps from anyone other than the issuing agency count as alterations.
• English. The certificate must be in English or bilingual with English.

Birth extracts

If your paper certificate is lost, faded, laminated or marked, you can apply to ICA for a birth extract. Since 27 March 2023 every extract is issued digitally. The holder (aged 21 and above), a parent, a legal guardian or a solicitor can apply; the fee is SGD 40 and ICA says processing takes up to six working days. You then have 30 days to download it. A birth extract can be apostilled in exactly the same way as a digital birth certificate.

Original or certified copy of a birth certificate

Most receiving authorities want the apostille on the original certificate (or the printout of the digital one). For a paper certificate, that means the original leaves your hands. Two alternatives exist:

Ask the receiving office which one it accepts. With a digital certificate, you can simply print and apostille as many originals as you need.

If you need a notarised copy, we arrange it with an appointed notary public. Bookings for standalone notary work are handled through our sister site notarypublicservices.sg.

Countries that often ask for an apostilled birth certificate

Birth certificates travel mainly for family reasons: a child's passport, citizenship by descent, school enrolment, residence permits and household or family registers. Requests we see most often:

• China: the Convention has applied to mainland China since 7 November 2023 (and much earlier to Hong Kong and Macao), so the SAL apostille is enough. The Chinese Embassy no longer legalises Singapore documents.
• South Korea, Japan, India, Spain and most of Europe: Hague members; the apostille is the final step in Singapore. See apostille for India, apostille for South Korea and apostille for Spain.
• Vietnam: the Convention has applied since 11 September 2026. See apostille for Vietnam.
• Thailand: still needs Royal Thai Embassy legalisation after SAL until the Convention enters into force on 28 February 2027. See apostille for Thailand.
• Malaysia and the UAE: not Hague members, so the SAL apostille is followed by embassy or high commission legalisation. See Malaysia document legalisation and UAE embassy attestation.

Not sure where your destination stands? The apostille countries list shows which countries need only an apostille.

Translating an apostilled birth certificate

Singapore birth certificates are in English, which many countries accept as it is. Others (China, Spain, Vietnam, Korea and much of Latin America) need a translation. The order matters:

1. 1Get the birth certificate apostilled first.
2. 2Have the certificate and the apostille translated together, so the foreign officer can read both.
3. 3If the translation itself must be legalised in Singapore, the translator signs a declaration before a notary, and SAL then authenticates that notarised translation (SGD 87.20).

Some authorities only accept translations made in their own country by a sworn or officially registered translator. Check this before paying for a Singapore translation. When we prepare translations, we proof-read every name against the passport first.

Birth certificate apostille price and time

For a single digital or paper birth certificate, our all-in price starts from SGD 25, which already includes the SAL fee of SGD 10.70. It covers checking the certificate, preparing the SAL request, the counter visit and return of the document to you in Singapore.

Timing: once we have a usable certificate, the apostille is usually done in 1–2 working days; SAL itself processes over the counter. Urgent cases may qualify for our same-day apostille service. A new ICA birth extract adds up to six working days. Full pricing is on our apostille price page.