Complete guide to getting a South African court order apostilled for international use — custody, maintenance, interdicts, name changes and divorce decrees
A South African court order is apostilled for R1,650 via the High Court (1-3 working days) or DIRCO (~1 week), so a foreign court or authority will accept it. You first need a court-certified copy of the order from the High Court that granted it. We handle the entire process — verification, apostille and courier.
When a South African court order needs to be recognised by a foreign court, government department or institution, it must carry an apostille. The apostille authenticates the signature of the court registrar who certified the order, so the foreign authority can rely on it. Common scenarios:
Request a court-certified copy of the order from the registrar of the High Court that granted it. The registrar issues and stamps the certified copy — this stamped copy is the version that can be apostilled. We can advise on requesting it if you do not already hold one.
We verify the certified copy carries the correct court stamp and registrar signature and is suitable for apostille. A plain photocopy cannot be apostilled, so this check prevents a rejection and a wasted submission.
The certified court order is submitted for apostille at R1,650 per document — via the High Court (1-3 working days) or DIRCO (~1 week). Both routes carry identical legal validity in all Hague Convention countries.
Once apostilled, we collect your document and courier it to you or directly to the foreign authority (R250 locally, R750-R1,100 internationally).
An apostille is valid in the 125+ Hague Convention member states. A few destinations — the UAE and Qatar — have not signed the Convention and require embassy attestation instead of an apostille. We handle that chain too. Tell us where it’s going and we’ll quote.
A common point of confusion is the difference between a court order and a Home Affairs certificate. They follow different certification paths before apostille:
| Feature | Court Order | Home Affairs Certificate |
|---|---|---|
| Issued By | The High Court | Department of Home Affairs (DHA) |
| Examples | Divorce decree, custody, maintenance, interdict, name change | Birth, marriage, death certificate |
| Certified By | Court registrar | Home Affairs official |
| Apostille Route | High Court or DIRCO | DIRCO (or High Court via notary) |
| Apostille Cost | R1,650 | R1,650 |
Bottom line: a court order is certified by the court registrar, not Home Affairs. A divorce decree is a court order, so it follows this route rather than the Home Affairs route.
Send us a scan of the order and the destination country and we’ll confirm whether apostille or embassy attestation applies, and quote within the day.
Apostille of a court order via the High Court takes 1-3 working days, and the DIRCO route takes about 1 week. The timeline starts once you have a certified copy of the order from the High Court that granted it, which can usually be requested over the counter from the court registrar.
An apostille on a court order costs R1,650 via the High Court (1-3 working days) or R1,650 via DIRCO (~1 week). Both routes carry identical legal validity. Courier is R250 locally or R750-R1,100 internationally. A sworn translation, if required, is R1,000 per page. See our full apostille cost guide.
Any order granted by a South African High Court can be apostilled, including divorce decrees, custody and care orders, maintenance orders, protection orders and interdicts, name change orders, and adoption orders. A divorce decree is itself a type of court order and follows the same apostille route.
Yes. You need a court-certified copy of the order, issued and stamped by the registrar of the High Court that granted it. DIRCO and the High Court apostille the court-certified copy, not a plain photocopy. We can advise on requesting the certified copy if you do not already hold one.
A court order is issued by the High Court, not the Department of Home Affairs, so it follows a different certification path. Home Affairs certificates such as birth, marriage and death are certified by Home Affairs; a court order is certified by the court registrar before it is apostilled by DIRCO or the High Court.
An apostille is valid in the 125+ member states of the Hague Apostille Convention, including the UK, USA, Germany, Canada, Australia and recent members such as China, Saudi Arabia and the Philippines. For the few non-Hague countries such as the UAE and Qatar, you need embassy attestation instead, which we also handle.
If the destination country is not English-speaking, yes. A sworn translation costs R1,000 per page, and court orders are often several pages. Translation is usually done after apostille, and some jurisdictions require it to be done in the destination country, so confirm with the foreign authority first.
Yes. Although Easy Services Group is based in Johannesburg, we serve clients throughout South Africa and abroad. You can courier the certified court order to us and we handle the entire process, then courier the apostilled document to you or directly to the foreign authority.
The Campus, Bryanston
Gauteng 2021, South Africa
Monday - Saturday
08:00 - 18:00