Apostille and legalizationare the main procedures for submitting documents to foreign institutions. This procedure includes written translation and notary certification in the appropriate institutions, embassy or consulate.

A document can be legalized in two ways depending on the country of destination: apostille of documents (for countries of the Hague Convention) or consular legalization (for countries that did not sign the Hague Convention). After this procedure, the document is valid in a specific country or group of countries, and it is acknowledged by all of its official institutions and by the institutions of this country located outside of its borders.

Consular legalization of documents includes three stages. First, the document is certified in the Ministry of Justice of the Russian Federation, then in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation, and finally, in the consulate of the country of destination. In this case, the document receives a unique note of the consulate of this country and, it becomes valid only on its territory.

Legalization of documents in the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the Russian Federation is conducted on  documents that are not subject to apostille or consular legalization, e.g., commercial documents and documents of title, and other documents of foreign economic activities. But before going through the legalization in the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the Russian Federation, it is better to determine beforehand the type of legalization with the party for which they are intended. There are also a number of documents that required legalization specifically in the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the Russian Federation for registration according to the requirements of a particular country. This procedure consists of two stage: certification of the document in the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the Russian Federation, and then in the consulate of the country of destination.