Estonia: notarial and documentary services

Overview

The British consulate can provide some notarial and documentary services for British nationals in Estonia.

Where local notaries can provide services, the British consulate will not provide them. In many cases local notaries in Estonia or lawyers can provide services more cheaply, quickly and conveniently. Local notaries can also apostille documents issued in Estonia.

You must make an appointment for each service that requires your personal attendance. Use the links after each service to make a reservation. A member of staff will contact you to confirm your appointment.

Before booking, make sure you have selected the correct service and that the document will be accepted by the relevant authority. This could be the local town hall, registry office, tax authorities, immigration office or another authority either in Estonia, the UK or a third country.

Services we provide in Estonia

Consular staff in Estonia can:

• make a certified copy of a British passport
• issue documents to British nationals in Estonia for marriage purposes - see marriage documents

If you can’t find the service you are looking for on this page, see other services provided by the British Embassy in Estonia

What to bring to your appointment

See the individual services below for details of supporting documents to bring. Make sure you have acceptable proof of address and identity, and payment for any fees. See the full list of consular fees

Payment

We accept payment by Visa or MasterCard.

Proof of address and identity

For all appointments for notarial services you will need to bring acceptable proof of your identity and address.

We accept passports or national identity cards as proof of identity.

We accept utility bills, bank statements, hotel bills, Estonian Police and Border Guard Board documents, and extracts from Estonian Vital Statistic Office as proof of your address.

Make a certified copy of a British passport

This service is for customers who need certified photocopies of British passports.

What you will need to bring with you:

• the British passport that you need a certified copy of
• the correct fee – see the list of fees and payment options
• proof of identity/address – see what we will accept as proof

Book an appointment for a certified copy of a British passport

Marriage documents

If you want to get married or enter into a civil partnership in Estonia, contact the relevant local authorities to find out about local marriage laws, including what documents you’ll need.

You might be asked to get certain documents from the UK government if you’re a British national. See details of the certificate of no impediment service we provide in Estonia below.

Certificate of no impediment for marriage

This service is for customers who have been asked by the local authorities to provide a certificate of no impediment (CNI) to prove they are allowed to marry.

If you need a CNI, you’ll have to give notice of your intended marriage. You need to have been living in Estonia for 3 clear days.

The CNI can be issued 8 days after you give notice of marriage as long as no objection to the said marriage has been shown to exist. This means that you need to wait for 8 days after you visit the embassy for the first time to collect your CNI.

When you give notice of intended marriage, you will need to swear or affirm an oath. If you would like to swear on a holy book (religious), you need to bring your own holy book.

What to bring with you:

• the correct fees – see the list of fees and payment options. You will need to pay two fees; Fee 10 for the notice of marriage, and Fee 11 for the CNI.
• your passport *in some cases your full birth certificate or naturalisation certificate
• proof of residence – see what we will accept as proof of residence
• equivalent documents for your partner

If you or your partner have been divorced, widowed or previously in a civil partnership, you’ll also need whichever of the following documents is appropriate:

• a decree absolute or final order
• a civil partnership dissolution or annulment certificate
• your (or your partner’s) former spouse or civil partner’s death certificate

You’ll also need to provide evidence of nationality or residence if the divorce or dissolution took place outside the UK. You’ll need to get it translated if it’s not in English.

You’ll need to fill in forms for your notice of marriage, and an oath or affidavit (written statement of facts) stating that you’re free to marry.

When submitting marriage documents to the Estonian Registration Office please bear in mind they will require the documents issued by UK (for example birth certificate, death certificate or Decree Absolute) to be legalised before they can be accepted for marriage registration.

Legalisation of documents issued by the UK can be done by the UK Legalisation Office only. This service is provided by post/courier for customers living overseas. You do not require a CNI issued in Tallinn to be legalised.

Book an appointment for a CNI in Talllinn

Services provided elsewhere

We no longer witness life certificates for British nationals claiming a British pension abroad. Please refer to the list of people working in a recognised profession who can do this for you.

Data protection

The Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office holds and uses data for purposes notified to the Information Commissioner under the Data Protection Act 1998. Such personal data may be disclosed to other UK government departments and public authorities.

Disclaimer

This information is provided as a general guide and is based upon information provided to the embassy / consulate by the relevant authorities and may be subject to change at any time with little or no notice. Accordingly the FCDO and the British embassy / consulate will not be liable for any inaccuracies in this information. For all notarial and legalisation services it is the responsibility of the customer to ascertain the precise requirements of the person requesting the notarial or legalisation service and to satisfy themselves that the service provided by the embassy/consulate will be accepted.