Ministry of Justice approves new apostille regulation: 5 working days, filing via Gosuslugi and MFC

On 21 September 2026 the Ministry of Justice of Russia officially published Order No. 255 of 15.09.2026 approving the Administrative Regulation for the state service "Affixing an apostille to Russian official documents to be taken outside the territory of the Russian Federation". The order was registered by the Ministry of Justice on 18.09.2026 under No. 88346.

What has changed

The new regulation replaces the 2017 one: Ministry of Justice Order No. 75 of 04.05.2017 and all its amendments (2019, 2021 and 2023) are repealed.

The result of the service is now described in two forms: the "Apostille" stamp on a separate sheet attached to the document, or an apostille in electronic form. The application and documents can be filed with the Ministry of Justice, its territorial body, through an MFC (multifunctional centre), by post or through the Unified Portal of State Services (Gosuslugi). The result is issued in the same ways.

Terms and fee

• Maximum service term is 5 working days from the day the application is registered, regardless of how it was filed.
• If the authority needs to send a request to verify a signature or seal (part 1 of article 9 of Federal Law No. 330-FZ of 28.11.2015), the term may be extended to 30 working days. The applicant is notified of the extension within 1 working day.
• The application is registered within 1 working day; waiting time in the queue when filing and when receiving the result is no more than 15 minutes.
• A state fee is charged in the amount set by the Tax Code. It can be paid by transfer to the authority's account details, through the Unified Portal or at an MFC where technically possible.

Who is affected

Everyone who takes Russian documents abroad: for study, work, marriage, citizenship or a residence permit in another country. The regulation sets out which documents are apostilled by the central office of the Ministry of Justice (in particular, documents of federal authorities and certified copies of acts of the highest courts) and which by its territorial bodies. Education documents are handled by other competent authorities, so first check where exactly your document must be filed.

What to do

• Check the document before filing: the signature and seal must be clear, corrections must be noted, a multi-page document must be bound and numbered. Under the regulation these are separate grounds for refusal.
• Make sure the destination country is a party to the 1961 Hague Convention. If not, consular legalisation is required instead of an apostille.
• Bring an identity document; a representative needs a power of attorney or a document confirming authority.
• File through Gosuslugi or an MFC if you want to avoid visiting the authority.

What translations you will need

An apostille confirms the authenticity of the signature and seal but does not translate the document. For filing abroad you usually need a translation of the document itself and of the apostille stamp into the language of the destination country, certified by a notary. The usual order is: apostille on the original, then translation, then notarial certification of the translation.

Send your documents to Stylus: we will translate the document together with the apostille into the required language and have it certified by the notary in the next office, so the package is accepted the first time.