Last reviewed: August 2026 | Reflects Permenkum No. 50 of 2025, which replaced the 2022 rules in December 2025.
Apostille in Indonesia: How It Works, What It Costs
An apostille is a single certificate that makes an Indonesian public document acceptable in any other country that is party to the Hague Apostille Convention. It replaced a chain of four or five separate authentications with one step.
Get the dates right, because they are muddled everywhere:
- Presidential Regulation No. 2 of 2021, issued 4 January 2021, ratified the Convention.
- Indonesia deposited its instrument of accession on 5 October 2021.
- The Convention entered into force for Indonesia on 4 June 2022.
So 2021 is the ratification year and 2022 is when it actually started working. Both dates are correct for different things.
What it replaced
The old route: sworn translation if needed, then notary, then the Ministry of Law, then the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, then the destination country's embassy in Jakarta. Four or five queues, several weeks, and fees at every stage.
The Director General of AHU put the change on the record in December 2025: the apostille "cut the bureaucratic chain of document authentication from 4 to 5 steps down to 1 step". By the end of November 2025, 214,470 apostille applications had been completed.
Who issues it and where
The competent authority is the Minister of Law, acting through the Directorate General of General Legal Administration (Ditjen AHU). Applications go through apostille.ahu.go.id.
Note the naming change. The old Ministry of Law and Human Rights was split in 2024 under Presidential Regulation No. 155 of 2024. The correct name now is Kementerian Hukum. Sources still saying "Kemenkumham" are not wrong historically, just out of date.
Certificates are collected at the central office or at any regional office of the Ministry, which is useful if you are in Bali rather than Jakarta.
Cost and timeline
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Official fee | Rp 150,000 per document, set by PMK No. 101/PMK.02/2022 |
| Verification | Maximum 3 working days once the application is complete |
| Payment window | 7 calendar days after approval, or the payment order expires |
| Collection window | 60 calendar days after payment, or application and payment are forfeited |
| Specimen resubmission | 7 calendar days, or the application is auto-deleted |
The fee is a state charge paid against a billing code generated after verification. It goes to the Treasury.
Anyone promising a same-day apostille is promising something the regulation does not provide for. Verification alone has a three working day allowance. Budget a week, and note the two deadlines that destroy your application if missed: seven days to pay, sixty days to collect.
The Rp 150,000 is the only official fee. Sworn translation, notarisation and prior legalisation by the issuing institution are separate costs, and agents add their own margin on top.
Which documents qualify
Permenkum 50/2025 defines eligibility by category rather than by a closed list:
- Documents from a court, prosecutor, court clerk or bailiff
- Administrative documents
- Notarial documents
- Official certificates placed on privately signed documents, such as registration records or authentications of signature
In practice that covers birth certificates, marriage certificates, diplomas and transcripts, school reports, police clearance (SKCK), notarial deeds and sworn translations.
What is excluded
- Documents signed by diplomatic or consular officials
- Administrative documents dealing directly with commercial or customs operations
- Documents issued by the Public Prosecution Service, as listed in the Presidential Regulation
That second exclusion means you cannot tell people "all company documents can be apostilled". A notarial deed of establishment or a Ministry approval letter is fine. A commercial invoice or customs paperwork is not.
Apostille applies only to documents issued in Indonesia and used in a Convention country.
The step people miss
Many documents must first be legalised by the issuing institution before AHU will apostille them. The apostille certifies that the signature and seal match the specimen held in the Ministry's database. If the signing official's specimen is not on file, there is nothing to match against.
Birth certificates specifically
An Indonesian birth certificate (akta kelahiran) is an administrative document and is eligible. The practical sequence:
- Get the certificate from the civil registry office (Dinas Dukcapil), or a certified copy if you do not hold the original.
- Check the signing official's specimen is registered. This is the most common failure point.
- Apply through apostille.ahu.go.id with the document, the applicant's ID, and the destination country.
- Pay within seven days of approval.
- Collect within sixty days, at the central office or a regional office.
- Arrange a sworn translation separately if the destination requires one. The apostille does not translate anything.
If the destination is not a Convention country
Apostille is unavailable and the old chain applies: sworn translation, notary, Ministry of Law, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, then the destination country's embassy in Indonesia.
Reported timings and fees for that route vary widely and come from commercial agencies rather than published tariffs, so treat any figure you are quoted as an estimate. Realistically it is a matter of weeks, not days, and embassy fees differ enormously by country.
Foreign documents used in Indonesia
Two separate requirements, and this is where most people come unstuck:
- An apostille from the country that issued the document, not from Indonesia. Indonesian AHU only apostilles Indonesian documents.
- A sworn translation into Indonesian, done by a penerjemah tersumpah. An apostille authenticates a signature. It does nothing whatsoever about language.
Indonesian institutions will not accept a foreign-language document without the translation, even with a valid apostille attached. This bites on marriage registration, school enrolment, visa processing and litigation.
Why applications get rejected
The regulation gives three grounds for rejection:
- Mismatch between the application form and the uploaded document
- Mismatch between the official's name, title, signature or seal and the AHU database
- An invalid electronic signature on an electronic document
Where the document carries no official name, title, signature or seal at all, the application is returned rather than rejected, with a specimen form for the issuing official to complete. You then have seven days.
The dominant practical cause is the second one: the signing official's specimen is not in the database. This is typical for older documents and for recently appointed regional officials. Other common causes are lamination obstructing the seal, damage or handwritten marks, and name or date inconsistencies against a passport.
Rejection is not fatal. You can reapply.
What changed in December 2025
Permenkum No. 50 of 2025, signed 11 December 2025, revoked and replaced the 2022 regulation. Anything still citing Permenkumham No. 6 of 2022 as the operative rule is out of date.
The substantive change is e-Apostille. For documents signed with a valid electronic signature, the certificate is attached and delivered electronically, with no physical collection. The regulation sets a hard deadline: e-Apostille must be delivered within two years of promulgation, so approximately December 2027. AHU has asked other ministries to start issuing electronic documents capable of integrating with it.
The fee did not change. Rp 150,000 still stands.
Common questions
When did Indonesia join the Apostille Convention?
Presidential Regulation No. 2 of 2021 ratified it on 4 January 2021, the instrument of accession was deposited on 5 October 2021, and the Convention entered into force for Indonesia on 4 June 2022.
How much does an apostille cost in Indonesia?
Rp 150,000 per document, set by PMK No. 101/PMK.02/2022 and unchanged. That is the only official fee. Sworn translation, notarisation and prior institutional legalisation are separate.
How long does an apostille take?
Verification takes up to three working days after the application is complete. You then have seven calendar days to pay and sixty calendar days to collect, and missing either deadline forfeits the application.
Can a birth certificate be apostilled in Indonesia?
Yes. An Indonesian birth certificate is an administrative document and falls within the eligible categories. The usual obstacle is that the signing official's specimen signature must be registered in the AHU database.
Does an apostille include translation?
No. An apostille authenticates the signature and seal on a document. It does nothing about language. A sworn translation is a separate requirement and separate cost.
My document is from abroad. Can Indonesia apostille it?
No. Indonesian AHU only apostilles documents issued in Indonesia. A foreign document needs an apostille from its own country's competent authority, plus a sworn Indonesian translation for use here.
If you need documents legalised
The two things that decide whether this goes smoothly are whether the signing official's specimen is on file, and whether you have allowed for the translation as a separate step. Both are checkable before you apply.
We handle document legalisation, apostille applications and sworn translation coordination for clients in Bali. Tell us what you need legalised and where it is going.
General information as at August 2026, not legal advice. Procedures and fees change, and the e-Apostille rollout is ongoing. Confirm current requirements before applying.
Sources
- Perpres No. 2/2021 ratifying the Apostille Convention
- Permenkum No. 50/2025 on Apostille Services: Articles 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 9, 10, 11, 13, 14, 15
- PMK No. 101/PMK.02/2022 on the apostille tariff
- Perpres No. 155/2024 on ministry restructuring
- HCCH Apostille Convention status table