Apostille in Chernivtsi: from a grandmother’s certificate to yesterday’s diploma
In Chernivtsi the apostille is often needed not for a new document but for the oldest one in the family: Romanian-citizenship files rest on the records of ancestors born in Bukovina before 1940. New papers are simple – since 1 February 2026 a Justice-category stamp is issued by any DRACS office, notary, state archive or the Diia app, the state fee in our price and up to 3 business days, without leaving the city. Old papers need a repeat form or an archival extract first – and that difference is what this page is about.
- Civil-registry certificates, notarial copies and court rulings are apostilled without leaving Chernivtsi: any DRACS office, a notary, a state archive or Diia
- Fee inside the price, up to 3 business days – a repeat form, where needed, is counted on top
- Lost and decades-old certificates are retrieved first – a repeat certificate or an archival extract, which then carries the stamp
- Scans by messenger; the finished set with its translation reaches any Chernivtsi branch by Nova Poshta
Fresh certificates are stamped in Chernivtsi itself – at a DRACS office, a notary or via Diia; old records are retrieved from the archives first, and we run the Kyiv filings with the Education and Interior Ministries for you.
Why Chernivtsi apostilles the family’s oldest documents
A typical Chernivtsi order puts a child’s fresh birth certificate next to a grandmother’s yellowed one issued decades ago. The reason is local: Chernivtsi oblast is Ukraine’s most Romanian region – 114,600 Romanians, 12.5% of the oblast population, per the 2001 census (the most recent one) – and many families assemble documents for Romanian citizenship by descent, which requires the records of several generations.
The apostille goes on a document, not on the memory of one: when a certificate is lost or survives only as a registry entry, a repeat certificate or an archival extract is issued first, and the stamp lands on that. Etalon picks it up from there: once the form is in hand, we run the apostille and the translation. The archive sets its own timeline, so we do not promise it — we quote our own part exactly.
Today’s certificates: stamped without leaving the city
Since 1 February 2026 (Justice Ministry order No. 3177/5) any DRACS office, notary or state archive accepts Justice-category documents for apostille, and in the Diia app the whole filing happens on a smartphone. The city also has its own justice-administration subdivision at 1 Hrushevskoho St; Bukovina is formally administered by the Ivano-Frankivsk interregional justice office, but that is a line in an org chart – no trip to Ivano-Frankivsk is needed.
The rules are national: the state fee is already inside our price, up to 3 business days, lawfully extendable to a month when a signature or registry record is verified.
The youngest documents travel farthest: MES and MIA
The paradox of a Chernivtsi set: a pre-war record is stamped in the city, while last year’s diploma is not. Diplomas and supplements – including those of Yuriy Fedkovych Chernivtsi National University – are still apostilled by the Education Ministry in Kyiv, with longer timelines. The criminal-record extract is apostilled by the Interior Ministry, which also issues it (Cabinet resolution No. 631, since 2023): the in-person window works only in Kyiv, but in Diia the extract is ordered together with its apostille and delivered by Ukrposhta.
Etalon runs both Kyiv lanes for you – no need to travel from Chernivtsi or from abroad.
Romania, the treaty nuance – and one translated set
An apostille opens 120+ Hague Convention countries to a Ukrainian document, but in Chernivtsi the destination is most often Romania – and there is a money-saving nuance: Ukraine and Romania hold a legal-assistance treaty, so some Romanian institutions accept Ukrainian documents with no apostille at all. We check your institution’s requirement before starting, so you never pay for a stamp “just in case”.
The second step never changes: a notarised translation into Romanian – covering the stamp when there is one. Etalon has no office in Chernivtsi and does not need one: scans by messenger, originals by Nova Poshta when required, and the finished set delivered to any branch or parcel locker in Chernivtsi or wherever you are now.
How we work
- 1Scans by messengerSend photos or scans by messenger – the first thing we check is whether the record still exists and in what shape, and only then the agency, the price and the clock.
- 2A repeat form when the document is missingFor lost or decades-old certificates the registry or archive issues a repeat certificate or an archival extract first, and the apostille goes on that.
- 3Apostille and translationWe file with the Justice, Education or Interior Ministry, track the timelines and add a notarised translation into Romanian, English or another language.
- 4Delivery by Nova PoshtaThe finished set goes to any branch or parcel locker in Chernivtsi – or in whatever city you are in now.
Prices
- Apostille on a document (Ministry of Justice) state fee includedfrom UAH 950
- Apostille on a diploma / supplement (MES) state fee includedfrom UAH 950
- Translation + notarisation per documentfrom UAH 250
A Chernivtsi order often starts not with a new document but with an old one: a repeat certificate or an archival extract is paid for separately from the stamp, and that shows in the quote from the outset. The agency fee itself already sits inside the "from" rate – nothing is added at filing, while a legal entity is billed at the raised rate. The full calculation for your package is free, from the scans.
FAQ
Where do I get an apostille in Chernivtsi?
Since 1 February 2026 – at any DRACS office, at a notary or in a state archive; the application can also be filed via Diia. The city has a justice-administration subdivision at 1 Hrushevskoho St. No trip to Ivano-Frankivsk – despite the interregional office’s name – or to Kyiv is needed.
What will it cost in 2026, and how long with an old certificate?
The agency fee is in the price and nothing is added at filing. The Justice lane takes up to 3 business days, lawfully extended to a month when a signature or registry entry is verified; the education lane is longer. If the certificate predates the war or has been lost, issuing the repeat form adds to the clock – we count that separately and say so in advance. Bureau work starts at UAH 950 per document.
Is an apostille required for Romania?
Romania belongs to the Hague Convention, yet Ukraine also holds a legal-assistance treaty with it, and that treaty is why a part of Romanian officialdom accepts a Ukrainian document with no stamp on it. Which rule applies is decided by the desk you are filing at – a mayoralty, a university and a citizenship file can each answer differently. We establish that before any work begins, so an unnecessary stamp never reaches your invoice.
My grandmother’s certificate is lost. Can it still be apostilled?
Yes, but the stamp goes on a document, so a repeat certificate or an archival extract is issued first from the DRACS or state-archive record – and the apostille and translation are then arranged on that. In Romanian citizenship-by-descent files this is the standard first step.
Apostille or translation first?
The stamp comes first, and the translation then covers the document together with its apostille. For Romania there is a nuance: when the legal-assistance treaty makes the stamp unnecessary, we translate right away. We confirm the order for your institution before starting.
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Updated: 2026-10-13
