Apostille in Rivne: before and after the 2026 reform

Since 1 February 2026 an apostille on certificates, notarial copies and court rulings is issued without leaving Rivne: applications are accepted at any DRACS office – in the city at 8 Kavkazka St – at a notary, in a state archive or via the Diia app. The fee is 670 UAH, processing up to 3 business days. Until recently the same stamp meant shipping documents to other cities. Below: what changed, what stayed the same, and when it makes sense to hand the procedure to Etalon.

Before: Justice-category apostilles were issued centrally, and the oblast justice vertical for Rivne is administered from Lviv
Since 01.02.2026: filing in Rivne – the registry office at 8 Kavkazka St, a notary, a state archive or Diia; 670 UAH, up to 3 business days
Unchanged: diplomas go through the Education Ministry, police checks through the Interior Ministry – both Kyiv-side filings we handle for you
Scans travel by Telegram, Viber or WhatsApp; the finished stamped set returns by Nova Poshta to any branch in Rivne

The 2026 reform redrew the apostille map for Rivne: what used to require shipping documents between cities is now done at 8 Kavkazka St or in Diia. The Kyiv lanes of the Education and Interior Ministries Etalon still walks for Rivne residents – fully remotely.

Before 2026: a stamp from another city

Until 1 February 2026, Justice-category apostilles – on civil-registry certificates, notarial copies and court rulings – were issued centrally, so documents from Rivne effectively travelled to Kyiv. Add the administrative geography: the city has no oblast justice directorate of its own – Rivne oblast is administered by the Western interregional Justice-Ministry office headquartered in Lviv, with its local civil-registry unit at 8 Kavkazka St in Rivne.

In practice, "an apostille in Rivne" was for years the name of a logistics problem rather than a local service: every document meant a separate shipment and a wait with no local control.

After the reform: 8 Kavkazka St or the Diia app

Order No. 3177/5, in force since 1 February 2026, reversed the scheme: a Justice-category apostille application is now accepted at any DRACS office, at a notary or in a state archive – regardless of where the document was issued. For Rivne residents the office at 8 Kavkazka St turned from a forwarding link into a full filing point. The second road is shorter still: the application goes through the Diia app from a smartphone, where you also track readiness.

The fee since 1 January 2026 is 670 UAH for individuals and 1160 UAH for legal entities; standard processing is up to 3 business days, lawfully extendable to a month when a signature or registry record is verified. The real change is not the numbers but the geography: filing now happens where you are.

What did not change: the Kyiv lanes

The February reform covers only the Justice category. Educational documents – diplomas, supplements, school certificates – are still apostilled by the Education Ministry: a Kyiv-side filing with longer timelines. For Rivne that primarily means graduates of NUWEE – the National University of Water and Environmental Engineering, which describes itself as Ukraine's only university training water-management specialists and also teaches international students – and of Rivne State University of the Humanities.

The criminal-record extract has been apostilled by the Interior Ministry since 2023 (Cabinet resolution No. 631): the in-person window works only in Kyiv, the fee is 51 UAH, but no trip is needed – in Diia the extract is ordered together with its apostille and delivered by Ukrposhta. Etalon walks both Kyiv lanes for you, so you never leave Rivne.

Translation second – and a NUWEE diploma case

The reform did not touch the order of steps: the apostille goes on the original or a notarised copy first, and the translation then covers the document together with its stamp – foreign institutions want everything translated, the apostille included. A translation made in advance often has to be redone and paid for twice; we confirm the sequence for your destination country before starting.

A typical Rivne case now looks like this: a NUWEE graduate leaves for an EU contract with a diploma and a marriage certificate. The certificate takes the fast lane – 8 Kavkazka St or Diia, 670 UAH, up to 3 days; the diploma takes the slow one – the Education Ministry in Kyiv; then the whole set needs a notarised translation, stamps included. Two agency lanes with different timelines and a translation at the finish – that is the bundle a bureau runs in parallel. With one Justice-category document and the Diia app, file it yourself – since February 2026 it is genuinely simple. Etalon has no office in Rivne and needs none: scans travel by messenger, originals by Nova Poshta, and the finished set returns to any branch in Rivne or wherever you live now.

How we work

1Scans by messengerSend photos or scans via Telegram, Viber or WhatsApp – we tell you for free whether your destination country needs an apostille, which agency stamps it, the price and the timeline.
2Originals only if requiredWhen the stamp must sit on the original or a notarised copy, ship it by Nova Poshta; many cases run entirely online via Diia.
3Filing with the right agencyWe route the document to the Justice, Education or Interior Ministry, track the status and add a certified translation when required.
4Delivery to your branchThe stamped and translated package returns by Nova Poshta – to a convenient branch or parcel locker in Rivne or any other city.

Prices

Apostille on a document (Ministry of Justice) + 670 UAH state fee (individuals)from UAH 950
Apostille on a diploma / supplement (MES) + state feefrom UAH 950
Urgent apostille as the agency allowson request
Translation + notarisation per documentfrom UAH 250

Bureau rates are minimums ("from"); the state fee is separate: 670 UAH for individuals / 1160 UAH for legal entities from 01.01.2026, plus 51 UAH for the Interior-Ministry stamp.

FAQ

Where do I get an apostille in Rivne?

Civil-registry, notarial and court documents are accepted at any DRACS office (in Rivne – 8 Kavkazka St), at a notary, in a state archive or via the Diia app. Diplomas go through the Education Ministry and police checks through the Interior Ministry – both Kyiv-side filings we handle for you.

Do I still need to travel to Lviv or Kyiv?

No. Since 1 February 2026 Justice-category documents are filed in Rivne or online via Diia – that is exactly what the reform changed. Only diplomas (Education Ministry) and criminal-record extracts (Interior Ministry) still route through Kyiv, and even those are filed without your trip – remotely through the bureau or via Diia.

Which ministry apostilles my document?

Civil-registry certificates, notarial copies and court rulings – the Justice Ministry; diplomas, supplements and school certificates – the Education Ministry; the criminal-record extract – the Interior Ministry. The filing point and timeline follow from the agency. Send a scan and we name all three at once, free of charge.

What does an apostille cost in 2026 and how long does it take?

State fees: 670 UAH for individuals or 1160 UAH for companies in the Justice category (from 01.01.2026), 51 UAH for the Interior-Ministry stamp. Standard Justice-category processing is up to 3 business days, extendable to a month on registry checks; Education-Ministry timelines are longer. Bureau support starts at UAH 950 per document.

Apostille or translation first?

The apostille comes first, on the original or a notarised copy, then the translation covers the document together with the stamp. The order differs for Poland, whose consulate for Rivne oblast is in Lutsk, and for other countries – we check it against your specific destination before starting.

Updated: 2026-07-14