Since 4 June 2022 Indonesia issues apostilles — applied for online at apostille.ahu.go.id and printed at Ministry of Law offices nationwide for IDR 150,000 per document.
Overview
Indonesia acceded to the Hague Apostille Convention in 2021 and the Convention entered into force for Indonesia on 4 June 2022, replacing the old multi-step legalisation chain for documents moving between Indonesia and other Convention countries. The designated competent authority is the Directorate General of General Legal Administration (Ditjen AHU) of the Ministry of Law (Kementerian Hukum — the legal-affairs successor to the former Ministry of Law and Human Rights after the 2024 restructuring), not the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Applications are made online at apostille.ahu.go.id, the fee is IDR 150,000 per document as non-tax state revenue, and since the service was decentralised the certificate can be printed at regional Ministry of Law offices (Kanwil Kemenkum) across Indonesia, not just Jakarta. Implementation rules sit in Minister of Law and Human Rights Regulation No. 6 of 2022, with a ministerial decision listing the document types served — diplomas, civil-registry records, notarial deeds and other public documents. Documents going to non-Convention countries still need the traditional chain ending at the destination country's embassy. Verified against ahu.go.id, portal.ahu.go.id and kemenkum.go.id regional pages as of June 2026.
Apostille — Issued by Ditjen AHU, Ministry of Law
- Who issues it: The Directorate General of General Legal Administration (Direktorat Jenderal Administrasi Hukum Umum, Ditjen AHU) is Indonesia's competent authority under the Convention. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs no longer legalises documents destined for Hague Convention countries.
- How to apply: Entirely online at apostille.ahu.go.id — create an account, upload the document, and book collection. Once approved, you pay and the apostille certificate is printed and attached to the physical document.
- Fee: IDR 150,000 per document, paid as PNBP through the AHU billing system.
- Where to collect: Originally Jakarta-only, printing has been rolled out to regional Ministry of Law offices (Kanwil) across Indonesia — choose your collection office in the application.
- What it covers: A ministerial decision (No. M.HH-01.AH.03.01 of 2022) lists the public document types served — including diplomas and transcripts, birth/marriage/death certificates, notarial deeds, court documents and police records — the standard paperwork for visas, mixed marriages, study and work abroad.
- Verify the signatory first: The apostille certifies the official's signature, seal and capacity, not the content. The signing official must be registered in the AHU database; documents signed by officials not yet registered are rejected until the specimen signature is filed.
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Who issues apostilles in Indonesia — and is it the Ministry of Foreign Affairs?
No. The competent authority is the Directorate General of General Legal Administration (Ditjen AHU) under the Ministry of Law (Kemenkum). Since the Apostille Convention entered into force for Indonesia on 4 June 2022, documents going to fellow Convention countries need only the AHU apostille — the old route through the Foreign Ministry and the destination country's embassy no longer applies for those destinations. Apply online at apostille.ahu.go.id; the certificate is printed at the Ministry of Law office you select.
How much does an Indonesian apostille cost and how do I apply?
IDR 150,000 per document, charged as non-tax state revenue. The process is online-first: register at apostille.ahu.go.id, upload a scan of the document, and submit. AHU verifies that the signing official's specimen signature is registered in its database; once approved you pay via the billing code and collect the printed apostille certificate at your chosen Ministry of Law office — now available at regional offices (Kanwil Kemenkum) across Indonesia, not just Jakarta. Budget extra days if your document's signatory is not yet in the AHU specimen database, as registration must happen first.
Which documents can be apostilled — and which cannot?
A ministerial decision under Regulation 6/2022 lists the document types served — civil-registry certificates (birth, marriage, divorce, death), diplomas and transcripts, notarial deeds, court and police documents, and other public documents commonly needed for visas, mixed marriage and overseas study. Standard Convention exclusions apply: documents executed by diplomatic or consular agents and administrative documents dealing directly with commercial or customs operations cannot be apostilled. Private documents must first be notarised so they carry a registered official's signature.
My destination country is not in the Hague Convention — what is the chain?
The traditional legalisation chain still applies. The document is first certified/notarised so it bears an authorised official's signature, then legalised by the competent Indonesian authorities (the AHU directorate and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs consular function), and finally certified by the destination country's embassy or consulate in Jakarta. Each step charges its own fee and timeline, so a non-Hague legalisation typically takes substantially longer than the IDR 150,000 online apostille. Check the HCCH status table first — the list of Convention parties keeps growing.
Do my foreign documents need an apostille to be used in Indonesia?
They must be authenticated in the country that issued them — Indonesia cannot apostille foreign documents. If the issuing country is a Hague Convention party, obtain its apostille from that country's designated authority; if not, legalise via that country's foreign ministry and the Indonesian embassy there. For immigration specifically, check your visa index checklist on evisa.imigrasi.go.id first: many indices ask only for translations (into Indonesian, or English where accepted) rather than full authentication, so you may not need to pay for an apostille at all.
Who can produce an official translation for Indonesian authorities?
A sworn translator (penerjemah tersumpah) — appointed and sworn in under the Ministry of Law's regime, with the register administered through the AHU system. Their stamped translations are accepted by courts, the civil registry and immigration, and because a sworn translator is a registered official, the translation itself can be apostilled for use abroad. For eVisa purposes note the practical concession: documents already in English are often accepted without translation (the second-home family checklist, for instance, requires translation into Indonesian 'unless it is already in English').