Making a Nigerian document valid abroad
A Nigerian certificate, degree or affidavit is not automatically accepted overseas. To use it abroad it usually has to be notarised, then authenticated by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, then attested by the destination country’s embassy. This chain is what people loosely call “legalisation”. This guide explains it — and clears up the single biggest myth.
There is no “Nigerian apostille”. Nigeria is not a party to the Hague Apostille Convention. Any agent offering to “apostille” your Nigerian document is selling something that does not exist. The correct route is legalisation / attestation — MFA authentication plus embassy attestation.
Honest note: RenewPapers is not the MFA, a notary or an embassy. The steps are performed by those bodies. What we do is run the chain for you — notarisation, MFA authentication and embassy attestation — in the right order, so your document is accepted where you are sending it.
The legalisation chain
- Notarisation — a notary public (or Commissioner for Oaths) certifies the document or a true copy.
- MFA authentication — the Ministry of Foreign Affairs authenticates it for international use.
- Embassy attestation — the destination country’s embassy attests it to its own standard.
- Court / certified copies — court judgments and certified true copies can be legalised the same way.
What are you legalising?
Need a document legalised for abroad?
Tell us the document and where it is going. We will run the notarisation, MFA authentication and embassy attestation in the right order — no apostille myths, just a document that is accepted.
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