Since 16th March of 1999, Venezuela has become a signatory party to the AGREEMENT TO ABOLISH THE REQUIREMENT ON FOREIGN PUBLIC DOCUMENTS DRAWN UP IN THE HAGUE FROM BEING AUTHENTICATED. As a result, such Agreement will be applied to every public document which has been authorized in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, as well as the Republic of Ireland, that must be presented in the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela.

For the purposes of this Agreement, the documents considered as public are:

• Documents emanating from an authority or a government employee linked to State Courts or Tribunals, including those coming from the Attorney General’s Office, or from a secretary, an officer or a judicial agent.
• Administrative documents.
• Documents that are required to be registered.
• Official certificates that have been put on private documents, such as registry entries, verification of the accuracy of a date and official authentication and registration of signatures.

However this Agreement will NOT apply to:

• Documents issued by diplomatic or consular agents.
• Administrative documents directly related to a commercial or customs operation.

Embassy of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela in the UK
Cultural Section, 56 Grafton Way, London, W1t 5DL