In Berlin, an Apostille Comes From One of Two Different Offices, Not a Single Desk

Two Offices, Not One Desk

Getting a Berlin document ready for use abroad isn’t a single-office errand the way it is in some other German cities. Munich’s Regierung von Oberbayern covers every document issued by a Bavarian authority under one roof. Hamburg, once notarial documents, court decisions, and its Amtsgericht’s own records were all separated out, ended up needing three different offices. Berlin sits in between those two shapes: one office handles anything a Berlin public authority actually issued, and a second office handles both notarial documents and the courts’ own decisions together, without carving out a third office the way Hamburg did.

Working out which of the two you need comes down to a single question: who actually issued or certified the document in front of you, a Berlin government authority, or a notary or court.

LABO: For Documents a Berlin Authority Actually Issued

The Landesamt für Bürger- und Ordnungsangelegenheiten, LABO, is the office responsible for apostilles and pre-certifications on documents issued by a public authority of the state of Berlin. Birth, marriage, and death certificates from a Standesamt, school and educational certificates, and other municipal records fall under this office, at Friedrichstr. 219, 10969 Berlin.

Visiting address: Friedrichstr. 219, 10969 Berlin, near the U6/S-Bahn stop Kochstraße/Checkpoint Charlie. Report to the reception desk (Pförtner) on arrival. Confirm current hours and any closure notices on the official Service Berlin page before visiting.

A walk-in doesn’t require booking anything first. A waiting-number system handles the queue on the day, and processing at the counter is normally immediate rather than something you leave and come back for. Booking a slot ahead of time is available too, useful if you’d rather not wait, though each booked appointment covers up to 3 documents, so bring more than that and you’ll want to book multiple slots.

One institution-specific detail is easy to miss. LABO’s own guidance flags that documents from universities, Charité, tax offices (Finanzämter), and professional chambers need a separate pre-certification from the issuing institution itself before LABO can add the apostille on top. If your document falls into one of those categories, confirm that step is done first, otherwise the visit to LABO is wasted.

Landgericht Berlin II: Notarial Documents and Court Decisions, in One Place

If a Berlin notary certified your document, or a Berlin court itself issued it, a judgment, a decision, a probate certificate (Erbschein), or a settlement (Vergleich), it doesn’t go to LABO at all. It goes to the Geschäftsstelle für Legalisationen und Apostillen inside Landgericht Berlin II’s Dienststelle Littenstraße, a genuinely separate office from LABO, with its own address, its own fee, and its own hours.

Visiting address: Littenstraße 12-17, 10179 Berlin (barrier-free entrance at Littenstraße 14). Leave extra time for the security check at the entrance. Confirm current hours and payment options on the official Service Berlin pages before visiting.

Notice that a notarial deed and a court judgment cost exactly the same amount here. Berlin’s dividing line sits between LABO on one side and the Littenstraße desk on the other, not between different kinds of paperwork once you’re already inside the Landgericht’s door. Whatever crosses that particular counter, a power of attorney a notary drew up or a probate certificate a judge signed, pays the identical 25 euros.

The narrow hours are worth planning around. Public hours run weekday mornings only, 9:00 to 12:00, across all five days, closing well before lunch. That’s a real contrast with LABO’s afternoon availability three days a week, so a single trip covering both offices in one day needs the Landgericht stop scheduled first.

Photo by Andrei Ciubotariu on Pexels

What Real People Say

Parents dealing with a Charité birth record or a university diploma often report the same surprise: LABO turned them away on a first attempt because the school or hospital hadn’t signed off yet, and only a phone call to the issuing institution beforehand would have caught it. Once that pre-certification step is handled, the LABO counter itself gets described as fast, a short queue number and a stamp, done.

Newcomers with a power of attorney drawn up by a Berlin notary tend to plan their Littenstraße trip around lunch and get caught out, the counter shuts at noon sharp, five days running, with nothing in the afternoon to fall back on. Several say a quick call ahead confirmed the payment options too, since cash only works there in exceptional cases.

Step by Step

1. Work out who actually issued or certified your document. A Berlin public authority, a Standesamt or school, points to LABO. A Berlin notary or a Berlin court’s own judgment, decision, probate certificate, or settlement points to Landgericht Berlin II instead.
2. If it’s LABO, decide between a walk-in, a booked slot, or mail. No appointment is required for a walk-in, but book ahead if you’d rather skip the queue, and remember each slot covers up to 3 documents.
3. If it’s Landgericht Berlin II, plan your visit for a weekday morning. Public hours run 9:00 to 12:00 only, Monday through Friday, and there’s no afternoon option.
4. Check whether your document needs pre-certification first. Universities, Charité, tax offices, and professional chambers all require their own Vorbeglaubigung before LABO will add an apostille.
5. Bring the original document, not a copy, and budget the right fee, 19 euros at LABO, or 25 euros at Landgericht Berlin II regardless of whether it’s a notarial document or a court decision.
6. If mailing to LABO, plan for about two weeks domestically, and confirm by phone or the official contact form before sending anything to Landgericht Berlin II, since its process is built around in-person submission during those narrow morning hours.

Compliance Note

This page explains the general framework around the apostille application process in Berlin, but this is not legal advice, and specific requirements can vary by document type and by which authority actually issued or certified the underlying document. For your specific situation, confirm current requirements directly with LABO or Landgericht Berlin II, whichever applies.