Certified Copies (True Copies of Original Documents)

Published:

5/21/26

Do you need a certified true copy of the original document? We can certify the copy for you.

The Swedish National Archives only certifies copies that we have produced ourselves from original documents. We can only certify paper copies. We can never certify copies submitted to us by others, even if we hold the original document.

When we certify a document, we confirm that the copy matches the original. The certification consists of a statement, the administrator’s signature, and confirmation that the certification has been carried out by the Swedish National Archives. It may be handwritten or stamped. If the original consists of several pages, the certification is placed on the first and last page.

We will send the certified copy to you by post. If specifically requested, we can also scan it after certification and send it by email. We charge for the copy itself (see the Swedish National Archives’ price list), but certification is free of charge.

• In Sweden, certification by the Swedish National Archives is sufficient for a copy to be considered certified.
• If you need to use the document in other countries, you will usually need to contact a notary public who can issue an apostille.
• For a few number countries, you must contact the Ministry for Foreign Affairs to get the document legalised.

The Swedish National Archives can never issue a certificate confirming that a judgment or decision has entered into legal force (certificate of inal and non-appealable decision). You must instead contact the court or authority that issued the decision.

Below you can read more about the requirements in different countries for a copy of a Swedish document to be considered authentic.