A commercial contract signed in Seychelles often needs to be produced before a foreign court, bank, arbitration panel, or counterparty’s legal team. Without an Apostille, the foreign side has no way to confirm that the signatures and the notary stamp on the document are genuine. CommercialRegister LTD handles the full chain from notarisation to the Supreme Court of Seychelles, so the contract leaves the country in a form that is recognised abroad.
Seychelles joined the Hague Apostille Convention in 1978, which means an Apostille Commercial Contract Seychelles file is accepted in 120+ countries without further consular steps. We organise the notary appointment, file the document with the Supreme Court of Seychelles, and dispatch it by DHL Express. Standard turnaround is 3 to 6 business days from the moment we receive your signed PDF.
When You Need an Apostille for Commercial Contract in Seychelles
Commercial contracts cross borders constantly, but the moment a dispute, audit, or registration is involved, the foreign authority asks for proof that the contract is authentic. An Apostille is the standard mechanism for that proof under the Hague Convention.
- Enforcing supplier agreements abroad — When a Seychelles-based buyer or seller needs a foreign court to enforce payment terms, delivery clauses, or penalties, the contract must carry an Apostille before it can be entered as evidence.
- Cross-border service contracts — Consultancy, IT, marketing, and management service agreements often need to be filed with the foreign tax authority or central bank of the client’s country to justify outbound payments.
- Evidence in international arbitration — ICC, LCIA, SIAC and ad-hoc arbitration tribunals require contracts submitted as exhibits to be authenticated, particularly where the contract is signed under a different governing law than the seat of arbitration.
- Bank financing and due diligence — Foreign lenders reviewing collateral or revenue-generating contracts as part of a credit decision will ask for apostilled copies before the file moves to credit committee.
- Corporate restructuring and M&A — When a Seychelles entity is sold or merged, material commercial contracts are included in the disclosure schedule and need to be in legalised form for the acquirer’s counsel.
Most requests we handle for this document come from companies based in the United Arab Emirates, Singapore, the United Kingdom, Germany, India, and South Africa, where Seychelles trading and holding structures are common.
How the Apostille Process Works for Commercial Contract in Seychelles
You do not need to travel to Seychelles, and you do not need to courier the paper original. The entire process is handled from a signed PDF that you send by email. We return the legalised hard copy to your address by DHL.
Step 1. You prepare and sign the commercial contract
Sign the contract in the form you intend to use abroad, with all parties’ signatures on the document. If the contract is between two companies, both authorised signatories should sign before the file is sent. The version we notarise is the version that will carry the Apostille, so make sure no further edits are pending.
Step 2. You send us a signed PDF
Email us the signed contract as a clear PDF, a copy of the signatory’s passport, and the company’s incorporation documents if the signatory acts on behalf of a legal entity. We confirm the file is complete and tell you the exact total before any work begins.
Step 3. Notarisation by a Seychelles notary
A licensed Seychelles notary certifies the signatures and the document. This step is mandatory for commercial contracts — the Supreme Court of Seychelles will not apostille a private commercial document that has not first been notarised. The notary fee is 79 EUR.
Step 4. Apostille by the Supreme Court of Seychelles
The notarised contract is then filed with the Supreme Court of Seychelles, which issues the Apostille certificate. The Apostille follows the format set out by the Hague Conference on Private International Law and is recognised in every Hague Convention country. This step costs 79 EUR.
Step 5. Worldwide DHL Express delivery
Once the Apostille is attached, we dispatch the legalised contract by DHL Express to your address. Shipping is 149 EUR worldwide, flat rate, with tracking from Victoria to your door. Most destinations receive the document within 2 to 4 working days after dispatch.
Hague Convention or Embassy Attestation: Which Route Do You Need?
If the contract is going to a country that is party to the Hague Apostille Convention, the Apostille alone is sufficient. That covers 120+ jurisdictions, including the EU, the UK, the US, most of Latin America, India, China, South Africa, and Singapore. The total cost in that case is from 158 EUR plus shipping.
If the destination country is not a Hague member — for example the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Vietnam, or several African states — the document instead needs attestation by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Seychelles (+ 99 EUR) followed by attestation at the destination country’s embassy. Embassy fees vary by country.
If you are not sure which route applies, send us the destination and we will tell you before invoicing. Details on the non-Hague chain are on our embassy attestation page.
Pricing
| Service | Price |
|---|---|
| Notarisation by Seychelles notary | 79 EUR |
| Apostille by Supreme Court of Seychelles | 79 EUR |
| Standard total — Hague Convention countries | From 158 EUR |
| MFA attestation (non-Hague, if required) | + 99 EUR |
| Embassy attestation (non-Hague countries) | Varies by country |
| Worldwide DHL Express shipping | 149 EUR flat rate |
Prices are for a single document. Multi-document orders and complex cases are quoted individually.
What You Need to Send
To start the Apostille Commercial Contract Seychelles process, we need a small file pack by email. Everything below can be sent as PDF attachments.
- The fully signed commercial contract as a clear PDF, including all annexes and schedules in the same file.
- A copy of the passport of each signatory whose signature appears on the contract.
- Corporate documents — Certificate of Incorporation and a current Certificate of Good Standing, or equivalent — for any company that is a party to the contract.
- A board resolution or power of attorney if the signatory is not a director of record.
- The full delivery address for DHL, including a mobile number for the courier.
- The destination country, so we can confirm whether the Hague route or the embassy route applies.
If anything is missing or unclear, we will tell you before we start. No surprises.
Real-World Examples
A Seychelles IBC supplying logistics software to a Hamburg freight forwarder needed its master services agreement apostilled for a German court hearing about unpaid licence fees. The managing director signed the contract from his office in Mahé, sent the PDF together with the company’s good standing certificate, and we returned the apostilled hard copy in five business days. The contract was admitted as evidence at the Landgericht hearing without objection.
A trading company in Victoria signed a distribution contract with a Dubai-based importer. The Dubai counterparty’s bank required the contract in apostilled and embassy-attested form before releasing the first letter of credit. We handled notarisation, the Apostille, MFA attestation, and coordinated UAE embassy attestation, with the full file delivered to the importer’s office in eleven business days.
A Johannesburg arbitration practitioner representing a South African mining contractor needed an apostilled copy of a services contract signed by a Seychelles holding company. The arbitration was seated in Mauritius under SIAC rules and the tribunal required authenticated exhibits. The signed PDF reached us on a Monday, and the apostilled original was delivered to the law firm in Sandton by Friday of the following week.
Request Your Apostille for Commercial Contract in Seychelles
Send us the signed contract and the supporting documents listed above, and we will confirm the total and timeline before starting. Most files are ready for dispatch within a week.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does a commercial contract really need to be notarised before the Apostille?
Yes. A commercial contract is a private document, and the Supreme Court of Seychelles only apostilles documents that already carry a recognised public seal — in this case the notary's. Without notarisation, the Court will not issue the Apostille.
Can the process be handled remotely from abroad?
Yes, the whole chain runs on a signed PDF sent by email. You do not need to visit Seychelles, and you do not need to courier the paper original. The notarised and apostilled hard copy comes back to you by DHL.
What is the typical turnaround?
From receipt of a complete file, 3 to 6 business days for the notarisation and Apostille. DHL adds 2 to 4 working days depending on destination. If the contract also needs embassy attestation, plan for one to three additional weeks depending on the embassy.
Can both parties sign in different countries and still get one Apostille?
Yes, as long as the final PDF carries both signatures clearly. The notary certifies the document as it is presented, not each signature ceremony. If a foreign counterparty wants its own signature separately notarised in its country, that is a parallel process handled there.
Does the Apostille certify that the contract is legally valid?
No. The Apostille only confirms that the notary's signature and stamp are genuine. Whether the contract itself is enforceable depends on the governing law and the facts, and that is a matter for the lawyers and courts involved.
What if my contract is in French or another language?
That is fine for the Apostille itself — the certificate is issued regardless of the contract's language. However, the receiving authority abroad may ask for a certified translation into its local language. Order the translation in the destination country if possible, since local sworn translators are usually preferred.
Can I get one Apostille for multiple contracts at once?
No, each contract is a separate document and receives its own Apostille. We offer reduced pricing for multi-document orders processed together — send us the list and we will quote you a combined rate.