Certified Lithuanian Document Translation

Lithuania operates a court-regulated sworn translator system where translators must be registered with a Lithuanian apygardos teismas (regional court) as prisiekusieji vertėjai (sworn translators). This registration is essential for the legal validity of translations submitted to Lithuanian courts and government authorities. Only a registered prisiekusysis vertėjas may produce a prisiekusiojo vertėjo vertimas (sworn translation) bearing their court-registered seal, which carries legal weight in Lithuanian proceedings.

Candidates for sworn translator registration must demonstrate professional competence in the relevant language pair and knowledge of Lithuanian legal terminology. For certain legal acts — such as company formation documents filed with the Registrų centras or submissions to Lithuanian courts — a notaras (notary) may additionally need to certify the translator's signature under the Lietuvos Respublikos notariato įstatymas (Notary Law). This dual certification system ensures the highest level of document authentication for domestic Lithuanian proceedings.

For documents intended for use outside Lithuania — such as immigration applications to the United States, Canada, Australia, or the United Kingdom — DoVisa's certified translations are widely accepted without the need for a Lithuanian court-registered translator's seal. International authorities including USCIS, IRCC, and the Australian Department of Home Affairs accept certified translations with a translator's signed certification statement. When Lithuanian sworn translations are specifically required for domestic use, DoVisa coordinates through our network of registered prisiekusieji vertėjai to provide the appropriate certification level.

Lithuania is a party to the Hague Apostille Convention, having acceded on 5 November 1996 with the Convention entering into force on 19 July 1997. This means Lithuanian public documents can be authenticated with an apostille for use in over 120 other Convention member states, replacing the more cumbersome consular legalization process. Two competent authorities are designated to issue apostilles in Lithuania: the Lietuvos notarų rūmai (Lithuanian Chamber of Notaries), which has been issuing apostilles since 18 January 2016, and the Konsulinis departamentas prie Užsienio reikalų ministerijos (Consular Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs).

In practice, most apostille requests are handled by Lithuanian notaries through the Chamber of Notaries. Any notary in Lithuania can issue an apostille for public documents at a fee of EUR 15. The Consular Department issues apostilles at a fee of EUR 20 exclusively for documents originating from Lithuanian diplomatic missions and consular offices abroad. The Lithuanian apostille takes the form of a printed sticker with a handwritten signature of the official, an official seal, and a hologram for security.

DoVisa manages the complete apostille process for Lithuanian documents. We identify the correct competent authority based on the document type and origin, prepare the application, submit the documents, and deliver the apostilled translation to your address. Standard apostille processing takes 5-10 business days. For documents destined for countries that are not Hague Convention members, DoVisa coordinates the full consular legalization process through the Užsienio reikalų ministerija (Ministry of Foreign Affairs) and the destination country's embassy in Vilnius.