Apostille and Translation of Israeli Documents for Buying Property in Romania: A Practical Guide

A real estate transaction in Romania rarely stalls because of the price or the contract. Far more often it stalls because of a single Israeli document that is missing a stamp, or that was translated in the wrong order. This guide is built as a working checklist: what you need, where to obtain it, and in what order. The information is correct as of October 2026.

1Why does a Romanian notary not accept an Israeli document as it is?

Because the notary needs to know that the signature and the stamp on the document are genuine. This is confirmed by an apostille, which the issuing state adds to its own public document. The apostille replaces the old consular legalisation, but only between states that have joined the 1961 Hague Convention.

According to the status table of the Hague Conference, the Convention has applied in Israel since August 1978 and in Romania since March 2001. An Israeli document bearing an apostille therefore does not require any further consular certification.

2Which documents will you need for the purchase, and which for a mortgage?

The list depends on whether you are buying in cash or taking financing from a Romanian bank. For the purchase itself the list is short; for a mortgage it is longer and varies from bank to bank.

Regarding the credit report: according to Israel's credit data system, anyone listed in it is entitled to a free consolidated data report once per calendar year. If you have already used this entitlement this year, take that into account in your timetable.

3Where do you obtain an apostille in Israel, and how much does it cost?

It depends on the type of document. A notarial document receives its apostille at the court, and many government certificates can be ordered with a digital apostille.

• Notarial document (certified copy, power of attorney, notarial translation): at the registries of the courts and the labour courts. According to the Israeli Judicial Authority, the fee is ILS 41 per certificate as of 1 January 2026, it is updated every 1 January, and up to 10 certificates can be obtained in a single visit.
• Certain government certificates, such as an extended extract from the population registry and a marriage certificate from the marriage registration offices: these can be ordered through the government personal area, with an electronic apostille.
• Court judgments and decisions: a digital apostille through the courts, including via Net HaMishpat.
• Other public certificates: the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, manually.

To this is added the Israeli notary's fee, which is set by the Notaries Regulations and is uniform throughout the country.

4Who may translate the documents into Romanian?

An authorised translator (traducător autorizat, a translator licensed by the state). Under Law 178/1997, translators who work with courts, notaries and lawyers are authorised by order of the Minister of Justice, and the Romanian Ministry of Justice publishes their list by language and by county.

The translator signs the translation, and a Romanian notary certifies the translator's signature. The result is called a traducere legalizată, that is, a certified translation. The apostille itself is translated together with the document, so it must already be on the document before the translation begins.

It is possible to prepare a notarial translation in Israel and add an apostille to it, but the decision whether to accept it rests with the receiving party in Romania. The safe route is a translator from the list of the Romanian Ministry of Justice. One further tip: where a bilingual Hebrew and English version exists, ask for it. According to the Israeli government services website, a bilingual birth certificate is issued in the personal area at no cost, and a document in English widens the choice of translators.

5In what order should you work so as not to do the work twice?

1. Ask the notary and the bank in Romania for an exact list of documents, in writing, before you start.
2. Order government certificates with a digital apostille, where this is possible and accepted in Romania.
3. Go to an Israeli notary to certify copies and to draw up a power of attorney, if needed.
4. Add a court apostille to each notarial document.
5. Send scans to the notary and the bank in Romania for a preliminary review.
6. Order a certified translation in Romania, and send the originals by courier where required.

Start collecting even before you have chosen a property. Certified documents do not expire overnight, but banks usually ask for recent documents, so ask in advance how long each document is considered “fresh”.

6Which mistakes cost the most time?

• A different transliteration of the name. If the name in the passport is written Moshe Cohen and in the translation Moise Kohen, for the notary these are two different people. Check every page against the passport.
• An apostille on the wrong document. A stamp on a plain photocopy instead of on the notarial certification.
• Translation before apostille. Whoever translates first and adds the apostille afterwards translates twice.
• Assuming that an Israeli translation will be accepted. This is a decision for the party in Romania. Ask beforehand.
• A credit report already used this year. It is free only once per calendar year.

7What should be done before signing, and how do we support this stage?

An orderly document file is the least exciting part of the transaction, and it is what determines whether the transaction closes on time. Our practice is to build a single list with the buyer against the written requirements of the notary and the bank, to check the transliteration of the name in every document, and to coordinate the sequence of steps between Israel and Romania. Acts governed by Romanian law, such as the certification of the translation and the signing of the sale contract, are performed by a Romanian notary and a lawyer licensed to practise in Romania.

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The information in this guide is general in nature and does not constitute legal or tax advice on any specific transaction. Every transaction is assessed on its own facts.