Authorities in the Netherlands, including civil law notaries, the Ministry of Justice and the Chamber of Commerce, will often only accept documents issued by a U.S. entity if they have been legalized, or authenticated, in the U.S. This How it works… describes the general procedure for legalization in the Netherlands of a power of attorney granted on behalf of a U.S. entity in connection with the execution of a notarial deed before a civil law notary in the Netherlands.
The Dutch civil law notary will require a statement from an external lawyer admitted to the relevant U.S. bar (a statement from an in-house lawyer is generally not sufficient) on the authority of the person(s) who signed the power of attorney. Such statement can be a one page document confirming that the signatories are authorized to sign the power of attorney and that the relevant U.S. entity can enter into the transactions contemplated by the power of attorney. Further, the civil law notary will require confirmation that the signature(s) on the power of attorney are genuine. In the U.S. such confirmation is typically given by a U.S. Notary Public. In order to establish the Notary Public's authority, his or her confirmation must be provided with an apostille in accordance with the The Hague Legalization Convention of 1961, to which both the Netherlands and the U.S. are a party. In the United States, an apostille is usually issued by the competent Secretary of State.
