As of the 16th June 2025 we are updating our estimated timelines for the processing of Apostilles and Certificate of Authentication at DIRCO from 15-20 workings days (3-4 weeks) to 30-40 working days (6-8 weeks. We had previously adjusted the times on the 2nd June to 15-20 working days from 10-15 working days but it has become apparent that this is a major issue at DIRCO and that our previous estimates are not longer relevant.

The DIRCO legalisation department is staffed by an incredibly hard working and dedicated team that unfortunately suffers from a lack of resources and sufficient staff, and they are burdened by an ever increasing amount of documents to legalise. Not only do they process all of the apostilles from walk ins and deliveries in South Africa, they also handle all of the legalisation requests for documents sent by South African embassies worldwide.

The staff managed to eliminate last years backlog, which was also sitting at around 8 weeks, by having their staff work through the Christmas and New year period last year when they were officially closed to the public. Unfortunately though they managed to handle the processing load in the first 4 months of the year it has become apparent that they don’t have the staff and resources to process these request quickly any more and the backlog has started growing again.

In the last month the processing time has increased from 3-4 weeks to 6-8 weeks and we have not received any certificates in the last two weeks.

We have engaged with DIRCO repeatedly and have been informed that they have requested help and additional staffing to help process over weekend to bring the backlog under control but that they are overwhelmed and short staffed. It is not possible in any way to withdraw applications once they are submitted and we are being told we have to be patient and wait for the collection notices.

Every single agency and individual dealing with DIRCO is in the same position as us. We are happy to share the most recent email from DIRCO with you and provide you with the submission number and date of submission in case you would like to contact DIRCO directly. We are hopeful that this situation will be resolved speedily in the coming weeks.

If you are a current client that has asked us to apostille documents with us then you should have received an email or call from us explaining the new circumstances. We are committed to making sure that we get these documents back in the shortest time possible given the circumstances. Please email us or give us a call if you have any concerns or need a specific update on your application.