Frequently asked questions

Document attestation is basically the South African government's way of of authenticating your South African documents in order to assure a foreign government (that will receiving your documents for visa / permit purposes) that the documents are legitimate.

In order to proceed we will just need your originals documents. In most instances it is only copies of the documents that will be attested, but we will need the originals to initiate the attestation process. Your originals will always be kept safe at our offices and will be returned to you at the end of the process along with the attested documents.

The attestation process involves having your documents processed and authenticated through various entities such as a notary public, SAQA, The Department of Basic Education, HPCSA, High Court and DIRCO prior to submission to the relevant embassy for the final attestation stamp.

The short answer is no, most of the places that the documents need to be taken to such as DIRCO and the Embassies only have offices in Pretoria and as such the processing of the documents has to be carried out here. In order for us to assist you can courier the documents to us or we can have our courier collect from you, whichever you prefer. At the end of the process we will then email scanned copies of the attested documents to you and hand the originals to our courier for delivery back to you.

Yes, we will still be able to assist with the attestation of your documents if you are already outside of South Africa. You will just need to courier the documents to us using a reputable courier such as DHL or Fedex (never use normal post). We will then send you an invoice via email and payment can be made via EFT or visa / mastercard payment at any time prior to us returning the finalised documents to you via DHL.

At Document Attestation SA, we understand that document attestation is a time-sensitive process. However, because we rely on third-party government departments (DIRCO, High Court, SAQA, Umalusi, SAPS, and foreign embassies/consulates, etc), we cannot 100% guarantee processing times.This policy outlines our cancellation, refund, and disbursement procedures.1. The 50% Deposit & DisbursementsA deposit of 50% is required to initiate your file.This deposit secures our service fee and covers initial disbursements, which may include and is not limited to SAQA fees, Home Affairs fees, notary fees, courier collections, and embassy attestation tariffs.By paying the deposit, you acknowledge that these third-party costs may be incurred soon after opening the file and are non-recoverable by us once paid to third parties. 2. Cancellation During the Process (Mid-Process) You are entitled to cancel your service request at any time, even if the process has already begun.If you cancel mid-process:Disbursements: We will deduct 100% of all disbursements already incurred up to the point of cancellation (e.g., notary stamps, courier fees, SAQA fees, embassy processing fees, etc). We will provide receipts or proof of these costs upon request.Service Fee (Work Done): We will deduct a pro-rata portion of our service fee based on the percentage of work already completed (e.g., document preparation, notary booking, submission preparation).Refund Calculation: The remaining balance of your initial 50% deposit, after deducting the above costs, will be refunded to you.Important: If your disbursements and service fees already exceed your 50% deposit, you will not receive a refund, and you may be liable for the outstanding balance due to costs already incurred on your behalf.3. Final Balance Payment The remaining 50% balance is due just before we return your finalised, apostilled/attested documents to you.This balance covers the final steps of the process (e.g., final courier return, embassy legalisation completion).Once you have approved the final documents and we have arranged for their return, this final balance becomes non-refundable, as the service has been fully rendered. 4. What Happens if an Application is Rejected?If departments such as DIRCO, the High Court, or an Embassy rejects your documents due to errors on the original document (e.g., incorrect signatures, old stamps) or changes in foreign embassy requirements, we will:Inform you immediately of the rejection and the reason.Offer to re-submit the documents (additional disbursements may apply).If you choose not to re-submit and cancel instead, the refund will follow the "Mid-Process" cancellation rules above (disbursements already paid to third parties are non-refundable). We do not refund for rejections caused by third-party authorities. 5. Timeframe for Refunds Approved refunds (where a balance remains after deductions) will be processed within [5-7] business days of your cancellation confirmation. Refunds will be made via bank transfer and international bank charges may be deducted from the deposit amount.6. How to Cancel & Request a Refund To cancel your file and request a refund calculation, you must provide written notice via:Email: admin@beauthentic.co.zaPlease allow two business days for us to calculate the disbursements incurred and the work completed before we confirm your final refund amount.