What is embassy legalization?

If you are resident of a country other than the one of your citizenship and you may need any official document from your original country to be provided to your country of residence (birth certificate, marriage contract, act of divorce, certificate of nationality etc.) you are requested to have the signature of the officer issuing such document to be ascertained by your Department of Foreign Affairs. Your local Embassy represents and is under the role of your Department of Foreign Affairs abroad and is thus in charge of such legalization of signatures, which means ascertaining to the country of your residence that any official signature of the country they represent is well a legal signature, rendering the document legal and acceptable to the host country.