An apostille (french for certification) is a special seal applied by a government authority to certify that a document is a correct copy of an original.

Apostilles are available in nations, which signed the 1961 Hague Convention Abolishing the Requirement of Legalization of Foreign Public Documents, popularly recognized as The Hague Convention. This convention replaces the previously employed time-consuming chain certification method, exactly where you had to go to four diverse authorities to get a document certified. The Hague Convention delivers for the simplified certification of public (including notarized) documents to be made use of in countries and territories that have joined the convention.

Documents destined for use in participating countries and their territories must be certified by one of the officials in the jurisdiction in which the document has been executed. With this certification by the Hague Convention Apostille, the document is entitled to recognition in the nation of intended use, and no certification by the U.S. Department of State, Authentications Office or legalization by the embassy or consulate is expected.

Note, whilst the apostille is an official certification that the document is a true copy of the original, it does not certify that the original document’s content is correct.

Why Do You Need an Apostille?

An apostille can be utilised anytime a copy of an official document from an additional country is needed. For example for opening a bank account in the foreign country in the name of your company or for registering your U.S. organization with foreign government authorities or even when proof of existence of a U.S. corporation is essential to enter in to a contract abroad. In all of these situations an American document, even a copy certified for use in the U.S., will not be acceptable. An apostille have to be attached to the U.S. document to authenticate that document for use in Hague Convention nations.

Who Can Get an Apostille?

Considering that October 15, 1981, the United States has been component of the 1961 Hague Convention abolishing the Requirement of Legalization for Foreign Public Documents. Any one who requires to use a U.S. public document (such as Articles of Organization or Incorporation issued by a Secretary of State) in one of the Hague Convention nations may perhaps request and get an apostille for that specific country.

How to Get an Apostille?

Getting an apostille can be a complex process. In most American states, the procedure entails obtaining an original, certified copy of the document you seek to confirm with an apostille from the issuing agency and then forwarding it to a Secretary of State (or equivalent) of the state in question with a request for apostille.

Countries That Accept Apostille

All members of the Hague Convention recognise apostille.

divorce certificate texas apostille Not Accepting Apostille

In nations which are not signatories to the 1961 convention and do not recognize the apostille, a foreign public document will have to be legalized by a consular officer in the nation which issued the document. In lieu of an apostille, documents in the U.S. normally will get a Certificate of Authentication.

Legalization is ordinarily accomplished by sending a certified copy of the document to U.S. Department of State in Washington, D.C., for authentication, and then legalizing the authenticated copy with the consular authority for the nation exactly where the document is intended to be employed.