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

Apostilles are obtainable in countries, which signed the 1961 Hague Convention Abolishing the Requirement of Legalization of Foreign Public Documents, popularly identified as The Hague Convention. This convention replaces the previously made use of time-consuming chain certification method, exactly where you had to go to 4 unique authorities to get a document certified. The Hague Convention gives for the simplified certification of public (which includes notarized) documents to be utilised in countries and territories that have joined the convention.

Documents destined for use in participating countries and their territories need to be certified by one particular 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 country of intended use, and no certification by the U.S. Division of State, Authentications Office or legalization by the embassy or consulate is necessary.

Note, though apostille passport us is an official certification that the document is a accurate copy of the original, it does not certify that the original document’s content is correct.

Why Do You Need to have an Apostille?

An apostille can be applied whenever a copy of an official document from yet another country is necessary. For instance for opening a bank account in the foreign nation in the name of your firm or for registering your U.S. organization with foreign government authorities or even when proof of existence of a U.S. corporation is needed to enter in to a contract abroad. In all of these instances an American document, even a copy certified for use in the U.S., will not be acceptable. An apostille ought to be attached to the U.S. document to authenticate that document for use in Hague Convention nations.

Who Can Get an Apostille?

Since October 15, 1981, the United States has been portion of the 1961 Hague Convention abolishing the Requirement of Legalization for Foreign Public Documents. Anybody who desires 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 could request and acquire an apostille for that distinct nation.

How to Get an Apostille?

Getting an apostille can be a complex approach. In most American states, the procedure entails getting 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.

Nations That Accept Apostille

All members of the Hague Convention recognise apostille.

Nations Not Accepting Apostille

In countries which are not signatories to the 1961 convention and do not recognize the apostille, a foreign public document need to be legalized by a consular officer in the country which issued the document. In lieu of an apostille, documents in the U.S. usually will acquire a Certificate of Authentication.

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