What is an Apostille?

An Apostille certificate authenticates the signature of the public official who has signed the document in your home state. The Apostille certificate confirms the person that signed the document has the authority to do so and that the document should therefore be recognised as legal without further evidence in another member state. A member state being any country which has joined the Hague Convention.

Why have an Apostille certificate?

Prior to the introduction of Apostille certificates the burden on international courts and authorities to judge foreign documents as authentic was quite considerable. On the 5 October 1961 the Hague Convention abolished the requirement of legalisation for foreign public documents. The Convention reduces all of the formalities of legalisation to the simple delivery of a certificate in a prescribed form, entitled "Apostille", by the authorities of the State where the document originates. This certificate, placed on the document, is dated, numbered and registered. The verification of its registration can be carried out without difficulty by means of a simple request for information addressed to the authority which delivered the certificate.

Legalization in United States

List of countries Member of the Hague Convention

Legalisation of Documents in others countries