An apostille (french for certification) is a specific seal applied by a government authority to certify that a document is a correct copy of an original.
Apostilles are obtainable 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 used time-consuming chain certification course of action, exactly where you had to go to four distinctive authorities to get a document certified. The Hague Convention provides for the simplified certification of public (such as notarized) documents to be used in nations and territories that have joined the convention.
Documents destined for use in participating countries and their territories really should 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 nation of intended use, and no certification by the U.S. Department of State, Authentications Office or legalization by the embassy or consulate is needed.
Note, though the apostille is an official certification that the document is a accurate copy of the original, it does not certify that the original document’s content material is correct.
Why Do You Want an Apostille?
An apostille can be applied whenever a copy of an official document from an additional country is required. For instance for opening a bank account in the foreign nation in the name of your organization or for registering your U.S. organization with foreign government authorities or even when proof of existence of a U.S. corporation is required to enter in to a contract abroad. In all of these cases an American document, even a copy certified for use in the U.S., will not be acceptable. An apostille need to be attached to the U.S. document to authenticate that document for use in Hague Convention nations.
Who Can Get an Apostille?
Because October 15, 1981, the United States has been element of the 1961 Hague Convention abolishing the Requirement of Legalization for Foreign Public Documents. Anybody who demands 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 countries may possibly request and get an apostille for that distinct country.
How to Get an Apostille?
Acquiring an apostille can be a complex course of action. In most American states, the course of action 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.
apostille social security card 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 should be legalized by a consular officer in the country which issued the document. In lieu of an apostille, documents in the U.S. ordinarily will receive a Certificate of Authentication.
Legalization is ordinarily achieved 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 country exactly where the document is intended to be used.