The Convention of 5 October 1961 Abolishing the Requirement of Legalisation for Foreign Public Documents, also known as the Apostille Convention, is an international

treaty A treaty is a formal, legally binding written agreement between actors in international law. It is usually made by and between sovereign states, but can include international organizations, individuals, business entities, and other legal pe ...

drafted by the

Hague Conference on Private International Law The Hague Conference on Private International Law (HCCH) is an intergovernmental organisation in the area of private international law (also known as ''conflict of laws''), that administers several international conventions, protocols and soft ...

(HCCH). It is intended to simplify the procedure through which a document, issued in one of the contracting states, can be certified for legal purposes in all the other contracting states. A certification under the Convention is called an apostille or Hague apostille (from French ''apostille'', meaning a marginal or bottom note, from

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

''post illa'', literally "after those ords of the text).Apostille Handbook
Hague Conference on Private International Law, 2013. It is an international certification comparable to a notarisation, and may supplement a local notarisation of the document. If the Convention applies between two states, an apostille issued by the state of origin is sufficient to certify the document, and removes the need for further certification by the destination state.

Background

Due to the lack of familiarity with foreign documents or the entities that issue them, many states require that foreign documents be legalized to be accepted there. This legalization procedure generally consists of a chain of certifications, by one or more authorities of the state of origin of the document and of the destination state. The first authority certifies the issuer of the document, and each subsequent authority certifies the previous one, until the final certification is made by an authority of the destination state that can be recognized by the final user there. For example, to be accepted in

mainland China "Mainland China" is a geopolitical term defined as the territory governed by the People's Republic of China (including islands like Hainan or Chongming), excluding dependent territories of the PRC, and other territories within Greater China. ...

, a document from the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sove ...

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...

not issued by a government official must be certified by a notary public, who must then be certified by the

clerk A clerk is a white-collar worker who conducts general office tasks, or a worker who performs similar sales-related tasks in a retail environment. The responsibilities of clerical workers commonly include record keeping, filing, staffing service ...

of the circuit court in the notary's

county A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposes Chambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...

, who must then be certified by the state of Maryland, which must then be certified by the

U.S. Department of State The United States Department of State (DOS), or State Department, is an executive department of the U.S. federal government responsible for the country's foreign policy and relations. Equivalent to the ministry of foreign affairs of other ...

, which must finally be certified by the Embassy of China in the United States;Certifications and Authentication
Maryland Secretary of State. a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

document to be used in the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

must be certified by

Global Affairs Canada Global Affairs Canada (GAC; french: Affaires mondiales Canada; AMC)''Global Affairs Canada'' is the applied title under the Federal Identity Program; the legal title is Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development (). is the department ...

or the legalization service of a Canadian province or territory, then by an embassy or consulate of the Netherlands in Canada.Legalisation of documents from Canada for use in the Netherlands
Government of the Netherlands. In many cases, the legalization procedure is simplified or exempted altogether. For example, if the purpose of a Canadian document is to apply for a

Dutch passport Dutch passports are issued to citizens of the Kingdom of the Netherlands for the purpose of international travel. As the Netherlands only distinguish one category of citizen (Nederlandse (Dutch), NLD), for all countries in the Kingdom, passport ...

in Canada, it is sufficient for the document to be certified by Global Affairs Canada; for a document issued by a Canadian government authority to be used in

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

, it is sufficient for the document to be certified by a Brazilian embassy or consulate in Canada; member states of the European Union accept documents issued by each other without certification; and states such as

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

, Japan,

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the ...

, the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

and the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

generally accept documents from any state without any certification. The Apostille Convention, drafted by the

(HCCH), is intended to simplify the legalization procedure by replacing it with a certification called an apostille, issued by an authority designated by the state of origin. Ideally the apostille would be the only certification needed, but in some cases additional certifications in the state of origin may be required before the apostille is issued. In any case, after the apostille, no certification by the destination state is required.

Contracting states

The Convention permits certain states to sign and ratify the Convention, becoming contracting states. For each of these states, or for an extension to one of its territories, the Convention enters into force 60 days after the deposit of its ratification or territorial extension. Other states are also permitted to become contracting states by acceding to the Convention, but without signing it. For each of these states, during the period of six months after it deposits its accession, the other contracting states may object to it, and the Convention enters into force 60 days after this period, between the acceding state and all other contracting states that did not object to it. Later, if a contracting state withdraws its objection, the Convention enters into force between these two states on that date. A

successor state Succession of states is a concept in international relations regarding a successor state that has become a sovereign state over a territory (and populace) that was previously under the sovereignty of another state. The theory has its roots in 19th- ...

of a previous contracting state may declare to continue to be bound by the Convention without a waiting period or accede later as a new state. , 124 states are contracting states of the Apostille Convention.

Procedure

Eligible documents

The Convention mentions four types of documents eligible for apostilles: * court documents; * administrative documents (e.g.

vital record Vital records are records of life events kept under governmental authority, including birth certificates, marriage licenses (or marriage certificates), separation agreements, divorce certificates or divorce party and death certificates. In som ...

s); * notarial acts; * official certificates which are placed on documents signed by persons in their private capacity, such as official certificates recording the registration of a document or the fact that it was in existence on a certain date and official and notarial authentications of signatures. However, the Apostille Convention does not apply to documents issued by diplomatic or consular officers, or to administrative documents dealing directly with commercial or customs operations. The reason for this exclusion is that these documents are usually already exempt from legalization.

Competent authorities

Each contracting state designates one or more authorities to issue apostilles. Examples of designated authorities are government agencies, ministries, courts, local governments, notarial chambers, embassies and consulates. In some states, each authority is designated to issue apostilles only on certain types of documents. For example, in

Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the ...

, apostilles are issued on court documents by the

Ministry of Justice A Ministry of Justice is a common type of government department that serves as a justice ministry. Lists of current ministries of justice Named "Ministry" * Ministry of Justice (Abkhazia) * Ministry of Justice (Afghanistan) * Ministry of Just ...

, on notarial documents by the Chamber of Civil Law Notaries, and on other documents by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs;Information on the procedure for the authentication of documents intended for foreign use
Ministry of Justice of Hungary. in

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

, apostilles on federal documents are issued by the federal government, and on

state State may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * ''State Magazine'', a monthly magazine published by the U.S. Department of State * ''The State'' (newspaper), a daily newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina, United States * ''Our S ...

documents by the respective state government. In general, documents issued by a government official can be certified directly with an apostille, while other documents must be certified by a

notary A notary is a person authorised to perform acts in legal affairs, in particular witnessing signatures on documents. The form that the notarial profession takes varies with local legal systems. A notary, while a legal professional, is disti ...

, who may then be certified with an apostille. In some cases, additional intermediate certifications may be required; for example, for documents notarized in some

s or issued by

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

, the notary or city official must be certified by the respective

or court, which may then be certified by the respective state with an apostille.Apostille or Certificate of Authentication
New York Department of State.Apostille or authentication request form
Tennessee Secretary of State.

Cost

The fee for issuing an apostille varies widely by state. In 2016, the HCCH compiled fees of 54 states and calculated an average of 15.43

EUR The euro ( symbol: €; code: EUR) is the official currency of 19 out of the member states of the European Union (EU). This group of states is known as the eurozone or, officially, the euro area, and includes about 340 million citizens ...

. Some states, such as

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

and Japan, do not charge a fee,Legalization or apostille of a French document for a foreign authority
Public Service of France.
Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan. while the Cayman Islands charge 150 KYD (180

USD The United States dollar (symbol: $; code: USD; also abbreviated US$ or U.S. Dollar, to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies; referred to as the dollar, U.S. dollar, American dollar, or colloquially buck) is the official ...

), one of the highest.Passport fees
Department of Immigration of the Cayman Islands. In some states, the fee also varies by location, authority, quantity, purpose or type of document. For example, in the

Indiana Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th s ...

does not charge a fee for an apostille of a

birth certificate A birth certificate is a vital record that documents the birth of a person. The term "birth certificate" can refer to either the original document certifying the circumstances of the birth or to a certified copy of or representation of the ensui ...

,Authentications: Apostilles and Certifications
Indiana Secretary of State. while

Connecticut Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its capita ...

charges 40 USD for an apostille not related to adoption.Document Authentication and Apostille
Connecticut Secretary of State.

Format

The apostille is a stamp or printed form, placed on the document itself or attached to the document as an

allonge An allonge (from French ''allonger'', "to draw out") is a slip of paper affixed to a negotiable instrument, as a bill of exchange, for the purpose of receiving additional endorsements for which there may not be sufficient space on the bill itself ...

. At the top is the title ''Apostille'', followed by ''(Convention de La Haye du 5 octobre 1961)'' (French for "Hague Convention of 5 October 1961"). The Convention specifies that this text must be in French. After this text, the apostille contains ten numbered fields, which may be in English, French or the language of the competent authority, and may be repeated in one or more additional languages. The numbered fields contain the following information: # Country:

Hong Kong, China Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a List of cities in China, city and Special administrative regions of China, special ...

]
This public document # has been signed by [e.g. Henry CHO] # acting in the capacity of [e.g. Notary Public] # bears the seal/stamp of [e.g. High Court of Hong Kong]
Certified # at [location or authority issuing the apostille, e.g. High Court] # the .g. 16 April 2014# by .g. Louis TANG, Registrar, High Court# No. .g. 2536218517# Seal/stamp: Emblem_of_Hong_Kong_Special_Administrative_Region.html" ;"title="Emblem of Hong Kong">Emblem of Hong Kong Special Administrative Region">Emblem of Hong Kong">Emblem of Hong Kong Special Administrative Region# Signature: f the official issuing the apostille

Verification

Each competent authority must maintain a register of apostilles issued, for verification on request by anyone. In 2006, the electronic apostille program (also known as e-APP) was launched to support the electronic issuance and verification of apostilles around the world. Since then, many contracting states have implemented electronic apostilles or electronic registers for their verification.

Validity

Apostilles never expire. However, a document certified with an apostille may have an expiration date, or the destination state may require that the document be presented by a certain time.

Additional requirements

The apostille replaces the legalization requirement, but the destination state may have additional requirements for the document to be used there. For example, it may require that the document be translated into a certain language, although it must not require a translation of the apostille itself.

Benefits and disadvantages

The Apostille Convention is beneficial in cases that would otherwise require certifications by both the origin and destination states, as the Convention removes the latter requirement. However, the Convention is neutral in cases that would otherwise require only a certification by the state of origin anyway, similar to an apostille, or no certification at all, and it can be disadvantageous in cases where a consular certification alone would otherwise be sufficient to legalize a document. The Convention requires that contracting states direct their embassies and consulates to no longer perform legalizations of documents where the Convention applies, so in this case the apostille is the only method available to certify the document, not only an alternative to consular legalization, even if the latter would be simpler or less expensive. For example, before Brazil joined the Apostille Convention, to legalize an educational document from the United States for academic use in Brazil, it was sufficient for the document to be certified by a Brazilian embassy or consulate in the United States, for a fee of 5

. After the Convention entered into force in Brazil, its embassy and consulates in the United States can no longer perform legalizations, so U.S. documents must have an apostille to be accepted in Brazil. In some U.S. states, an apostille of an educational document requires more certifications or a higher fee than the Brazilian consular legalization did. This result is an

unintended consequence In the social sciences, unintended consequences (sometimes unanticipated consequences or unforeseen consequences) are outcomes of a purposeful action that are not intended or foreseen. The term was popularised in the twentieth century by Ameri ...

, as the Convention still allows states to further simplify or eliminate the legalization requirement. The Hague Conference also encourages contracting states to eliminate the need for additional certifications before issuing an apostille, and to ensure that any fees are reasonable.

Limitations and abuse

The apostille only certifies that the signature, signer's capacity, and seal or stamp on the document are from the stated issuer. In other words, it only certifies the origin of the document, but it does not provide information about its content. In 2008, the Hague Conference expressed serious concerns about diplomas and certificates issued by

diploma mill A diploma mill (also known as a degree mill) is a company or organization that claims to be a higher education institution but provides illegitimate academic degrees and diplomas for a fee. The degrees can be fabricated (made-up), falsified (fake ...

s, citing their possible use "to circumvent migration controls, possibly by potential terrorists." The risk comes from the fact that the various government stamps give the document an air of authenticity without anyone having checked the underlying document. To address this concern, in 2009 the Hague Conference recommended that authorities add the following statement to apostilles: "This apostille only certifies the signature, the capacity of the signer, and the seal or stamp it bears. It does not certify the content of the document for which it was issued."Conclusions and Recommendations of the Special Commission on the Practical Operation of the Hague Apostille, Service, Taking of Evidence, and Access to Justice Conventions
Hague Conference on Private International Law, February 2009.

Gallery of apostilles by state

File:Partida de nacimiento Argentina con Apostilla de la Haya.jpg,

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...

File:Apostille Armenia.png,

Armenia Armenia (), , group=pron officially the Republic of Armenia,, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of Western Asia.The UNbr>classification of world regions places Armenia in Western Asia; the CIA World Factbook , , and ' ...

File:Apostille Australia.png, Australia
File:Apostille, Republik Österreich.png,

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

File:Azerbaijan apostille.jpg,

Azerbaijan Azerbaijan (, ; az, Azərbaycan ), officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, , also sometimes officially called the Azerbaijan Republic is a transcontinental country located at the boundary of Eastern Europe and Western Asia. It is a part of t ...

File:Belarus apostille.jpg,

Belarus Belarus,, , ; alternatively and formerly known as Byelorussia (from Russian ). officially the Republic of Belarus,; rus, Республика Беларусь, Respublika Belarus. is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by ...

File:Apostille belgien.png,

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

File:Apostille Brazil.jpg,

File:Apostille R.Hrvatska-09.png,

Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , map_caption = , capit ...

File:APOSTILLA.jpg,

Ecuador Ecuador ( ; ; Quechua: ''Ikwayur''; Shuar: ''Ecuador'' or ''Ekuatur''), officially the Republic of Ecuador ( es, República del Ecuador, which literally translates as "Republic of the Equator"; Quechua: ''Ikwadur Ripuwlika''; Shuar: ' ...

File:Apostille Attike.png,

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders ...

File:Apostille Sample - Hong Kong, China in 2020.png,

Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delta i ...

File:Apostille-Israel.jpg,

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

File:Apostille (2670529778).jpg, Japan
File:Apostille Moldova.png,

Moldova Moldova ( , ; ), officially the Republic of Moldova ( ro, Republica Moldova), is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Romania to the west and Ukraine to the north, east, and south. The unrecognised state of Transnistr ...

File:Apostille Norway.png,

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the ...

File:Romania apostille.PNG,

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Moldova to the east, and ...

File:Apostilla de official world record.png,

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

File:Apostille Ukraine.jpg,

Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...

File:Apostille US federal.jpg,

File:AlabamianApostilleOfTheHague.jpg,

File:California apostille.png,

File:Apostille US Maryland.jpg,

Notes

References

External links