Apostille: Certifying Your Documents
What Is an Apostille?
An apostille (french for certification) is a special seal
applied by a government authority to certify that a document is a true copy of
an original.
Apostilles are available in countries, which signed the 1961
Hague Convention Abolishing the Requirement of Legalization of Foreign Public
Documents, popularly known as The Hague Convention. This convention replaces
the previously used time-consuming chain certification process, where you had
to go to four different authorities to get a document certified. The Hague
Convention provides for the simplified certification of public (including
notarized) documents to be used in countries and territories that have joined
the convention.
Documents destined for use in participating countries and
their territories should 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 country of intended use, and no certification by the U.S. Department of
State, Authentications Office or legalization by the embassy or consulate is
required.
Note, while 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 used whenever a copy of an official
document from another 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.
company with foreign government authorities or even when proof of existence of
a U.S. company 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 must be attached to the U.S. document to
authenticate that document for use in Hague Convention countries.
Who Can Get an Apostille?
Since October 15, 1981, the United States has been part of
the 1961 Hague Convention abolishing the Requirement of Legalization for
Foreign Public Documents. Anyone who needs 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 request and obtain an apostille for that
specific country.
How to Get an Apostille?
Obtaining an apostille can be a complex process. In most
American states, the process 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.
Countries Not Accepting Apostille Canada
In countries which are not signatories to the 1961
convention and do not recognize the apostille, a foreign public document must
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 receive a Certificate
of Authentication.Visit www.apostillecanada.org
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