An apostille (french for certification) is a unique seal applied by a government authority to certify that a document is a true copy of an original.
Apostilles are available in nations, 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 4 various authorities to get a document certified. The Hague Convention supplies for the simplified certification of public (such as notarized) documents to be used in countries and territories that have joined the convention.
Documents destined for use in participating countries and their territories need to be certified by a single 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 Workplace or legalization by the embassy or consulate is needed.
Note, though the apostille is an official certification that the document is a correct copy of the original, it does not certify that the original document’s content is right.
Why Do You Require an Apostille?
apostille san antonio can be applied whenever a copy of an official document from a further nation is needed. For instance for opening a bank account in the foreign country in the name of your business or for registering your U.S. corporation with foreign government authorities or even when proof of existence of a U.S. company is essential to enter in to a contract abroad. In all of these circumstances 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?
Given that October 15, 1981, the United States has been component of the 1961 Hague Convention abolishing the Requirement of Legalization for Foreign Public Documents. Anyone who desires to use a U.S. public document (such as Articles of Organization or Incorporation issued by a Secretary of State) in one particular of the Hague Convention nations might request and acquire an apostille for that particular country.
How to Get an Apostille?
Obtaining an apostille can be a complicated procedure. 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 query with a request for apostille.
Countries That Accept Apostille
All members of the Hague Convention recognise apostille.
Countries Not Accepting Apostille
In nations 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. commonly will get 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 nation where the document is intended to be applied.