What exactly is apostille?
What exactly is apostille?
An Apostille (pronounced “ah-po-steel”) is a French word meaning certification. The Apostille is attached to your original document to verify it is legitimate and authentic so it will be accepted in one of the other countries who are members of the Hague Apostille Convention.
Which documents must be Apostilled?
An Apostille Certificate can only be used to authenticate the origin of public documents such as birth, death or marriage certificates, judgments, patents, notarial attestations (where a notary has authenticated a signature), school, university or other academic diplomas and other documents issued by public …
Is apostille the same as legalization?
Legalisation of a document is the issue of an apostille so that the document may be used in an official capacity in another country. Once a document has the apostille, it has been ‘legalised’ for use in an overseas country that is a member of the Hague Convention. Do not waste any money getting these documents signed.
When should you apostille a document?
Apostilles are used when public documents are being transferred between countries that are a party to the Hague Apostille Convention of 1961. This international treaty streamlined the cumbersome, traditional procedure for authenticating documents.
What is the purpose of apostille?
Apostilles authenticate the seals and signatures of officials on public documents such as birth certificates, court orders, or any other document issued by a federal agency or certified by an American or foreign consul.
Is apostille necessary?
It is often the case that documents will require apostilles when moving into a particular state for employment purposes. Once a document has gained an apostille certificate these documents are then legal for use and are accepted in these states without requiring any further legalisation.
What is the difference between notarised and Apostilled?
One easy way to remember the difference is that notarized documents are used only within the United States. In contrast, an apostille is used as a form of authentication between different countries. But there are times when a document must be notarized before obtaining an apostille, and we will explain all this to you.
Is Apostille necessary?
What is the purpose of Apostille?
How does an apostille look?
An Apostille (Certificate) is a square approximately 9cm long, usually stamped onto the reverse side of a single page public document. It is formatted into numbered fields to allow certified data to be identified by the receiving country, regardless of the official language of the issuing country.
Do apostilles expire?
Does an Apostille Expire? The answer is NO. An apostille does NOT have an expiration date. For example, if you need a California apostille on a California birth certificate, we recommend that you ask how old the birth certificate can be and how recent the apostille should be issued.
Who can issue an apostille?
As per the terms of the Hague Apostille Convention, the apostille in each country is issued by the competent authority in the respective country. In most cases, this will be the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in that country.
Can a document be Apostilled without being notarized?
No. If notarial services are needed, you should have the document notarized prior to submitting your Apostille request to the California Secretary of State.
How long does it take to get something Apostilled?
How long does it take to obtain an Apostille? To obtain an apostille usually takes two days. If you do not have the document which needs to be apostilled, you must take into consideration also time for obtaining this document (diploma, birth certificate, articles of incorporation).